A medium-budget star vehicle dominated North American movie theaters over the weekend, while an animated sequel arrived on tiptoe. “2 Guns†(Universal Pictures), which cost about $60 million to make and stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, took in an estimated $27.4 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data.
While many stars are struggling to retain their wattage, Mr. Washington reliably turns out at audience. And the Universal backed “2 Guns,†an R-rated crime comedy, featured a well-tailored marketing campaign aimed at underserved African-American moviegoers. “The Wolverine†(20th Century Fox) was second, selling about $21.7 million in tickets, for a two-week domestic total of $95 million.
“Smurfs 2†(Sony Pictures Entertainment), which cost more than $100 million to make, was a weak third despite an aggressive marketing campaign, taking in about $18.2 million, for a disappointing total of $27.8 million since opening on Wednesday. A summer glut of animated movies was probably the culprit, but terrible reviews certainly did not help. To compare, “The Smurfs†took in $35.6 million over its first three days in 2011; sequels are supposed to go up. Still, “The Smurfs 2†is primarily aimed at audiences overseas, where the first film took in 75 percent of its astounding $564 million total. Over the weekend, Sony’s little blue men â€" and Smurfette â€" sold about $52.5 million in tickets in 43 overseas markets, a result that a Sony spokesman called “fantastic.â€
