Boss Baby, Beauty outshine Smurfs 3
LOS ANGELES — The Smurfs are feeling a little blue this weekend.
The third instalment in Sony’s animated series, “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” made its box-office debut in third place, with $14 million — far behind family-friendly holdovers “The Boss Baby” and “Beauty and the Beast,” according to studio estimates Sunday.
Featuring the voices of Demi Lovato and Joe Manganiello, “Smurfs,” which reportedly cost $60 million to make, has not charmed critics either. Its earnings were worse than the 2013 opening of “Smurfs 2,” which went on to gross $347.5 million worldwide despite a $17.5 million debut and a heftier $105 million price tag.
But the fate of the third “Smurfs” is not necessarily sealed.
“There are other revenue streams for films like this,” said ComScore’s senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, noting international profits and home video potential that could recoup production costs.
In first place, “The Boss Baby” added $26.3 million in its second weekend in theatres, bringing its North American total to $89.4 million.
Meanwhile, “Beauty and the Beast” earned $25 million to take second place at the box office. In four weeks, Disney’s live-action fairy tale has brought in $432.3 million domestically.
While the family films dominated, moviegoers had other options on a relatively quiet weekend. The tepidly reviewed buddy comedy “Going in Style,” starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin, opened in fourth place, with $12.5 million.
The relative quiet at the box office is ending soon. “The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth instalment in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, speeds into theatres next weekend, followed by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” a few weeks later.