Among the weekend's other new offerings, Disney's Muppets Most Wanted was a dud in its opening weekend, thanks in part to a saturated market for family titles.
The sequel, facing competition from holdovers Mr. Peabody & Sherman and The Lego Movie, opened to $16.5 million in North America to come in No. 2, compared to a $41 million launch forThe Muppets over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2011, including $29 million for the weekend. Nevertheless, Disney's financial exposure is limited, thanks to a reasonable $54 million budget.
And Muppets Most Wanted could make up ground overseas. It opened in its first eight markets over the weekend, grossing $1.5 million.James Bobin returns to direct the Muppets sequel, with Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey replacing Jason Segel and Amy Adams as the live-action leads. This time out, Kermit and the gang find themselves lured into an international crime caper while on tour in Europe. Muppets Most Wanted has earned solid-to-good reviews, compared to stellar notices for The Muppets. Audiences gave the movie a B+ CinemaScore.
Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis said the opening was "definitely disappointing," considering that prerelease tracking suggested Muppets Most Wanted had every shot at opening north of $20 million. However, he said there was never a comparison between the first film and the sequel, since Thanksgiving is a concentrated time for family moviegoing. "They are totally different propositions," he said.Hollis said Muppets Most Wanted should enjoy strong business in the coming days because of spring break.
And here's a link to thier initial review of the film:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/muppets-2/review/687759
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/muppets-2/review/687759
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