After four outings, the Underworld franchise still has what it takes to perform at the box office as its latest installment racked up over $25 million for the 3-day period beginning Friday, January 20. For comparative purposes, look at a horizontal line and that will best resemble a graph for the series’ performances on their respective opening weekends. The Underworld movies are surprisingly consistent.
Not much has changed from Friday’s results in terms of order. Red Tails is still ranked number two with $19 million and Haywire (at number five) is still so-so with $9 million. Last week’s chart-toppers dropped off about 50% each with nothing too special to report. Originally it looked like Beauty and the Beast would drop in the 60%’s, but chalk that up to ‘weather related issues’/'Disney diehards going to see it on opening day.’ The re-release ended up with $8.6 million for the weekend which is off about 52%.
As for the box office’s overall health, the numbers are solid as audiences are showing up more than they did at this time last year. With next week’s release of The Grey starring Liam Neeson, ticket sales are not expected to slow down. If the actor’s recent track record holds up, Hollywood can count on at least a $20 million opening.