‘Oz’ Box Office Balloons to $80M After Big Saturday; Worldwide Hits $150M

Disney's prequel to "Wizard of Oz" adds $70M from overseas

“Oz the Great and Powerful” surged on Saturday and rose to a lofty $80.3 million debut weekend at the North American box office.

It was a strong start for Disney's $200 million, 3D special-effects extravaganza, which also rolled out in 46 foreign markets to $69.9 million, giving it a $150.2 million opening weekend globally.

After a $24 million domestic debut Friday, which included $2 million in Thursday midnight shows, "Oz" brought in a whopping, family-fueled $33 million on Saturday, a 37 percent increase from its first day.

The big production budget — and a marketing campaign that cost at least half as much — made a big opening critical for Disney.

Also read: Hollywood Hopes 'Oz' Can Turn Tide for Ailing 2013 Box Office

“With the Disney brand and an iconic, revered property like this, of course it's a big bet,” Disney's head of distribution Dave Hollis told TheWrap. “But when you ally yourself with filmmakers like Sam Raimi and Robert Stromberg, you reduce some of the risks.”

“Oz” is directed by Raimi and stars James Franco as the young wizard and Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz as witches. Stromberg is the production designer and had the same role on the film most often compared with "Oz," the similarly big-budget and effects-laden “Alice in Wonderland.” That Disney film starred Johnny Depp and made more than $1 billion in 2010, with the vast majority –  $690 million – coming from abroad.

Russia was the biggest foreign market for "Oz," with $15 million. It took in $1.4 million on Imax screens there, an eye-popping $50,000 per screen. Other strong territories were the U.K. ($5.7 million), Mexico ($5.1 million) and Australia ($5 million).

Also read: 'Oz the Great and Powerful': What Critics Think of Sam Raimi's Emerald City Update

The U.S. opening by "Oz" is the biggest since December, when “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” debuted to $84 million, and the third biggest March debut ever. Only last year's “Hunger Games: and "Alice in Wonderland” have topped it with $152 million and $116 million, respectively.

Disney had “Oz” in 3,912 North American theaters. Around 3,055 of those screened it in 3D and 307 were Imax theaters, and the premium pricing at those locations helped. Theaters screening it in 3D provided 53 percent of the overall haul, and Imax theaters brought in 10 percent.

Also read: Disney Ups Box-Office Ante on 'Oz' With Massive Foreign Rollout

Couples accounted for 43 percent of the audience, families 41 percent and teens 16. The family number should rise after Saturday and Sunday are factored in. First-night crowds, 52 percent female, gave “Oz” a “B+” CinemaScore. They liked it better than most critics; it had a lukewarm 60 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Hollis said the broad demographic numbers were nice to see.

"You always hope you're going to hit that sort of broad audience," he told TheWrap on Sunday, "and the numbers say we did. It's the first big event film of the year, and we think we'll pick up some momentum, with the 'water cooler' factor and spring break coming up."

The big “Oz” numbers helped the slumping overall box office beat last year's comparable week, when “The Lorax” led the way with a $52 million second go-round. The box office was running about 15 percent behind last year coming into the weekend.

The massive debut for “Oz” is in marked contrast to that of Warner Bros.' “Jack the Giant Slayer,” a similarly pricey and effects-laden extravaganza that mustered just $27 million in its first three days last week. Running a distant second this week, “Jack” dropped 63 percent from last week and took in $10 million from 3,525 theaters.

The weekend's other wide opener, “Dead Man Down,” finished fourth with $5.3 million. Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace star in Film District's neo-noir revenge thriller. It drew a “B-” CinemaScore from first-night audiences, which broke down 60 percent male and 75 percent over 25 years of age. .

Universal's “Identity Thief," the R-rated Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman comedy, took in $6.3 million to finish third in its fifth week. Its overall domestic gross is now $116.5 million.

 

 

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