Now You See Me, a crime caper starring Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Woody Harrelson as bank robbing magicians, enthralled Australian audiences last weekend, replicating its global success.
The comedy, which co-stars Michael Caine as a rich guy who despatches the gang to Las Vegas where they are pursued by an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and an Interpol agent (Mélanie Laurent), conjured up $4 million including previews.
A change of pace and tone for French director Louis Leterrier (best known for the Transporter action flicks, Clash of the Titans and The Incredible Hulk), the film has raked in more than $US255 million worldwide: more than enough for Lionsgate to green light a sequel.
Pain & Gain, the Michael Bay-directed action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie, muscled into cinemas with a respectable $1.75 million.
English black comedy/horror item The World’s End tumbled by 54% to $496,000 in its second weekend, raking in $1.9 million to date.
Bollywood fans turned out en masse for Chennai Express, which checked in with a fine $385,000 on just 21 screens. Directed by Rohit Shetty, the comedy stars Shah Rukh Khan as a Mumbai man who journeys to a small town to fulfil the last wish of his grandfather and en route meets the daughter of a crime boss (Deepika Padukone).
The film grossed $US2.22 million on 196 screens in the US at the weekend, the biggest ever opening for an Indian release in that country.
Positive reviews for Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring had little discernible impact on ticket sales as the saga about a bunch of Los Angeles teenagers who steal jewellery, cash and clothes from the homes of rich and famous took $54,000 at 10 screens.
Roadshow gave a token cinema release to Gambit, a remake of a 1960s English heist caper that starred Michael Caine and Shirley Maclaine, with dire results. The new version was written by Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Colin Firth, Alan Rickman and Tom Courtenay, evidently a waste of time and talent for all concerned. The film played just one session a day at 41 cinemas: the minimum required for a free-to-air TV deal.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE Aug 8-11
|
|
Title |
Week/ Screens |
Box Office |
% +- |
Total
|
|
1 |
Now You See Me |
1/265 |
$3,981,757 |
NA |
$4,064,974 |
|
2 |
Pain & Gain |
1/210 |
1,758,006 |
NA |
1,790,616 |
|
3 |
The Wolverine |
3/546 |
1,528,097 |
-53 |
13,489,126 |
|
4 |
The Conjuring |
4/178 |
880,463 |
-35 |
7,257,013 |
|
5 |
The Heat |
5/272 |
773,313 |
-40 |
14,030,793 |
|
6 |
The World’s End |
2/207 |
496,187 |
-54 |
1,935,285 |
|
7 |
This is the End |
4/207 |
450,068 |
-49 |
7,246,135 |
|
8 |
Chennai Express |
1/21 |
385,262 |
NA |
385,262 |
|
9 |
Despicable Me 2 |
8/207 |
326,317 |
-30 |
34,815,670 |
|
10 |
Behind the Candelabra |
3/106 |
324,684 |
-35 |
1,947,261 |
Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia