'Kung Fu Panda 3' tops Super Bowl weekend at box office
NEW YORK (AP) — The Coen brothers' "Hail, Caesar!" and the Jane Austen-monster mashup "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" followed distantly behind "Kung Fu Panda 3," which remained on top of the box office over Super Bowl weekend.
DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" sequel earned an estimated $21 million in its second weekend of release, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Joel and Ethan Coen's '50s Hollywood satire "Hail, Caesar!" opened in second place with an estimated $11.4 million in North American theaters for Universal Pictures.
Despite expectations of a No. 2 opening, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," bankrolled by Cross Creek Picture and released by Sony's Screen Gems, eked out a meager $5.2 million.
The best Super Bowl weekend remains the 2008 concert film "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus" ($31.1 million) followed by an earlier Sparks adaption, 2010's "Dear John" ($30.5 million).
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, called Super Bowl weekend a trade-off for studios that sacrifice a day of moviegoing for the promotional benefit of the game's mass audience.
A number of movie previews were set to play during the broadcast.
Playing in 2,232 theaters, "Hail, Caesar!" is one of the Coen brothers' more wide-opening movies, but it earned a dismal C-minus CinemaScore from audiences.
Starring Josh Brolin as a studio fixer in the classic Hollywood era and featuring George Clooney and Channing Tatum as '50s stars, "Hail, Caesar!" is the Coens' most broad comedy since their 2008 "Burn After Reading."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP