CAPTION: Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner star in “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.”
This weekend, “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” hunted down the No. 1 spot at the box office with $19 million from 3,372 theaters. Although “Hansel and Gretel” can hardly be called a fairy-tale success at this point, it proved far more bewitching than fellow newcomers “Parker” and “Movie 43,” which were left with only bread crumbs in their sad debut frame.
Paramount and MGM spent $50 million to produce “Hansel and Gretel,” which was shot in 2011 and originally scheduled to be released in March 2012. Distributor Paramount moved the film’s release to this month to capitalize on star Jeremy Renner, whom the studio hoped would blossom into a true box-office draw following “The Avengers” and “The Bourne Legacy.” (It also seems likely that “Hansel and Gretel” got placed in January due to its poor quality — January tends to be a dumping ground for studios’ stinkers.) Whether or not Renner had anything to do with it, the date change proved at least somewhat effective — “Hansel and Gretel” outgrossed the last supernatural fantasy with Hunter in the title, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” which staked a weak $16.3 million in its debut frame.
3-D showings of “Hansel and Gretel” accounted for 55 percent of its weekend gross, while IMAX made up 11 percent of the total. Due to its R rating, the Grimm tale played primarily to older audiences — 57 percent of crowds were above the age of 25, and 55 percent were male. Audiences issued the film a lukewarm “B” CinemaScore grade, so it seems unlikely that Hansel and Gretel will achieve strong word of mouth. Fortunately for Paramount (the studio suffered a rough winter with Jack Reacher, The Guilt Trip, Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away, and Rise of the Guardians — which passed $100 million this weekend), the film has already earned $35.8 million from international territories representing about 40 percent of the overseas market.
Last weekend’s box office champ, Mama, dropped 55 percent into second place with $12.9 million. With $48.7 million after 10 days, Universal’s $15 million horror entry has officially surpassed Gangster Squad as 2013′s highest grossing release. Of course, that will change faster than you could say “Iron Man 3,” but it’s an impressive performance nonetheless.
-Grady Smith(EW,com)