Box Office: 'Mr. Peabody' Bests 'Need for Speed'; 'Veronica Mars' Opens to $2M

1. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $21.2M/$63.1M
In a surprising development, Dreamworks' animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman has jumped to the head of the class with $21.2M, only slipping 33% from last week. Part of that has to do with a weak crop of new releases, coinciding with 300: Rise of an Empire taking an epic tumble. Still, it has to make Dreamworks happy that the film has earned more than $130M worldwide in only two weeks.
2. 300: Rise of an Empire- $19.1M/$78.1M
This..is...Sparta....falling off a cliff. The 58% drop by 300: Rise of an Empire is stiffer than Zack Snyder's 300, and the film is unlikely to match its overall total. It continues to perform well, overall, amassing $166M and increasing our chances of seeing one more battle in the Persian War.
3. Need for Speed- $17.8M
Dreamworks occupies two of the top three slots this week, but there's no denying Need for Speed's $17.8M is a disappointment. The live-action racer probably drew in those who eagerly snap up the bestselling video game while everybody else just saw it as Fast & Furious lite. Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul now falls into the same category as Pompeii star Kit Harington as TV actors not quite ready for the Hollywood major leagues. Fortunately, $45M in overseas box office should go a long way in calming the nerves of anxious studio bean counters.
4. Non-Stop- $10.6M/$68.8M
5. Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club- $8.3M
It's been diminishing returns on Tyler Perry movies, especially non-Madea ones, for awhile now which explains why Lionsgate ended their distribution deal with him. And now to follow that news up with the dreadful $8.3M debut of The Single Moms Club, things just aren't looking very good for Perry. It's the worst of his career and the first time he's had a sub-$10M opening weekend, and a lot of it has to do with a general lack of buzz surrounding the film. It's a knock on both Perry and co-star Nia Long that their names, and apparent on-screen romance, didn't prove much of a draw.
6. The LEGO Movie- $7.7M/$236.9M
7. Son of God- $5.4M/$50.8M
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel- $3.6M/$4.7M
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel broke per site average records last week, and upon expansion to 66 theaters it continues to scorch. Averaging more than $55K in its second weekend, it expands into wider release soon. With an additional $10M earned internationally, there's a good chance it matches the $68M run of last year's Moonrise Kingdom.
9. Frozen- $2.1M/$396.3M
10. Veronica Mars- $2.02M
And the marshmallows turned out in force to support their girl, Veronica Mars. Seven years after the low-rated but beloved series went off the air, the Kickstarter funded film opened in 291 theaters and On Demand. It's a move that has never been attempted before on this scale, with Warner Bros. going through great pains to get the film in as many theaters as possible. Obviously, it worked out as the $2M makes a major dent in the tiny $6M budget, and that doesn't count what the movie will make through digital downloads and Blu-Ray sales. If show creator Rob Thomas can keep the costs low this could be the model for sequels down the road.

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New Trailer for Tyler Perry's 'The Single Mom's Club'

Tyler Perry has often depicted the struggles of being a solo parent in his films, and now he's about to take on the issue again in The Single Mom's Club. Starring Nia Long, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Amy Smart, Zulay Henao, and Cocoa Brown, the story centers on five struggling single mothers brought together after an incident at their kids' school. Realizing they have more in common than expected, they form a support group and inspire one another to throw themselves at guys again make the most out of life.

Terry Crews and Eddie Cibrian co-star as the "guy candy", and Perry still hasn't taken out that awkward scene of him mackin' on Long.  Tyler Perry's The Single Mom's Club opens on March 14th.

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Trailer for Tyler Perry's 'The Single Moms Club' Starring Nia Long and Terry Crews

In a few days Tyler Perry will take a dump all over the holidays with A Madea Christmas, the commercials for which should be enough to keep you away from mall Santas for an eternity. It'll probably reel in some hefty coin, though, and will keep him making other, supposedly more serious movies like The Single Moms Club, which asks him to stop dressing like a woman and start hanging out with them.

The first trailer for the film has been released, and the greatest takeaway from it is the great cast Perry has put together. Starring Nia Long, Wendi McLendon-Covey, the vastly under-utilized Amy Smart, Terry Crews, Eddie Cibrian, and Perry himself (not so great), the film centers on a group of single moms brought together by an incident at their children's school. They form a sort of support group for single parents but it looks like all they really do is try to hook one another up with dates, because apparently that's all single women have to worry about it. Where can they find a man?

So harmless this probably won't be, especially if there's more than one scene of Perry trying to flirt with Nia Long. Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club opens March 14th 2014.

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