You could call this weekend the battle of the ‘80s remakes, what with About Last Night, RoboCop and** Endless Love** all competing for moviegoers’ attention in America’s cinemas. But all the re-treads were beaten by a film based on a toy that first became widely popular in the 1960s and 70s, because The Lego Movie easily triumphed in its second weekend on release.
With the new competition aimed more at teens or adults, The Lego Movie dropped just 29% to bring in $48.8 million, rocketing the film past $100 million to just shy of $130 million in the US alone in two short weeks. Given the healthy word of mouth and no animated rivals due until DreamWorks’ Mr. Peabody & Sherman in early March, Lego looks set to enjoy a long, successful run.
In terms of the reboots, rom-com About Last Night rode the drawing power of Valentine’s Day dates and the growing name recognition of Kevin Hart to $27 million and second place.
That put it ahead of RoboCop, which has scored some surprisingly positive reviews both here and aboard, with the backlash against re-imagining an iconic sci-fi title apparently not doing it too much damage. Jose Padilha’s version took third place with $21.5 million, though with a $100 million budget to earn back, it’ll have to display both staying power here and overseas appeal.
The Monuments Men fell to fourth place, taking home $15 million for a $43.6 million total to date. That still beat Endless Love, the third of the ‘80s films updates. Critics noted that the new version largely gutted the shock of the original, opting for placid teen romance and strife, so the film landed in fifth with $13.3 million. At sixth we find Kevin Hart’s other film, Ride Along, which continues to do well. It made $8.7 million this weekend and is up to $116 million in US earnings so far.
Despite a starry cast that included Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell, Akiva Goldsman’s adaptation of Mark Helprin’s novel Winter’s Tale (the film is known as A** New York Winter’s Tale** over here, and is out next week), couldn’t tempt those seeking some old-fashioned romance. Burdened by mixed reviews, the film arrived seventh with $7.7 million.
In eighth, we find Frozen, which continues to draw eyeballs even as it slowly sheds screens. It made $5.8 million this weekend. Lone Survivor was ninth with $4 million and That Awkward Moment slipped from sixth to 10th, showing that it didn’t really grab couples’ attention, with only $3.3 million to show for its trouble this weekend.
To indulge in some mathematical nostalgia, check out the full chart listings at Box Office Mojo.