Weekend Box Office: Like a desperate drag racer, Need For Speed fails to yield

By Sean O'Neal  |  March 17, 2014 | 3:00pm
Aux Features Film

Few were interested in seeing Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul struggle with his addiction to a different kind of speed this weekend, as the fast and furiously ludicrous Need For Speed opened at third place with $17.8 million. As Box Office Mojo notes, that’s about on par with past video game movies like Resident Evil and Max Payne, though considering the film didn’t really play up the connection—despite its similar indifference to plot—much of the blame for its weak debut can probably be ascribed to America’s shifting attitudes toward traffic safety, and the growing appreciation for conscientious driving among millennials. Or, maybe people just thought it looked dumb and derivative.

Whatever the explanation, Need For Speed’s third-place finish allowed it to be lapped by Mr. Peabody And Sherman and 300: Rise Of An Empire, both of which dropped in their second week but still managed to eke out first and second place, respectively. They certainly didn’t face any competition from Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club, Tyler Perry’s latest film about how everyone just needs a good man to solve their problems—specifically, a man named Tyler Perry. The depreciation of the Tyler Perry franchise continued with an $8.3 million, fifth-place opening for Single Moms, suggesting that, after years of Tyler Perry’s Tyler Perry across the whole of Tyler Perry’s media, Tyler Perry may have at last reached an oversaturation point. No doubt Tyler Perry is already considering scaling back, maybe by only releasing two or three movies next year.

Finally, the Veronica Mars faith enjoyed a far better weekend in terms of per-screen averages, with the show’s crowd-sourced return earning just north of $2 million across its 291 screens. Considering it was simultaneously released on VOD and in digital copies sent to each backer—and that it was the movie version of a TV show few people watched before being canceled seven years ago—that’s pretty impressive. So ,at least one cult TV star had a decent weekend.

For more detailed numbers, visit Box Office Mojo.

 
Join the discussion...