‘Shazam!’ stays on top at box office
“Hellboy” reboot burns out early.
NEW YORK – A quartet of newcomers in movie theaters couldn’t shake “Shazam!” from the top spot, as the superhero comedy led the box office for the second straight weekend with an estimated $25.1 million in ticket sales.
Lionsgate’s “Hellboy” reboot, the animated Laika Studios release “Missing Link,” the college romance “After” and even the long-delayed “Mary Magdalene,” originally to be released by the Weinstein Co., all opened. But the strongest new release of them all was, the Will Packer-produced one: “Little.”
The body-swap comedy “Little” came in second with $15.5 million for Universal Pictures. Made for just $20 million, “Little” is the most recent profit-maker for Packer, the “Girls Trip” producer.
The film, directed by Tina Gordon Chism, stars 14-year-old Marsai Martin
as the child of an abusive tech executive (Regina Hall) who reverts to after a magical spell is cast on her. Martin, the “black-ish” star, also executive-produced the film, the youngest ever so credited in Hollywood history.
“Little” drew a largely female, 65%, and African American, 43%, audience. Jim Orr, Universal Pictures distribution chief, credited the cast, Chism’s direction and Packer’s overall know-how.
“He’s done it with different kinds of films. ‘Breaking In’ was a thriller, ‘Girls Trip’ was an R-rated comedy. ‘Little’ is kind of an all-ages film, PG-13 rated,’ ” said Orr, whose studio signed a firstlook deal with Packer in 2013.
It was an out-of-body weekend at the box office. The body-swap comic-book adaptation “Shazam!” – about a teenage boy (Asher Angel) who can turn into an adult-sized superhero (Zachary Levi) with a simple command – held solidly in its second week. Capitalizing on good reviews and word-of-mouth, “Shazam!” is Warner Bros.’ New Line’s latest DC Comics success.
It has grossed $94.9 million through Sunday with a worldwide total of $258.8 million.
Lionsgate and Millennium’s “Hellboy” had been expected by many to vie with “Shazam!” on the weekend. But on the heels of terrible reviews (15% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes), it flopped with $12 million against a $50 million budget.
“Missing Link” also missed. It opened with a disappointing $5.8 million, marking a new low for Laika, the maker of eccentric animated tales such as “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” “Missing Link,” distributed by United Artists Releasing, is about the discovery of a creature in the Pacific Northwest.
Expectations had varied widely for Aviron Pictures’ “After,” an adaption of Anna Todd’s 2014 best-seller. The young-adult drama fared well with $6.2 million in 2,138 theaters.
And “Mary Magdalene,” starring Rooney Mara as Mary and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus, finally opened, more than three years after production. Harvey Weinstein had once conceived of the film, directed by Garth Davis (“Lion”) as his next Oscar contender.