Baseball scored a rare hit in Hollywood over the weekend with the Jackie Robinson tale 42 topping all movies.
The film hit #1 with $27.3 million — a record for a baseball flick in terms of straight dollars, topping the $19.5 million debut of Moneyball in 2011. Factoring in higher ticket prices, the $13.7 million debut of 1992’s A League of Their Own would have been on par with 42 in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars.
It stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Brooklyn Dodgers boss Branch Rickey, who brought No. 42 onto the team in 1947 as the Major Leagues’ first black player.
Established franchise in Scary Movie 5 opened in second-place with $15.2 million, the smallest debut for the horror-comedy series. Three of the previous four installments had debuts of $40 million or more.
The Croods held steady at #3 with $13.2 million; G.I. Joe: Retaliation fell to #4 with $10.8; and last weekend’s top film, Evil Dead, closes out the top 5 with $9.5 million.
That’s a wrap for this weekend. This upcoming week, look out for the release of Tom Cruise’s sci-fi,Oblivion.
This weekend’s top 10 is as follows:
1. “42,” $27.3 million.
2. “Scary Movie 5,” $15.2 million.
3. “The Croods,” $13.2 million.
4. “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” $10.8 million.
5. “Evil Dead,” $9.5 million.
6. “Jurassic Park” in 3-D, $8.8 million.
7. “Olympus Has Fallen,” $7.3 million.
8. “Oz the Great and Powerful,” $4.9 million.
9. “Tyler Perry’s Temptation,” $4.5 million.
10. “The Place Beyond the Pines,” $4.1 million.
