It wasn’t unexpected, but it’s still a good thing to see – especially after a crummy year so far at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, “Oz: The Great and Powerful” lived up to its name, bringing in $80.2 million during the March 8-10 weekend.
This strong, opening weekend made the Sam Raimi-directed film the third highest debut for a March release, behind 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” ($116 million) and last year’s “The Hunger Games” ($152 million). It also became the best opening for a film released in 2013 so far, more than doubling what “Identity Thief” earned during its debut in February ($35 million). With a B+ rating on Cinemascore, and some weak competition opening next weekend, “Oz” could prove to be “powerful” in its second week, too – which is good for the $215 million-budgeted Disney release.
Speaking of competition, “Oz” dominated all the other films in the top five. Not a single one came even close to beating the film. The only other new release, “Dead Man Down,” was dead on arrival – taking the number four spot with just $5.3 million.
It looks like Warner Bros.’ “Jack the Giant Slayer” will become the “John Carter” of 2013. After winning the box office last weekend with a mere $28 million, the $195 million-budgeted, mythical adventure plummeted 63.2 percent in its second weekend – coming in second with just $10 million. Its total now stands at $43.8 million.
“Identity Thief” is still going strong as the number one grossing film so far this year, but it won’t be long before “Oz” strips it of that title. Coming in third place, the Melissa McCarthy-starring feature earned $6.3 million, bringing its total to $116.5 million.
Rounding out the top five was “Snitch.” The Dwayne Johnson-starring thriller earned $5.1 million, bringing its total to $31.8 million.
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