'Spectre' fends off 'Peanuts,' 'Coopers' for No. 1
In a ho-hum week for newcomers, Spectre left the box office shaken, not stirred.
The James Bond blockbuster shot to No. 1 again with $35.4 million, bringing its two-week total to $130.7 million, according to studio estimates from tracking firm Rentrak. The 24th movie in the 007 franchise (and fourth starring Daniel Craig) is a smash overseas, breaking box-office records in both the U.K. and China. Still, Spectre is trailing its predecessor, Skyfall, which had earned $160.9 million in the USA after two weeks in November 2012.
"Comparisons to Skyfall are natural, but that was a different kind of marketplace," says Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Theaters are "oversaturated by movies aimed at older audiences, and that can even impact a blockbuster film like Spectre. Bond is still a huge brand, and on a worldwide basis, it's doing terrifically well."
The Peanuts Movie, a computer-animated resurrection of the beloved Charles M. Schulz comics, wasn't far behind with $24.2 million in second place, bringing its tally to $82.5 million. The Charlie Brown cartoon is benefiting from strong reviews and little competition for the family audience, aside from pre-Halloween holdovers Goosebumps and Hotel Transylvania 2.
Holiday comedy Love the Coopers found little Christmas cheer, decking its halls with $8.4 million at No. 3. The poorly received newcomer earned only 16% approval from critics on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com and a slightly better 46% from audiences, but may have been boosted by its star-studded cast of Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Amanda Seyfried and Alan Arkin.
Matt Damon's flyaway hit The Martian dipped to fourth place with $6.7 million in its seventh weekend and a massive $207.4 million total, while Chilean mining drama The 33 fared OK in its first week out, digging up $5.8 million for No. 5. Recounting the 2010 collapse that left 33 miners trapped underground for 69 days, the inspirational film stars Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Phillips and was met with middling reviews (40% approval from critics and 67% from moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes).
At the specialty box office, By the Sea was a wash. Written, directed by and starring Angelina Jolie, Sea reunites the actress with real-life husband Brad Pitt onscreen for the first time since 2005 action comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The intimate drama, about a grieving married couple on holiday, took in just $95,000 in 10 theaters.
Sea was panned by critics, earning only 32% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows similarly disappointing releases for Jolie in the director's chair, after poorly reviewed war dramas Unbroken (which opened to $30.6 million last December) and In the Land of Blood and Honey ($19,000 in limited release in 2011).
"This is a decidedly small movie," Dergarabedian says. "Even though they're the two biggest stars in the world, it was never going to be a runaway blockbuster." That said, "You would’ve hoped for a little more, considering their collective star power. It's Pitt and Jolie, and there's always high hopes for their 'brand.'"
Final numbers are expected Monday.