Die Hard action beats love stories at box office
| Lisa Richwine & Chris Michaud |
THE fifth movie in the Bruce Willis “Die Hard” franchise scored the biggest box-office action over the US holiday weekend, beating out love story “Safe Haven”, which came in third for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
“A Good Day to Die Hard”, with Willis returning as the tenacious, wisecracking hero John McClane, pulled in US$25 million at US and Canadian theaters over the three days, according to studio estimates.
The tally was expected to approach a total of US$40 million for the five days that began with Thursday’s Valentine’s Day and ends with Monday’s Presidents’ Day holiday in the United States.
A poster featuring cast members Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney hangs behind a crowd as the actors met with fans to celebrate the opening of their new film “A Good Day to Die Hard” in New York February 13. REUTERS
“Die Hard” beat “Safe Haven”, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel that was aimed at luring couples during the week of Valentine’s Day.
The film, which stars Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, pulled in US$21.4 million over the three days.
Last weekend’s box office winner, the Melissa McCarthy comedy “Identity Thief”, stayed strong and ended up taking second place with US$23.4 million from Friday to Sunday.
Willis prevailed with his reprisal of a role he played four previous times starting with the original “Die Hard” in 1988.
Those movies grossed US$1.1 billion around the world and made Willis a global action star.
In the new movie, McClane travels to Russia to help his estranged son, a CIA operative played by Jai Courtney, in a fight to prevent a nuclear weapons heist.
Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox studio, said the film performed “right on par with our expectations”, which was near US$40 million for the five-day period.
Audiences were about 55 per cent male and 45 per cent female, with just over one-third under the age of 25 and two-thirds 25 and older, which Aronson said was in line with the franchise’s last instalment.
The opening was nearly double the total of the original “Die Hard”, adjusted for inflation, but down significantly from the previous three films in the franchise, according to figures from boxofficemojo.com.
The film added another US$61 million to its total at international box offices, performing especially well in Russia, Japan and the United Kingdom. (Reuters)
