Box Office News: Audiences Escape Heat with ‘Ted,’ ‘Magic Mike’

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CHICAGO – Two R-rated offerings shattered expectations at the box office this weekend as “Ted” and “Magic Mike” not only proved that adults still go see movies in the Summer season but that original concepts can make for massive hits. While rehashed fare like “Rock of Ages,” “Battleship,” and “Dark Shadows” have all stumbled, “Ted” and “Magic Mike” will out-gross all three.

Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted,” a raunch comedy that was notoriously turned down by other studios before ending up at Universal, made an amazing $54.1 million in its first three days, according to studio estimates. That means that the film has made back its budget (before marketing) in just three days, something that not a lot of Summer blockbusters have been able to boast. The film can also claim the highest opening for an original, R-rated comedy in history, behind only “The Hangover Part II” for R-rated comedies overall and 8th place for R-rated movies of any genre. It’s also Mark Wahlberg’s highest opening weekend since 2001’s “Planet of the Apes.”

“Magic Mike” opened in second place with a nearly-as-amazing $39.2 million, a career-best for director Steven Sodebergh (yes, better than any of the “Oceans” movies). It marked star Channing Tatum’s third $35-million-plus opening weekend of 2012. The man is a true movie star.

The hits don’t stop there. Tyler Perry proved that there’s still money in the Madea concept even if his other films continue to struggle financially as “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection” made a stunning $26.3 million in its first three days (way more than the February opening of “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds”). It’s the fourth highest opening weekend of Perry’s directorial career.

Finally, DreamWorks may have erred by opening “People Like Us” on what turned out to be one of the most crowded weekends of the year as the Chris Pine drama could only muster $4.3 million. It opened in much more limited release than the other three but a weak per screen average doesn’t bode well for future grosses.

Next week sees the release of “The Amazing Spider-man” on Tuesday and “Savages” on Friday. Hollywood sure hopes this heat wave continues.

ESTIMATED TOTALS
1. Ted — $54.1 million — new
2. Magic Mike — $39.2 million — new
3. Brave — $34 million — down 49% — $131.7 million total
4. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection — $26.4 million — new
5. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted — $11.8 million — down 40% — $180 million
6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter — $6 million — down 63% — $29 million
7. Prometheus — $4.9 million — down 50% — $118.3 million
8. Moonrise Kingdom — $4.9 million — up 44% — $18.4 million
9. Snow White and the Huntsman — $4.4 million — down 46% — $145.6 million
10. People Like Us — $4.3 million — new

Source: Box Office Mojo

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com