After more than a decade, the Fast & Furious franchise continues to show its mettle, with the latest installment of the street racing series besting two powerful newcomers. In its second weekend, the film tumbled 64%, but with such a strong debut it was more than enough to hold on to the top spot. As director Justin Lin hands over the directing reins for the seventh film, he can go out knowing that the box office has grown for each chapter since he took over with 'Tokyo Drift'. Globally, this will be the second straight film to easily surpass the $500M mark, probably in the next couple of days.
2. Now You See Me- $28M
Boosted by a great ensemble cast and an exciting, easy to understand heist premise, Now You See Me edged out Will Smith's After Earth. It was always possible that audiences would react badly to another movie about magicians after the poor response to The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, but it looks like it was different enough that there was no backlash. Although screen veterans like Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine were probably big draws, along with Mark "Hulk" Ruffalo, the biggest winner is undoubtedly Jesse Eisenberg. Between The Social Network, Zombieland, and now this, he's proven to be a legitimate leading man draw.
3. After Earth- $27M
Usually a dominant force during the summer months, Will Smith's After Earth landed with a thud, and certainly the softest seasonal performance of his career. Such was his box office muscle that stepping away from major films for more than three years didn't really hurt Men in Black III's bottom line as it took in over $600M. Although it should be noted that was mostly thanks to international receipts, while domestically it merely performed better than expected. After Earth should have been a no-brainer hit, adding Will's talents with that of his son Jaden, who helped take The Karate Kid to $350M a couple of years ago. But there was an obvious backlash from audiences who realized it was Jaden, not Will, who was the film's dominant presence. That and a pedestrian marketing campaign that never fully spelled out the premise, a complaint that carried over to the poor critical response, doomed the film from the start. Unfortunately, this will also be another black mark for perennial punching bag, M. Night Shyamalan. This feeds into the popular opinion that he's a talentless hack whose moment has come and gone, although this wasn't his film as much as it was a Smith family collaboration. Despite the fact that all of his movies have made money, the stigma against him led to Sony mostly keeping his name out of the promotions.
4. Epic- $16.4M/$65.16M
Blue Sky Studios has another hit on their hands with Epic, as the animated film slipped 51%, for a better than expected haul of $65M total. Like nearly all of the studio's prior output, the film is doing gangbusters overseas where it's already surpassed $80M.
5. Star Trek Into Darkness- $16.4M/$181.15M
6. The Hangover Part III- $15.9M/$88M
Hey, remember this movie? Yeah, it's only the second weekend for the Wolfpack's final run, and already it seems like an afterthought. It's going to finish up way behind the first two movies, both domestically and worldwide, but will turn a tidy little profit for Warner Bros., who probably had no expectations for the franchise back when it first started. It's all gravy, at this point.
7. Iron Man 3- $8M/$384.75M
8. The Great Gatsby- $6.26M/$128.25M
9. Mud- $1.2M/$16.86M
10. The Croods- $615K/$180.5M
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