Weekend box-office – 4th to 10th of April 2015 – will Dreamworks Get Hard or go Home?

Dreamworks Animation have had numerous smash hit franchises such as Shrek/Puss in Boots ($3.6 billion in five films), Madagascar ($1.8 billion in three films), Kung Fu Panda ($1.3 billion in two films) and How to Train Your Dragon ($1.1 billion in two films). Their recent efforts have varied in success with smash hit The Croods and the lagging behind likes of Turbo and Peabody and Sherman. Their newest effort, Home, is releasing this week but it is challenging the tough opposition of crime comedy Get Hard, starring bankable actors Will Ferrell (The Other Guys, Anchorman) and Kevin Hart (Rise Along, The Wedding Ringer). Last week we predicted that Dreamworks would take the title.

US:

1. Home – Tim Johnson – $52.1 million
2. Get Hard – Etan Cohen – $33.8 million
3. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke – $21.5 million
4. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – $17 million
5. It Follows – David Robert Mitchell – $3.8 million

UK:

1. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – £3.8 million
2. Home – Tim Johnson – £2.6 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – £2.3 million
4. Get Hard – Etan Cohen – £1.4 million
5. Insurgent – Robert Schwnetke – £1.3 million

It’s been a week dominated by four big hits, topped by home, with the indie horror hit It Follows creeping up into fifth place. The UK has crowned Cinderella as its victor for the second week running. While Insurgent, American Sniper and Fifty Shades of Grey have all been greatly successful next week’s Fast and Furious 7 ought to be the first film to breach the $100 million mark in its opening weekend this year. This week I’ve scored 7/10.

US:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
2. Home – Tim Johnson
3. Get Hard – Etan Cohen
4. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh

UK:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
2. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
3. The Water Diviner – Russell Crowe
4. Home – Tim Johnson
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt

The characters of Jim Parsons and Rihanna in Home, this week’s US number one.

Lily James in Cinderella, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 28th of January to 6th of February 2015 – will Fifty Shades retain its top spot?

Last week, The graphic adaptation of the novel Fifty Shades of Grey opened with incredible figures both sides of the Atlantic with $85 million in the US and £13 million in the UK. It seems set for another week of incredible takings but its not thriving as well as expected. Its low takings might be setting up spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service for a second week comeback while sequel Hot Tub Time Machine 2, comedy The DUFF and sports drama McFarland USA compete to grace the top five.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Director: Sam Taylor Johnson – $22.6 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $18.3 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $16.6 million
4. McFarland USA – Niki Caro – $11 million
5. The DUFF – Ari Sandel – $10.8 million

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £4.6 million
2. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £2.6 million
3. Shaun the Sheep Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £2.4 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – £1.2 million
5. The Wedding Ringer – Jeremy Garelick – £1 million

Its been an almost non-mover week besides the low ranking new entries. Despite keeping the number one spot, Fifty Shades has suffered a catastrophic 75% drop. Hot Tub Time Machine two is a dire flop with a mere $6 million in seventh place. This week I’ve scored 2/10

US:

1. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
2. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
4. The Sponge Bob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt
5. McFarland USA – Niki Caro

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
3. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams
4. Shaun the Sheep Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
5. It Follows – David Robert Mitchell

Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey, this week’s US and UK number one.