Slow box office weekend comes into 'Focus'
It was not the take of the century. But the con artist tale Focus did manage to steal away with the weekend box office, hauling in $19.1 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.
Will Smith and The Wolf of Wall Street standout Margot Robbie created just enough screen steam as romantically-involved scammers to make it a non-contest for the top spot, while a series of films fought for second.
But it was not an overwhelming win for Smith, who is usually a box office champ. Warner Bros. attributed the less-than-stellar results in part to winter weather conditions across the country.
"It's a temporary setback for what is looking like a record box office year — every once in a while, you come back down to Earth," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst for Rentrak. "But Focus still got number one, showing Will Smith can still draw."
Focus overcame tepid reviews, earning a 56% approval rating from critics on RottenTomatoes.com. Audiences gave the film a B grade on CinemaScore. The take included $2.1 million on 251 IMAX screens.
Colin Firth's action turn in Kingsman: The Secret Service continued to excel under the box office radar, moving into second place in its third weekend with $11.8 million ($85.7 million total).
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, the weekend's only family fare, finished third with $11.2 million ($140.3 million to date).
Fifty Shades of Grey slipped to fourth with $10.9 million for $147.8 million total after three weeks.
"Fifty Shades was so front-loaded, everyone rushed out to see it," says Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "It doesn't have much for legs. I don't suspect it will stay in theaters for very long."
The R-rated bondage film continued to excel overseas as the No. 1 film in 40 markets with a total worldwide earnings of $486 million.
Horror flick The Lazarus Effect, starring Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass, opened in fifth with $10.6 million. But the film is from Blumhouse Productions, which specializes in making horror films, such as 2013's The Purge, on microbudgets.
Lazarus was dead on arrival as far as critics were concerned, earning a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a C-minus audience grade on CinemaScore.
Final numbers are expected Monday.