‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ Leads Box Office & ‘The Master’ Shatters Records

The box office came back to life this past weekend as Sony’s Resident Evil: Retribution claimed an estimated $21.1 million. The fifth installment of the franchise actually underperformed all its predecessors except for the original ($17.7 million) despite higher 3-D ticket prices.

Costing a reported $65 million, Retribution will likely turn a solid profit given the much higher interest in the franchise outside the US. The previous installment, Afterlife claimed only $60 million in North America but went on to collect an additional $236 million at the foreign box office. Males made up 64% of the audience with 45% under the age of 25.

Meanwhile, Disney re-released Pixar’s Finding Nemo in 3D and the animation managed to tally an estimated $17.5 million. The studio expected something between $23 and $27 million before the weekend but that said, this is still a solid performance for a movie that has now grossed $357.2 million to date.

What has Hollywood buzzing however is the financial performance of Paul Thomas Anderson’s much buzzed about drama, The Master. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, the film grossed $730,000 from only 5 theaters in New York City and Los Angeles.

The film’s per screen average of $146,000 effectively shatters the all-time record set by Moonrise Kingdom earlier this year. The movie will expand nationwide next Friday and it will be interesting to see whether this will translate into box office success. Expect this movie to play through the end of the year given the strong Oscar buzz surrounding it.

What did you watch this weekend? Tell us in the comments below!