'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' Tops Box Office
by Shannon Keirnan
“Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” is sweeping the box office at the moment. Surprised?
The Grimm fairy tale stars “The Avengers” actor Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. The 3-D flick grossed $19 million and made its way to the top of the domestic box office this weekend.
Still, it opened lower than expected, especially with high projections for the 3-D version. Industry professionals are blaming the weather for keeping people inside over the weekend, and out of theaters. The overall box office numbers were down 15% from last year, as snow flew and people were less inclined to brave the snow and ice and venture out.
The R-rated witch-hunting flick also opened in 19 overseas markets, bringing in $25 million from that venue.
The film was created with a $50 million budget, so the pressure is on to make up the difference.
Being only open to adults may have taken a piece of the profit. Only 43% of audience goers were under 25.
“Mama,” the terrifically scary thriller by Guillermo del Torro, claimed a large percentage of young female movie-goers, possibly stealing them away from “Hansel and Gretel.”
“Mama” ranked second in the box office this weekend with $12.9 million. It opened number one last weekend.
The celebrity-sprinkled “Movie 43,” however, opened to only $5 million. Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez’s “Parker” managed to make it into the top five with $7 million.
“Zero Dark Thirty” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” both up for Oscars, stayed strong in the top five.