Box Office

From ew, Identity Thief (CinemaScore: B) fared even better than expected, bringing in $36.6 million over the weekend across 3,141 theaters. For comparison, Melissa McCarthy’s last major film, Bridesmaids (though it was in a supporting role) opened at $26.2 million, in 2,918 theaters. With an opening like this, big things are surely expected from Seth Gordon’s R-rated comedy which has already surpassed its $35 million production budget. Though Bateman and Gordon had a successful run with Horrible Bosses after a $28.3 million opening weekend in July 2011, Bateman hasn’t had this kind of luck with most of his starring roles. Universal’s The Change-Up (with Ryan Reynolds) opened at $13.5 million in August 2011 and went on to gross only $37.1 million domestically, on a $52 million production budget. Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies took second place for its second weekend with $11.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $36.7 million. This breaks Levine’s record, beating the lifetime domestic gross of his last feature, the cancer dramedy 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which brought in $35 million.

The R-rated Hitchcock-style, prescription-drug thriller Side Effects (CinemaScore: B) ended up beating director Steven Soderbergh’s January 2012 weekend opening of Haywire, earning $10 million weekend this weekend and averaging $3,845 per theater. We talked a little bit about stars Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum’s box office history yesterday. Another star of Side Effects is Jude Law, and he’s got a varied track record at the box office. He generally participates in ensemble casts – Anna Karenina, the Sherlock Holmes franchise, Soderbergh’s Contagion, The Holiday – making his singular box office appeal somewhat more elusive. Side Effects has Soderbergh’s name and another strong ensemble, and could go on to a respectable run, even though it won’t reach Contagion heights (the epidemic thriller eventually grossed $76 million).

Rounding out the top five are Silver Linings Playbook and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The Academy Award-nominated Silver Linings Playbook is now at a cool $90 million domestically. The Weinstein Company’s $21 million David O. Russell feature is steadily on its way to becoming a $100 million movie. This would be a first for Russell whose The Fighter came close with $93.6 million in domestic grosses. The $83 million Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters came in fifth place this weekend with $5.8 million, bumping its domestic total to $43.8 million. Notably, the Jeremy Renner vehicle is doing quite well overseas with $84 million.

1. Identity Thief – $36.6 million
2. Warm Bodies – $11.5 million
3. Side Effects – $10 million
4. Silver Linings Playbook – $6.9 million
5. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters – $5.8 million

Top Gun 3D also opened in 300 theaters to a $1.9 million weekend, and awards favorite Argo expanded its release to bring in $2.5 million, bumping its domestic total to $123.7 million.