The more things change, the more they stay the same. This past weekend’s local charts have made a few shifts, but it’s more rearranging deck chairs than jumping onto a new ship. Still, at least one surprise leaps up in this weeks’ local box office charts…
Starting at the top, a strong debut for Spy. Not only a big hit for Melissa McCarthy, some are even saying its her best film yet. After the hiccup that was Tammy, her career seems back on track again. That said, it only takes one or two flops to strike you off A-list status…
Spy‘s arrival consequently pushes everything else down a notch. At two is Pitch Perfect 2, still doing incredibly well. Last week I wrote I had nothing more to say about this movie. I’d add a Eurovision joke, but I don’t know anything about that either.
Third is Mad Max: Fury Road, a movie that clearly is going to maintain its status as a classic, a slow burning hit and a future cult title. Sure, it was not the giant tentpole that the studio had hoped for, but it definitely is not a flop either.
Heading down to fourth and thus also just dropping one spot is Avengers: Age of Ultron. Critics and some fans may be rather flat about what is said to be a confusing mess of action and countless future plot setups. But it’s a money-printing machine, so clearly most audiences don’t care about all of that.
Pushed down one spot as well is the local drama Treurgrond. At fifth place it’s quite stable and means this tale about farm murders is resonating with some local movie goers.
It may not be attracting good reviews, but the Poltergeist remake is attracting local viewers. It jumped two spots from eight to six. Last week I predicted Poltergeist may have staying power due to a lack of horror films at the moment. But a jump is quite unexpected. That said, based on its estimated budget this is not making back its cash just yet.
It’s a reverse situation for Tomorrowland, the sci-fi fantasy that has Disney DNA all over it. The film has formed a big crater, not even making back its budget yet from its total earnings. Locally it is reflecting that, dumping down from fifth to seventh.
The Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei comedy The Rewrite also fell two spots, settling in at eighth. Maybe the boyish British actor has lost his charms?
At nine a surprise re-entry: Yellow Bird. The animated movie had been doing very well for itself. Last week it departed them, but returns at ninth. I do believe one other movie has managed this so far in 2015’s local charts, but it is still remarkable.
Finally, The Age of Adaline is the week’s biggest plunger, falling from seventh to tenth. This tale of a girl who cannot age is really not resonating with audiences. Probably because it makes them feel old… But it is a hit, thanks to a reasonably modest $25 million budget,
Leaving the charts this week are Hot Pursuit and, after so many week of outright dominance, Fast & Furious 7.
This means there is a new top earner on the Top 10. Avengers: Age of Ultron rules with R38 million of our money.
- 01. SPY
- 02. PITCH PERFECT 2
- 03. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (incl 3D & Imax)
- 04. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (incl. 3D & Imax)
- 05. TREURGROND
- 06. POLTERGEIST 3D
- 07. TOMORROWLAND
- 08. THE REWRITE
- 09. YELLOW BIRD
- 10. THE AGE OF ADALINE
Last Updated: June 11, 2015
