Box Office: 'Spectre' Back on Top, Angelina Jolie's 'By the Sea' Sinks

By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES, Nov 15 (Variety.com) - James Bond is back on
top, after "Spectre" led the U.S. box office for the second
weekend in a row.
Of course, the dashing super spy wasn't exactly facing off
against Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Its main competition was the
second weekend of "The Peanuts Movie" and a lackluster crop of
new releases such as the Chilean mining drama "The 33" and the
faith-based football film "My All American."
"Spectre" added $35.4 million to bring its domestic total to
$130.7 million. The weekend represents a 49% drop from its
opening. Sony is distributing the Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and Eon
Productions' film which carries an enormous $250 million price
tag.
"The Peanuts Movie" also showed some impressive endurance,
sliding only 45% to make $24.2 million. The Fox backed
adaptation of Charles Schulz's iconic comic strip about Snoopy
and Charlie Brown has earned $82.5 million stateside.
Not even two of the biggest stars in the world could keep
"By the Sea" afloat. The European art house influenced look at
marital dysfunction featured real life couple Angelina Jolie
Pitt and Brad Pitt as a bickering twosome. But the pleasures of
voyeurism extend only so far. "By the Sea" grossed a measly
$95,440 at 10 sites for a doleful per-screen average of $9,544.
Universal, the studio behind the picture, pegs the budget at $10
million, but industry figures believe the cost of the picture is
higher, citing its extended shoot in Malta.
Of the new wide releases, CBS Films' holiday-flavored "Love
the Coopers" fared best. The ensemble comedy about a family
gathering nabbed $8.4 million from 2,603 locations. Distributed
in conjunction with Lionsgate, "Love the Coopers" stars Diane
Keaton, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin and cost $17 million to
produce.
"The 33," a look at a group of trapped Chilean miners, was
less fortunate. The drama eked out $5.8 million from 2,452
theaters -- a poor showing and less than the $8 million to $10
million it was expected to generate. The film is backed by Alcon
Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. It cost $25
million to make.
And then there was "My All American," a true story about
college football player Freddie Steinmark whose career is
derailed due to medical setbacks. The film had hoped to snag the
faith-based crowds that made "War Room" and "God's Not Dead"
hits, but struggled to complete the play. "My All American"
earned a lowly $1.4 million in its debut.
Open Road's expanded release of "Spotlight," a look at the
Boston Globe's investigation of the Catholic Church sexual abuse
scandal, picked up $1.4 million from 60 theaters for a solid
per-screen average of $23,306. Its cume has hit $1.8 million.