LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Smurfs are feeling a little blue this weekend.
The third installment in Sony’s animated series, “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” made its box-office debut in third place, with $14 million — far behind family-friendly holdovers “The Boss Baby” and “Beauty and the Beast,” according to studio estimates Sunday.
Featuring the voices of Demi Lovato and Joe Manganiello, “Smurfs,” which reportedly cost $60 million to make, has not charmed critics either. Its earnings were worse than the 2013 opening of “Smurfs 2,” which went on to gross $347.5 million worldwide despite a $17.5 million debut and a heftier $105 million price tag.
But the fate of the third “Smurfs” is not necessarily sealed, says ComScore’s senior media analyst, Paul Dergarabedian.
“There are other revenue streams for films like this,” Dergarabedian said, noting international profits and home video potential that could recoup production costs.
In first place, “The Boss Baby” added $26.3 million in its second weekend in theaters, bringing its North American total to $89.4 million. Sufficient buzz and the benefit of voice star Alec Baldwin’s popular portrayal of President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” likely helped the film succeed, Dergarabedian said.
Meanwhile, “Beauty and the Beast” earned $25 million to take second place at the box office. In four weeks, Disney’s live-action fairy tale has brought in $432.3 million domestically.
While the family films dominated, moviegoers had other options on a relatively quiet weekend. The tepidly reviewed buddy comedy “Going in Style,” starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin, opened in fourth place, with $12.5 million.
The faith-based drama “The Case for Christ” also launched with $3.9 million from 1,174 theaters.
In limited release, the Chris Evans drama “Gifted” took in $476,000 from 56 theaters, while the World War II drama “Their Finest” grossed $77,000 from four screens in New York and Los Angeles.
The relative quiet at the box office is ending soon. “The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth installment in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, speeds into theaters next weekend, followed by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” a few weeks later.
“There are a lot of box-office heavyweights looming on the horizon,” Dergarabedian said.
