Dethroning last weekend’s newcomer, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” and claiming the top spot this weekend was Lionsgate Entertainment’s “Ender’s Game.”

The film, an adaptation of the acclaimed and celebrated sci-fi novel, opened at more than $27 million. While this is reasonably good, it is not especially impressive for an expensive production — an estimated $110 million to make. Though the opening for “Ender’s Game” pales in comparison to past epic young-adult adaptations like “Harry Potter,” “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight,” it is an improvement from other adaptations like 2006’s “Eragon” ($23.2 million) and 2007’s “The Golden Compass” ($25.8 million).

Despite being an acclaimed novel, there were multiple factors into the tepid opening of “Ender’s Game.” First, months of mixed buzz failed to attract moviegoers to the theaters, and those who did actually pay to see the film were not amazed, as evidenced by the film’s “B+” grade on CinemaScore and 60 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Additionally, the film has little star power, aside from a supporting role by Harrison Ford. And combined with the controversy surrounding author Orson Scott Card’s recently publicized anti-gay political views, one can see why many viewers were not persistent in going to see the film.

“Ender’s Game” could ultimately do well if it remains a strong holdover, performs well overseas and has great word-of-mouth. But that seems unlikely, given the current ratings on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes. More importantly, the film faces tough competition from “Thor: The Dark World” next weekend and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which opens in three weeks.

The second new release this week came from CBS Films’ old-timers comedy, “Last Vegas,” which opened in third place with $16.3 million. The opening gross marks the second-highest start ever for CBS Films, behind 2012’s “The Woman in Black,” which opened with $20.9 million.

Given its $28 million budget, “Last Vegas” will easily make a profit, which is good news for both CBS and the film’s star-studded cast, which includes Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Michael Douglas. With no major direct comedy competition coming in the near future and an “A-” CinemaScore grade that proves audiences enjoyed seeing the film, “Last Vegas” should have a successful run in theaters.

The final new release in the top 10 came from Relativity Media’s animated Thanksgiving comedy, “Free Birds,” which claimed the fourth spot with $15.8 million. “Free Birds” had an amazing opportunity to seize box office glory with its strategically scheduled opening — “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” just wrapped up after a six-week run — as the only choice for family audiences this weekend.

The film, however, could not attract a large amount of moviegoers — possibly because Relativity’s marketing department didn’t advertise the movie’s premise well. While the opening for “Free Birds” is lower than expected, the lack of animated films in the market right now could help “Free Birds” succeed during the run-up to Thanksgiving.

Published on November 5, 2013 at 9:27 pm