Box Office: 'Furious 7' Takes Third Straight Weekend; 'Paul Blart' Cops Impressive $24 Million Haul

By Pamela McClintock

Kevin James’ family friendly Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 opened to a solid $24 million from 3,633 theaters at the North American box office, coming in No. 2 behind Furious 7.

Furious 7 — which has already jumped the $1 billion mark globally for Universal — won its third consecutive weekend with $29 million from 3,694 locations, pushing its domestic total to $294.4 million. Weekend international numbers weren’t immediately available.

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Coming in No. 3 was Unfriended. From Universal and Blumhouse, the microbudgeted horror-thriller opened to $16 million from 2,739 theaters. The movie, galvanizing younger moviegoers, cost a mere $1 million to make.

While Mall Cop 2 met industry expectations, it came in behind the debut of Paul Blart: Mall Cop over the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in 2009. That film, a surprise hit, earned a stellar $31.8 million for the three days and $39.2 million for the four days.

James was keen on making Mall Cop 2, which cost a relatively modest $30 million to make. The sequel was skewered by critics and sports a zero percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the first film wasn’t a favorite of critics either but did manage a 33 percent fresh rating. Mall Cop 2 fared better with moviegoers, who gave it a B- CinemaScore overall. And among those 18 and under, it nabbed an A- CinemaScore.

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This time out, James’ character takes his family on vacation to Las Vegas, but duty quickly calls. Directed by Andy Fickman and co-produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison, Mall Cop 2 co-stars Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough and Shirley Knight.

Outside of the Grown Ups franchise, Mall Cop 2 is James’ best live-action opening since the first Mall Cop, besting Here Comes the Boom ($11 million), Zookeeper ($20 million) and The Dilemma ($17 million).

Unfriended is the latest collaboration between Universal and and Blumhouse following The Purge franchise, Ouija and The Boy Next Door. Unfriended unfolds completely over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure seeking vengeance for a shaming video that led to another girl killing herself.

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Timur Bekmambetov produced Unfriended alongside writer Nelson Greaves. Levan Gabriadze directed the R-rated movie, which is tracking best among moviegoers between the ages of 17 and 24.

Also opening this weekend nationwide was Disney’s critically acclaimed nature documentary Monkey Kingdom, which earned an estimated $4.7 million from 2,012 theaters, a respectable showing. The film placed No. 7 and earned an A- CinemaScore. The studio’s Disneynature films are part of a broad conservation program.

Making a smaller play was Lionsgate/Summit’s Child 44, a Stalin-era thriller starring Tom Hardy and Noomi Repace that opened to a disappointing $600,000 from 510 theaters. Adapted from the bestselling book by Tom Rob Smith, the $50 million movie was produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House).

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At the specialty box office, El Machina continued to impress in its second outing. The edgy sci-fi film, from A24 Films, is now playing in a total of 39 theaters and should post a stellar theater average north of $21,000 for the weekend, the best of any film.

Watch cast members discuss dealing with the loss of Paul Walker below: