'Gatsby' Not Great Enough to Defeat 'Iron Man'
Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're not ready for flapper girls to be a thing again. How depressingly 2010.
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1. Iron Man 3 (Buena Vista): $72.5 millions in 4,253 theaters [Week 2]
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Tony Stark was able to maintain his stranglehold on the domestic box office for another week. He had to fend off the drunken efforts of a moneyed party boy, so it was nothing he couldn't handle. It's now far and away the biggest earner domestically of 2013, surpassing Oz: the Great and Powerful. Also, Iron Man will surpass $1 billion worldwide, thanks to 3D and Imax ticket sales, some time this week. And the Marvel money train chugs along...
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2. The Great Gatsby (Warner): $51.1 million in 3,535 theaters
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But Gatsby! Oh, Gatsby! You were supposed to be this extravagant summer event that blew our pants off and swept us away to the roaring 20s. But alas, you've settled for second place. You'll always end up face down in the pool if you keep putting in performances like this, old sport.
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3. Pain & Gain (Paramount): $5 million in 3,303 theaters [Week 3]
If you haven't already done so, please go read Molly Lambert's excellent essay on P&G and Spring Breakers and crazy people in Florida who ignore the second half of Scarface. It's wonderful, and she's wonderful, and it's about crazy people in Florida. What's not to love?
4. Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (Fox): $4.9 million in 2,041 theaters
Based on the title, The Box Office Report assumes this movie doesn't star real people. Instead Perry made a movie using everyone's favorite Easter treat, Peeps. The timing of the release is a little off, but forgive him. He made a movie with Peeps for heaven's sake.
5. 42 (Warner): $4.7 million in 2,930 theaters [Week 5]
This might be the strongest May on record. We get Star Trek next week, then the new Fast & Furious, and then the month closes with Now You See Me, that Jesse Eisenberg magician movie with the sneaky good cast that could be the underrated hit of the summer. Let's hope June and July don't suck.
