Weekend Box Office July 12-14: 'Pacific Rim' Fights for Its Life

Going into the weekend of July 12-14, the big question was whether or not “Pacific Rim,” the Guillermo del Toro-directed action pic about giant robots and sea monsters, could avoid the box-office curse that’s brought down most of this summer’s action extravaganzas, including “After Earth,” “White House Down” and “The Lone Ranger.” By Sunday afternoon, it was clear that “Pacific Rim,” while not a bomb, wasn’t going to be a blockbuster, either.

The studio projections posted by Box Office Mojo put the weekend take for “Pacific Rim” at a bit over $38 million, which is roughly in line with pre-release estimates, but which also leaves a lot of distance to make up if Warner Brothers hopes to recover the film’s $190-million budget.

More significantly, “Pacific Rim” placed third in the weekend’s box-office race, behind Adam Sandler’s “Grown Ups 2” and the persistent “Despicable Me 2.” Sandler’s comedy won second place, pulling in $42.5 million, which is already more than half of its production budget. “Despicable Me 2” saw its receipts reduced by almost half in its second week of release, but its $44.7 million payoff was enough to win the week.

So far, the summer’s only unqualified action winner has been “Iron Man 3,” which has taken in nearly twice its budget. “Man of Steel,” “Star Trek: Into Darkness” and “Fast and Furious 6” are also in the black, but by a lesser margin.

Weekend Box Office Results for July 12-14, 2013  Box Office Mojo.