We reported yesterday that the US box office weekend estimates – which are released on Sunday evening, based on real figures for Friday and Satuday, and only an estimate for Sunday – had put How To Train Your Dragon at the top of the pile, with Kick-ass managing to make it to number 2 on its American debut. At the time we also mentioned it was a tight race, and the final figure could switch things around.
And that’s exactly what’s happened, as it’s now been announced that Dragon made a little less than thought, Kick-Ass a little more, and that as a result, Matthew Vaughn’s film won out in the final tally with $19.8 million, with How To Train Your Dragon in second place with $19.6 million.
It does call into question the practice of releasing estimated grosses on a Sunday, as this is the second weekend in a row that the final figures have reversed the top two places, as last week Date Night topped the estimates but fell to second place in the final tally. For years people have suspected studios are deliberately massaging the figures, giving their Sunday estimate a bump because they know the value of the publicity they’ll get if they can say they’ve got the top film, even if it later drops to second place.
However, it’s certainly good news for Kick-Ass, which may not have done as well as many expected, but can at least now say it topped the US box office.