"Get Hard" had been dogged by controversy, as some questioned the tastefulness of humour that critics called homophobic and racist. Overall, the box office was up about 8 per cent from last year, according to box-office data firm Rentrak.
#HOME 2 MOVIE DREAMWORKS SERIES#
After a series of box-office disappointments, the studio cut about 500 jobs earlier this year.Īronson called the success of "Home" "indicative of the direction, quality-wise, that DreamWorks is going to get back to." One of the film's producers, Mireille Soria, was in January named co-president of DreamWorks Animation, along with "How to Train Your Dragon" producer Bonnie Arnold.ĭespite the lure of March Madness on TV screens, "Home" (which capitalized on the relative dearth of family-friendly options) and "Get Hard" drove moviegoers to theatres.
The strong performance of an original release, based on a children's book by Adam Rex, provides Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks with a welcome lift. Minorities made up more than half of the audience for "Home," according to Fox. "That just ends up broadening the appeal of the film." "It's a diverse cast and we drew a diverse audience, which I think is really special and something you don't see in animated films," said Chris Aronson, domestic distribution head for 20th Century Fox, the film's distributor. Jim Parsons, Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin round out the cast. She plays a teenage girl left alone after an alien invasion of Earth. And "Home" is the rare animated film led by an African-American girl protagonist (voiced by Rihanna). "Get Hard" united the fans of Hart and Ferrell, albeit while finding some criticism for its racial humour.
With a $100 million-plus debut expected next weekend for "Furious 7" - a franchise built on street-racing adrenaline and a diverse cast - Hollywood scored with two films that sought a variety of audiences. Last week's top film, the young-adult sequel "The Divergent Series: Insurgent," slid to third with $22.1 million. pairing of two of the most bankable stars in comedy. Though a distant second, "Get Hard" also opened strongly with an estimated $34.6 million, rewarding the Warner Bros. While the two films had been expected to vie for the top spot at North American theatres, "Home" came in well above expectations, handing DreamWorks Animation a much-needed hit. NEW YORK - Business was brisk at the weekend box-office, where the DreamWorks animated alien adventure "Home" beat out the Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart comedy "Get Hard" with a resounding debut of $54 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.