'Ben-Hur' Crashes Chariot With $11.4M Opening; 'Suicide Squad' Still No. 1
By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter
Timur Bekmambetov’s Ben-Hur was shut out of the box-office chariot race this weekend, debuting to a mere $11.4 million from 3,804 theaters despite a hefty production of nearly $100 million and getting beat by a pair of smaller new films, War Dogs and Kubo and the Two Strings.
Overall, Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad stayed No. 1 in its third weekend, grossing $20.7 million 3,924 theaters for a domestic total $262.3 million. The R-rated Sausage Party, from Sony and Annapurna, took second place with $15.3 million from 3,103 locations for a strong 10-day domestic total of $65.9 million. Sausage Party dipped 55 percent.
Ben-Hur — slammed by critics but earning an A- CinemaScore — is the latest sword-and-sandal movie to underperform. It also hoped to wow faith-based moviegoers, but even that effort lagged. (The film counts Hollywood Christians Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the producing team behind the 2014 hit movie Son of God and the 2013 miniseries The Bible, among its executive producers.)
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MGM, whose library includes the Oscar-winning 1959 film starring Charlton Heston, partnered with Paramount in making Ben-Hur and put up the majority of the financing.
Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi and Morgan Freeman star in the film, a reimagining of Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, not a remake of the classic 1959 film. (Burnett has billed the movie as a “story of forgiveness with an underlying story of Jesus.”)
Paramount’s Noah and Fox’s Exodus: Gods and Kings were likewise big-budget offerings that hoped to appeal to all demos, including faith-based moviegoers. Noah opened to a solid $47 million, while Exodus: Gods and Kings took in only $24 million.
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Todd Phillips’ first film since The Hangover trilogy, War Dogs, opened in third place with $14.3 million from 3,258 theaters. The war dramedy, earning a B CinemaScore, stars Miles Teller and Jonah Hill and is loosely based on the true story of two young Florida men who became international arms dealers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Overseas, War Dogs debuted to $6.5 million from 31 markets for a global blow of $20.8 million. The film cost just under $50 million to make.
The well-reviewed Kubo and the Two Strings, grabbing an A CinemaScore, placed No. 4 with an $12.6 million from 3,260 theaters. It’s the lowest opening for a Laika and Focus collaboration.
From Focus and Laika, Kubo centers on a young boy who embarks on a quest to unlock the secret of his legacy and fulfill his heroic destiny. Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rooney Mara and Matthew McConaughey star as the voice cast.
Holdover Pete’s Dragon and Ben-Hur ended the to be in a close race for fifth place. In its second weekend, Pete’s Dragon, from Disney, took in $11.3 million for a domestic total of $42.9 million and global total of $57.1 million.
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The critically acclaimed heist film Hell or High Water, from CBS Films and Lionsgate, continued to do nice business in its limited rollout, grossing $2.7 million as it expanded from 32 theaters into a total of 472 for an early domestic total of $3.5 million. The movie, billed as a modern-day Western, is scoring in both arthouses and in theaters across Texas, the Southwest and South. Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster star.
Also at the specialty box office, Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, finally opened at the specialty box office more than a year after premiering at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The historical biographical film, also starring Portman, debuted to a $36,000 from two theaters in New York and Los Angeles for an average of $18,000.
Focus Features’ division Focus World, a theatrical-VOD label, is handling Love and Darkness.
