Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy western comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West debuted far back in third place, with $17.1 million. That is less than a third of the opening of the director’s 2012 comedy smash Ted. Unfunny trailers, poor reviews and a competitive marketplace did not do any favours for MacFarlane’s comedy. The $17.1 million opening was only slightly bigger than the first weekend of 2000’s Shanghai Noon ($15.6 million).
The film may have done better later in the summer, as comedy fans have been busy with Neighbors and are looking forward to 22 Jump Street on June 13. Westerns are also not an easy sell at the box office (see the lukewarm takes of Cowboys vs. Aliens and The Lone Ranger). After a mixed reception as Oscar host in 2013, many were also not pining to see MacFarlane’s face on the big screen. A Million Ways earned a moderate B CinemaScore as well, which means that it should drop out of the Top 10 within a few weeks.
With a monstrous opening two weekends ago, Godzilla looked primed for a $200 million-plus gross, but the film keeps dropping off at a substantial rate. The action thriller made $12.2 million in its third weekend, a 60 percent drop from last week. That is a pathetic third-weekend take for a movie that came close to breaking the nine-digit mark two weeks ago. With $174.7 million so far in North America, Gareth Edwards’ monster mash may miss the $200 million mark. Expect a final of around $195 million.
Holding up surprisingly well in fifth place was the Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore comedy Blended, with $8.4 million. After a disappointing start over the Memorial Day weekend, the Africa-set film boasted the second-smallest drop of any movie in the Top 10. That said, the film has grossed only $29.6 million, which is what many industry types thought Blended would make over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend. The film should end with around $45 million, which is only slightly better than the runs of Spanglish and That’s My Boy.
Here are the box office estimates for the Top 10 films at the North American box office, the weekend of May 30 through June 1, 2014:
1. Maleficent – $70 million (NEW)
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $32.6 million ($162.1 million total)
3. A Million Ways to Die in the West – $17.1 million (NEW)
4. Godzilla – $12.2 million ($174.7 million total)
5. Blended – $8.4 million ($29.6 million total)
6. Neighbors – $7.7 million ($128.6 million total)
7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – $3.8 million (192.7 million total)
8. Million Dollar Arm – $3.7 million ($28.1 million total)
9. Chef – $2 million ($6.9 million total)
10. The Other Woman – $1.4 million ($81.1 million total)
NOTE: These numbers are weekend estimates based on Friday and Saturday’s estimated takes. Actual numbers for the 3-day weekend are reported on Monday afternoon.