‘A Good Day To Die Hard’ Wins The Weekend Box Office With $25 Million!

As iconic action hero John McClane of the Die Hardfranchise would say — yippe-ki-yay.

After a touch-and-go start, Bruce Willis starrer A Good Day to Die Hard has pulled ahead of rivals Safe Haven and holdoverIdentity Thief to narrowly win Presidents Day weekend with a three-day gross of $25 million. The 20th Century Fox pic is now projected to earn $30 million for the full holiday weekend, pushing its five-day debut to $38.3 million (both Die Hard and Safe Havenopened on Valentine’s Day).

Melissa McCarthy–Jason Bateman’s R-rated comedy Identity Thief has plenty of reason to laugh in its second weekend. Declining a narrow 33 percent, the Universal pic came in No. 2 for the weekend with $23.4 million. Its projected Friday-Monday gross is $27.7 million for a domestic haul of $75 million through Monday.

Relativity Media’s Nicholas Sparks film adaptation Safe Haven remains a big winner as well, even at No. 3. Fueled by younger females, the romantic drama grossed $21.4 million for the three day weekend, and should earn $25 million for the four days.

Pairing Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, Safe Haven wasn’t expected to open much past $25 million; now, it should finish Monday with $34 million in the bank. Safe Haven narrowly won Valentine’s Day and tied with Die Hard on Friday.

Die Hard had been widely expected to amass a five day gross in the $40 million to $45 million range.Dismal reviews likely are hurting the R-rated film since the franchise’s fan base is older and more influenced by a critic’s opinion. Those who are turning out gave the film a B+ CinemaScore.

Live Free or Die Hard, the previous installment in the series and rated PG-13, posted a five-day debut of $48.4 million when opening on the eve of the Fourth of July holiday in 2007.

In A Good Day to Die Hard, the iconic action hero John McClane travels to Moscow to rescue his son (Jai Courtney), a CIA operative who’s in some nasty trouble.

Fueled by younger female moviegoers, Relativity’s Safe Haven received even worse notices than Die Hard but is more review-proof. The romantic drama also drew a B+ CinemaScore.

Safe Haven is directed by Lasse Hallstrom and stars Julianne Hough as a young woman who returns to her hometown only to be gripped by a dark secret from her past, even as she falls for a stranger (Josh Duhamel).

Animated 3D family entry Escape From Planet Earth, opening on Friday, is holding steady at No. 4, grossing a solid $16.1 million for the three day weekend. From the Weinstein Co., the pic should post a four day opening gross of $21 million.

Escape From Planet Earth is the first theatrical feature from Rainmaker Entertainment. Its voice cast is led by Brendan Fraser, Jessica Alba, Rob Corddry and Sarah Jessica Parker. WilliamShatner plays the evil alien Shanker.

The holiday’s fourth new wide release, Beautiful Creatures has fared poorly. The movie, based on the popular YA book series, grossed $7.5 million for the three day weekend and is projected to post a five day opening of only $11.6 million, well less than expected.

From Alcon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros., Beautiful Creatures was bested by fellow YA film adaptation Warm Bodies, which took in $2.6 million for the three day weekend to come in No. 5 in its third frame and pushing its domestic cume to $50.2 million.

Directed and scripted by Richard LaGravenese, Beautiful Creatures is the latest film property to be based on a young-adult book series. Beautiful Creatures stars Alice Englert and AldenEhrenreich and is being distributed by Warner Bros. via its deal with Alcon. Jeremy Irons andViola Davis also star in the film based on the first book in the Caster Chronicles series by KamiGarcia and Margaret Stohl.

The movie revolves around Lena Duchannes (Englert), whose special powers have long kept her separated from others. Moving to a new town, she quickly captures the attention of Ethan Wate(Ehrenreich), but their budding relationship is threatened by an ancient battle between good and evil.

Below are estimates for the Feb. 15-17 weekend at the domestic box office. Full results for the four-day weekend will be posted tomorrow.

Title, Weeks in release/theater count, studio, three-day weekend total, cume (*denotes Oscar best picture nominee)

1. A Good Day to Die Hard, 1/3,553, Fox, $25 million, $33.2 million

2. Identity Thief, 1/3,141, Universal, $23.4 million, $70.7 million

3. Safe Haven, 1/3,223, Relativity, $21.4 million, $30.3 million

4. Escape From Planet Earth, 1/3,288, The Weinstein Co, $16.1 million

5. Warm Bodies, 3/2,897, Summit, $9 million, $50.2 million

6. Beautiful Creatures, 1/2,950, Warner Bros., $7.5 million, $10 million

7. Side Effects, 2/2,605, Open Road, $6.2 million, $19 million

8. *Silver Linings Playbook, 14/2,202, The Weinstein Co., $6.1 million, $98.5 million

9. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, 4/2,103, Paramount/MGM, $3.5 million, $49.8 million

10. *Zero Dark Thirty, 9/1,522, Sony/Annapurna, $3.1 million, $88 million

Box Office Report: Arnold “The Last Stand” Terminated by ‘Mama’ !

In a box office upset, new horror pic Mama — starring Zero Dark Thirty’s Jessica Chastain — is easily winning the long Martin Luther King weekend and badly beating two films packing plenty of male heat, the Mark Wahlberg–Russell Crowe action-thriller Broken City and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand.

Mama, from Universal, is projected to top the four-day holiday weekend with a better-than-expected $33.2 million after taking in $28.1 million for the three-day stretch.

Broken City is expected to gross $10 million for the four-day weekend after a disappointing three-day take of $9 million. The movie, from Emmett/Furla Films and New Regency, received dismal reviews, although it earned a B CinemaScore. Broken Cityall but tied with holdover Gangster Squad for No. 4.

From Lionsgate, Last Stand came in at a lackluster No. 9 after earning $6.3 million for the three-day weekend. The gun-laden action pic, which is expected to gross $7.4 million for the four days, marks Schwarzenegger’s first leading role since 2003 and doesn’t bode well for the actor’s planned return to stardom. Nearly 80 percent of the audience was over the age of 25.

Chastain has plenty of reason to celebrate — Sony and Annapurna’s Zero Dark Thirty is holding at No. 2 with a three-day gross of $17.6 million and a projected four-day take of $21.4 million. That gives her the top two spots at the domestic box office.

Zero Dark Thirty is one of four Oscar best picture contenders enjoying a noticeable bump from awards attention. David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook is the weekend’s most noticeable example as it expanded nationwide, grossing $11.4 million to come in No. 3 and pushing its total to $56 million.

Silver Linings is expected to take in $14.2 million for the four-day holiday weekend in a major victory for The Weinstein Co. Many box office observers thought Harvey Weinstein made a fatal mistake in deciding not to open the film nationwide in November, opting instead of a limited run.

Mama prospered thanks to young females; women and teenage girls made up 61 percent of the audience, while an impressive 63 percent of the audience was under the age of 25. The horror pic, made for a modest $15 million, is clearly benefiting from its PG-13 rating.

Conversely, Broken City and Last Stand had to compete for older males (78 percent of Broken City’saudience also was over the age of 25).

Here are the full results for the weekend of Jan. 18-20 at domestic box office (* denotes Oscar best-picture contender). Final numbers for the four-day holiday weekend will be released Monday.

Title, Weeks in release/theater count, studio, three-day weekend total, cume

1. Mama 1/2,647, Universal, $28.1 million.

2. *Zero Dark Thirty, 5/2,946, Sony/Annapurna, $28.1 million, $55.9 million.

3. *Silver Linings Playbook, 10/2,523, The Weinstein Co., $11.4 million, $55.3 million.

4. Gangster Squad, 2/3,103, Warner Bros., $9.1 million, $32.2 million.

5. Broken City, 1/2,620, Fox/New Regency, $9 million.

6. A Haunted House, 2/2,160, Open Road Films/IM Global, $8.3 million, $30 million.

7. *Django Unchained, 4/3,012, The Weinstein Co., $8.2 million, $138.4 million.

8. *Les Miserables, 4/2,579, Universal, $7.8 million , $130.3 million.

9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 6/2,323, Warner Bros./New Line, $6.4 million, $287.4 million.

0. The Last Stand, 10/2,027, Lionsgate, $6.3 million.

‘Iron Man 3′ Trailer Hits the Web

Tony Stark is in serious trouble.

In the first official trailer for Iron Man 3, we see and hear from a far more serious Robert Downey Jr., as he laments past mistakes and vows to protect Peppers Potts.

But that may prove to be a challenge with Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin on the loose. This is a villain who considers himself both a terrorist and a teacher and who does not believe in heroes.

Watch him unleash some serious fury in the following preview and prepare yourself for the blockbuster’s release on May 3:

New Dark Knight Rises Trailer: A Bleak Vision For Batman !

Step aside, Avengers. A new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has been released, painting a bleak portrait of a crumbling Gotham City consumed by utter anarchy.

The new trailer offers an extended glimpse of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, as well as a new Batwing contraption that comes in the form a flying pod of sorts.

Christian Bale is back as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with Tom Hardy as the villain Bane, in what will mark the final chapter in Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy.

Take a look at the stark trailer for the follow-up to The Dark Knight below:

The Dark Knight Rises also stars A-listers Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.

Arriving in theaters July 20, the film will receive a major marketing boost as the new trailer above will be attached to The Avengers premiere this weekend.