For the third weekend in a row, a big-budget nonsequel sputtered in North America: “Pacific Rim,†which cost Legendary Entertainment and Warner Brothers at least $180 million to make, took in $38.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates. That result is a humiliation for Legendary, a young company that has been eager to prove that it can produce blockbusters on its own; Warner was a minority partner.
“Pacific Rim,†a robots-versus-monsters fantasy directed by Guillermo del Toro and intended to spawn a franchise, probably suffered from a crowded movie marketplace and a flawed advertising campaign, among other things. Hollywood has smelled a flop for weeks, and both Legendary and Warner have scrambled to avoid having “Pacific Rim†branded as such. A Legendary spokesman noted on Sunday that audiences gave the movie an A-minus score in exit polls - most critics also liked it - and pointed to sturdier international ticket sales of about $53 million.
For the weekend in the United States and Canada, the animated “Despicable Me 2†(Universal) repeated as No. 1, taking in an estimated $44.8 million, for a stellar two-week domestic total of $229.2 million. The Adam Sandler ensemble comedy “Grown Ups 2†(Sony) was second, selling about $42.5 million in tickets, a little less than “Grown Ups†in 2010 when accounting for inflation, but a solid result nonetheless. “Pacific Rim†was third.
