Stuffing knocked out of Ted 2

Zach (Nick Robinson, left) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) roam among the dinosaurs in Jurassic World. The movie stayed in first place at last weekend’s box office and made about $55 million.
Zach (Nick Robinson, left) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) roam among the dinosaurs in Jurassic World. The movie stayed in first place at last weekend’s box office and made about $55 million.

LOS ANGELES -- Seth MacFarlane's sophomoric brand of comedy is still going strong on television, but moviegoers seem to have tired of it: Ted 2 collapsed at the weekend box office, taking in about $36 million, or 50 percent less than analysts had projected based on pre-release tracking surveys.

The shaky turnout -- the first Ted arrived to ticket sales of $54 million in 2012 -- comes a year after MacFarlane's raunchy A Million Ways to Die in the West fell flat in theaters. The R-rated Ted 2, which features MacFarlane voicing the title character and stars Mark Wahlberg and Amanda Seyfried, cost Media Rights Capital and Universal Pictures about $85 million to make. (The first Ted cost $50 million.)

To explain the Ted 2 results, Universal pointed to strong holdover competition from its own Jurassic World, which was again No. 1 in North America. But competition likely only explained part of the problem. Although MacFarlane tried to make Ted 2 feel different, critics pointed out that the concept -- a trash-talking teddy bear -- was just not as outrageous the second time around.

Universal called the Ted 2 ticket sales very healthy nonetheless, noting that the sequel took in an additional $20.3 million overseas.

Now in its third weekend, Jurassic World sold about $55 million in tickets, for a new domestic total of about $500 million, according to Rentrak, which compiles box-office data.

Worldwide, the dinosaur movie has now taken in an astounding $1.2 billion, and has not even opened yet in Japan, a major market.

Pixar's Inside Out was a strong second, with ticket sales of about $52.3 million, for a two-week domestic total of $185 million.

The critically acclaimed film follows an 11-year-old Midwestern girl named Riley who is steered through a life-changing move to San Francisco by the emotions in her head: Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).

The next big test for the summer movie season: the Fourth of July weekend. The box office is up about 6.2 percent year to date as a slew of anticipated films continue to enter the marketplace. The holiday weekend is expected to bring in moviegoers in droves, with potential blockbusters Magic Mike XXL and Terminator Genisys, both of which opened Wednesday.

Opening beside Ted 2, the PG-rated Max took in about $12.2 million, on the high end of expectations. Max, about a military working dog that returns to civilian life, cost about $20 million to make.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:

  1. Jurassic World, Universal, $54,532,615, 4,198 locations, $12,990 average, $500,373,420, three weeks.

  2. Inside Out, Disney, $52,323,354, 4,132 locations, $12,663 average, $185,140,364, two weeks.

  3. Ted 2, Universal, $33,507,870, 3,442 locations, $9,735 average, $33,507,870, one week.

  4. Max, Warner Bros., $12,155,254, 2,855 locations, $4,258 average, $12,155,254, one week.

  5. Spy, 20th Century Fox, $7,911,786, 3,194 locations, $2,477 average, $88,462,290, four weeks.

  6. San Andreas, Warner Bros., $5,402,416, 2,620 locations, $2,062 average, $141,997,929, five weeks.

  7. Dope, Open Road, $2,782,840, 1,851 locations, $1,503 average, $11,697,218, two weeks.

  8. Insidious Chapter 3, Focus Features, $2,004,222, 1,612 locations, $1,243 average, $49,795,400, four weeks.

  9. Mad Max: Fury Road, Warner Bros., $1,764,436, 961 locations, $1,836 average, $147,107,258, seven weeks.

  10. Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Disney, $1,688,938, 1,097 locations, $1,540 average, $452,474,193, nine weeks.

  11. Pitch Perfect 2, Universal, $1,464,180, 1,061 locations, $1,380 average, $181,057,940, seven weeks.

  12. Love & Mercy, Roadside Attractions, $1,272,491, 728 locations, $1,748 average, $9,255,698, four weeks.

  13. Tomorrowland, Disney, $1,051,966, 714 locations, $1,473 average, $90,164,982, six weeks.

  14. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl, Fox Searchlight, $992,439, 354 locations, $2,804 average, $1,856,490, three weeks.

  15. Entourage, Warner Bros., $808,157, 544 locations, $1,486 average, $31,386,676, four weeks.

  16. I'll See You In My Dreams, Bleecker Street, $609,698, 290 locations, $2,102 average, $5,030,850, seven weeks.

  17. Home, 20th Century Fox, $399,315, 275 locations, $1,452 average, $174,744,026, 14 weeks.

  18. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Sony, $318,020, 236 locations, $1,348 average, $69,832,200, 11 weeks.

  19. Cinderella, Disney, $261,264, 235 locations, $1,112 average, $200,286,777, 16 weeks.

  20. Aloha, Sony, $197,063, 240 locations, $821 average, $20,482,456, five weeks.

MovieStyle on 07/03/2015

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