Monday Box Office Report – Pacific Rim falls before Adam Sandler

Some films, you have high expectations for. Movies that just cannot, and should not, ever fall at the box office. Pacific Rim is one such movie. It is essentially an anime film wherein giant robots punch monsters so hard that merely being in their presence violates your cellphone warranty.

But Pacific Rim, despite being incredibly well reviewed didn’t exactly set the box office on fire. The Jaegers of that film fell to not one, but two family comedies this week. Here’s a look at the North American top ten.

Despicable Me 2 remained in a firm first place, adding over $44 million over the weekend to an already impressive total global haul of $472 million. Meanwhile, the latest Adam Sandler rat pack film edged out Pacific Rim for the second spot place to earn itself over $42 million over the weekend. Yep, you heard me right, Adam Sandler and his pals are far more popular than giant robots. Here’s how everyone else did:

• Despicable Me 2 – $44.7 million
• Grown Ups 2  – $42.5 million
• Pacific Rim  – $38.3 million
• The Heat  – $14 million
• The Lone Ranger  – $11.1 million
• Monsters University  – $10.6 million
• World War Z  – $9.4 million
• White House Down  – $6.1 million
• Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain  – $5 million
• Man of Steel  – $4.8 million

Pacific Rim may have been a solid earner for director Guillermo Del Toro based on internet chatter for the film, but regular audiences were most likely experiencing blockbuster fatigue after a recent avalanche of high budget films that stretched from Krypton to the old West. With no real star power and Del Toro being somewhat of an unknown director still in the states, Pacific Rim is going to need to rely on international markets if it wants to experience any chance of success. Speaking of which, things didn’t look too good for The Lone Ranger or Man of Steel.

The Lone Ranger fell several slots down in its second week, while Man of Steel was teetering on the edge of the top ten. Things aren’t looking that bad for the film though. Man of Steel has made over $619 million so far globally, making it a success, and with a Japanese release coming up soon, expect that film to finish up with a few million dollars more before it departs for Blu-Ray. It may not have made Iron Man 3 levels of cash, but considering how crowded the box office was when it was released, it’s a damn good showing and a clear indicator towards the future of this franchise.

Last Updated: July 15, 2013