Little horror movie "The Purge" beat all expectations this weekend, slashing past "The Internship" and racing ahead of blockbuster "Fast & Furious 6."
Like "F&F 6," the $3 million budget thriller also comes from Universal, earning more than three times its cost opening weekend.
Universal's having a great year so far with films also including "Identity Thief" and Tom Cruise's "Oblivion."
Google movie, "The Internship" didn't flop; however, it didn't beat the opening weekend earnings of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson's last adventure together onscreen, 2005's "Wedding Crashers" ($33.9 million).
Meanwhile, Joss Whedon's ("The Avengers") remake of "Much Ado About Nothing" was a big hit in its limited five-screen release. The film took in $183,000 in New York, L.A., and Washington, D.C.
Out of the top ten this week are Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey's indie film "Mud." The Jeff Nichols movie has earned $18.6 million.
The Bollywood film "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" which creeped into the top ten last week also dropped three spots this week.
Here are this week's winners and losers at the box office:
10. Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" remake holds on with $4.2 million to round out the top ten. In five weeks, the Leonardo DiCaprio film has earned $279 million worldwide. Good news for Warner Bros. since the latest "Hangover" movie wasn't as big of a draw as thought.
9. "iron Man 3" moves down two spots with $5.8 million. Worldwide, the film has earned $1.2 billion. Last year's "The Avengers" earned $1.5 billion by the end of its theatrical run.
8. "The Hangover Part III" continues its descent at the box office with $7.4 million in week three. The film is faring much better overseas with nearly 63% of its earnings abroad. Worldwide, the film has earned $273 million so far.
7. "After Earth" takes a 59% plunge during its second week at theaters with $11.2 million. The film is doing slightly better overseas and has earned $95 million worldwide.
6. "Star Trek Into Darkness" falls two spots earning $11.7 million. After a month in theaters J.J. Abrams' sequel to his 2009 hit closes in on $400 million worldwide.
5. The only animated film in the top ten, "Epic" stays exactly where it was last week with $12.1 million. After three weeks, the picture has earned $189.6 million for DreamWorks Animation.
4. Google film "The Internship" managed to bring in $18.1 million, but still fails to draw a large audience. While the film earned more than either of the actor's last single films — "The Watch" earned $12.7 million, while Wilson's 'Hall Pass" brought in $13.5 million — the film didn't fare better than 2005's "Wedding Crashers." This shows audiences are either over the once-comedic pairing or weren't impressed with the lackluster reviews of an in-your-face Google movie.
3. Magic film, "Now You See Me" continues to captivate audiences bringing in $19.5 million in week two. The Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg film is earning most (95%) of its $65 million earnings domestically.
2. "Fast & Furious 6" may have made it to $500 million at the box office worldwide this past week — and is well on its way to $600 million; however, its $19.7 million haul wasn't enough to keep The Rock and Vin Diesel in first place.
1. It was small, creepy thriller "The Purge" starring Ethan Hawke that took off at the box office this weekend. Though it was easy to blast past $20 million, the film, which cost $3 million to produce was expected to earn $21 million opening weekend originally. After a $3.4 million opening Thursday night and $16.7 million Friday, analysts thought the film may hit north of $30 million. After its first weekend, "The Purge" debuted to $36.4 million.
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