LOS ANGELES: Police drama film End of Watch and horror thriller House at the End of the Street tied for the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, with Clint Eastwood’s Trouble with the Curve, close behind.
Each of the top films brought in $13 million respectively at US and Canadian box offices.
The opening of End of Watch was the largest for independent film distribution company Open Road, a two-year joint venture between theatre chains AMC and Regal. It’s two other films this year however, Hit and Run and Silent House, opened with less than $7 million apiece.
Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg said End of Watch was successful because it appealed to a wide swath of moviegoers.
Referring to David Ayer’s End of Watch as a “smart action movie,” Ortenberg added that it is a prototype for the type of films Open Road hopes to make. Its next film, action ensemble Breacher, is another Ayer project.
House at the End of the Street, which features Jennifer Lawrence in her first role since this year’s blockbuster The Hunger Games, also brought in $13 million.
Baseball movie Trouble with the Curve was hot on the heels of the top films, taking in $12.7 million, according to box office estimates released on Sunday. The film is Clint Eastwood’s first starring role in four years and comes less than a month after his headline-grabbing speech at the Republican national convention.
Rounding out the top five was the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo with $9.4 million, and Resident Evil: Retribution with $6.7 million. Both films premiered in theaters last weekend.
“The bright spots are the indie films like The Master and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which are both doing terrific business in their limited runs,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst at Hollywood.com.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2012.
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