‘Deadpool’ tops ‘Gods of Egypt’ at box office

Whitewashed swords and sandals epic Gods of Egypt sank beneath the sands at the U.S. box office this weekend, a victim of scathing reviews and controversy over its casting of largely European actors as ancient Egyptian gods and mortals.

Proyas, who previously directed cult hits like The Crow and Dark City, wasn’t as apologetic following the film’s less than stellar performance over the weekend. But going home with $926 million domestic, and a total worldwide haul of just over $2 billion, ain’t too shabby.

“Triple 9”, the thriller from Open Road Films, jockeyed for third place with just $2.14 million, for a subpar $970 per-screen average. It remains a long shot, but it does appear that Deadpool does have a chance at $350 million domestic. Deadpool continues to run ahead of both American Sniper ($247.8 million after 17 days in wide release) and The Passion of the Christ ($240.3 million after 17 days), the 2nd and 1st top R-rated movies ever in the US. And rounding out the top five is the aforementioned Eddie The Eagle, which opened at $6.3 million. While it was the most critically-loved of the new releases this week (73% on RT), it had a relatively limited audience when you consider its slightly more obscure subject matter and the fact that Hugh Jackman has a mixed record for opening films that aren’t part of the X-Men franchise. The $23 million drama has yet to debut overseas (perhaps global markets are wisely choosing to open it during this year’s actual Olympic season to capitalize on the buzz?), but it’s expected to hold over well due to great word-of-mouth.

Meanwhile, lower down the charts, a couple of new entries duked it out for fifth place, and it was a photo finish in the end with Eddie the Eagle just nudging out Triple 9. That same year, Paramount’s Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson, fared somewhat better, grossing $244 million, but it sported a hefty production budget of $100 million.

Risen was down 42.3% with $6.8 million in 4th. Trust me, Mr. Proyas, you only become a critics if you have nothing but personal taste and opinions, and you only become a professional critic if you can express them in a lively, engaging, and informative manner.

In the last two slots, Race is finding itself dropping quickly with a second week estimate of $4.3 million (and a domestic total of $13.9 million on unreported budget numbers). It’s a bad start for a movie Lionsgate was hoping would at least take in $25 million to $27 million this weekend. Disney’s “Zootopia” has now spent two weeks in theaters internationally, with $80 million to show for it so far. Finally, there’s WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT starring Tina Fey.