MAR 7-9 BOX OFFICE REPORT: 300 RISES TO THE TOP, AND A GRAND OPENING FOR BUDAPEST HOTEL

Merely exceeding expectations by a few million dollars just won't cut it. 300: Rise of an Empire may have banked $45 million at the U.S. box office over the weekend, placing it comfortably in first place, but estimations place its ticket sales at a measly half of what 2006's 300 made in its first three days (over the same weekend). Still, Mr. Peabody & Sherman provided less competition for the top spot than expected, as it took in a distinctly disappointing $32.2 million - still, that was enough to cause The LEGO Movie to experience its biggest decline yet Stateside: down 47.6% on last weekend, though not enough to dent Frozen's continued success as it held in eight position for the fourth straight weekend, dipping just 18.6%. Speaking of last weekend, newcomers Non-Stop and Son of God dropped to third and fifth, respectively, while 12 Years a Slave's Best Picture Oscar win saw it gain a heap of new theatres and a heap of new cash: $2.1 million is its best weekend since Nov 29 - Dec 1, and ninth is its best rank since the weekend before that! Limited openers weren't small in number, but were small in awareness and in gross... oh, except one. In a traditional platform opening for major arthouse releases of two cinemas in New York and two in L.A., The Grand Budapest Hotel made it to 17th place with an extraordinary $811,166 - its per-theatre average of $202,792 is the highest ever for a non-Disney, non-special (premium priced) release. Look for it to perform notably better in its expansion than recent arthouse successes but nationwide flops The Master and Inside Llewyn Davis.

Top 10

1. 300: Rise of an Empire ($45,038,460)
2. Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($32,207,057)
3. Non-Stop ($15,829,605)
4. The LEGO Movie ($10,911,385)
5. Son of God ($10,379,335)
6. The Monuments Men ($3,074,647)
7. 3 Days to Kill ($3,009,910)
8. Frozen ($2,954,554)
9. 12 Years a Slave ($2,110,812)
10. Ride Along ($2,024,190)