Box Office Rundown: Immortals gains a disappointing win

While Tower Heist and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas disappointed last weekend, the box office picked a little this week with the opening of Immortals and a surprisingly strong debut for Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill. We’ll see if Immortals and Jack and Jill hang on next weekend, but with Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Happy Feet Two premiering all signs point to no.

1. Immortals 

Release Date: 11/11
Estimated Weekend Take: $32,000,000
Budget: $75,000,000

Directed by Tarsem Singh, the film stars Henry Cavill as Theseus, a mortal man called on by Zeus to stop King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) from seizing a weapon that could destroy humanity. Relativity has been pushing Immortals for a while now and the comparisons with 300 (and it’s $70 million opening) are endless ,so really the opening weekend is a tad on the disappointing side even if it did perform well internationally as well.

2. Jack and Jill

Release Date: 11/11
Estimated Weekend Take: $26,000,000

Adam Sandler stars as both Jack and his twin sister in Denis Dugan’s new film Jack and Jill. Dugan and Sandler are usually a lucrative yet hollow team, but the appearance of Al Pacino is a bit of a head-scratcher.

3. Puss in Boots

Release Date: 10/28
Estimated Weekend Take: $25,500,000
Budget: $130,000,000

Now in its third week, the lovable and durable Puss in Boots drops from number one down to number three. Looks like the Shrek franchise still has life in it.

4. Tower Heist

Release Date: 11/4
Estimated Weekend Take: $13,200,000
Budget: $75,000,000

Brett Ratner’s comedy Tower Heist fell from number two to number four this weekend. It stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy as two would-be thieves out to rob the residence of a wealthy business man after trusting him with their money. Panned by critics, one has to wonder if Ratner and Murphy’s recent headlines helped ticket sales.

5. J. Edgar 

Release Date: 11/11
Estimated Weekend Take: $13,000,000

Clint Eastwood’s look at the life and career of lawman J. Edgar Hoover debuts with middling numbers, despite the presence of  Leo Dicaprio in the lead. Check out our review here.