Could Spielberg's BFG Be One Giant Flop?
- by Leland Aguilar
- in Entertaiment
- — Jul 14, 2016
"ORCRP0000017183-topic.html" class="local_link" >Warner Bros' "The Legend of Tarzan" swung higher than expected and Disney-Amblin's "The BFG" fell short of projections, it was "Finding Dory" that reigned supreme at the box office again, taking the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive week.
Tarzan came the closest to dethroning Dory with $US38.1 million with the BFG fourth with $US19.6 million. Looking back, the first in the now Purge trilogy stopped at $64.5 million in the U.S. while the sequel ended up higher, $72 million.
A remarkable contender for this long weekend is James DeMonaco's "The Purge: Election Year", since it opened with strong numbers and earned $14.5 million on Friday, topping the box office that day, as per Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press reports that Spielberg's Disney milestone was introduced with much fanfare, including a red carpet premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in France, making it even more disappointing that it hasn't done well at the box office this summer. Disney's The BFG only managed a $22 million four-day weekend, a huge disappointment for the Spielberg movie aimed at a younger audience. "The Purge: Election Year" made up for its low $10 million budget by grabbing nearly $31 million at the box office. The Finding Nemo sequel has now made $372 million domestically, which means it should outgross its predecessor in no time.
Dory this week grossed $76.3 million globally, now released in 41 countries, this brings its total gross now over the half billion mark to $538.2 million.
"Finding Dory" is still swimming its way up and is now the first with $50.5 million. However, critical reception has not affected The Purge: Election Year one bit, as the low-budget horror series (listed as costing $10 million) continues its phenomenal returns with an estimated $34.8 million on the weekend. Given that the Universal release, produced by Blumhouse Productions, cost a mere $10 million to make, it was the most lucrative opening of the week.
Opening in the number two spot is "The Legend of Tarzan" earning an estimated $38.1 million for its first three days in release. Rounding out the top five was the sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence" which added another $20 million to its tally for the holiday weekend. The shark-themed survival thriller has brought its total to $35.3 million and is definitely set to become Lively highest-grossing film that she's been the top star in.
Sadly, for the Steven Spielberg directed, The BFG, it stumbled in its opening weekend in the domestic box office.
