Box Office: 'Think Like a Man Too' Rockets Past 'Jersey Boys' With $30 Million

Kevin Hart's ensemble comedy Think Like a Man Too debuted to a solid $30 million at the North American box office, delivering Sony its second straight win after 22 Jump Street, which almost stayed at No. 1 in its second weekend with $29 million.

Think Like a Man Too's debut was more than double the $13.5 million opening of Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys. The film adaptation of the Broadway hit, coming in No. 4, skewed notably older, with 71 percent of the audience over the age of 50 and 84 percent over the age of 35. Warner Bros. believes the movie will have strong legs since adults don't rush out on opening weekend, but the movie's start is nonetheless disappointing.

Without an all-audience event pic to drive crowds to the multiplex, box-office revenue tumbled more than 38 percent from the same weekend last year when Monsters University opened to $82.4 million and World War Z debuted to $66.4 million.

Think Like a Man Too, costing $24 million to produce, couldn't match the $33.6 million debut of the first Think Like a Man, which debuted in April 2012. The sequel reteams Hart with director Tim Story and producer Will Packer, the same trio behind the first Think Like a Man and Ride Along.

"Even though the opening is a hair less than the last, I think summer weekdays are going to absolutely make up for that," said Sony worldwide president of distribution Rory Bruer. "Certainly the picture is already a success. Kevin Hart is a force to be reckoned with."

Inspired by Steve Harvey's best-selling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, the comedy sees the various couples travel to Las Vegas for a wedding. But plans for a romantic weekend quickly go awry. Hart stars opposite Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall and Gabrielle Union.

Both Think Like a Man Too and Jersey Boys earned an A- CinemaScore from audiences.

Jersey Boys' opening was certainly in the wheelhouse for an Eastwood movie, although his films don't usually open in summer, when expectations are much higher (Blood Work, released in 2002, was his last summer title).

Warner Bros. domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman said the goal was never a huge opening, but to provide counterprogramming for older adults. "I don't have a problem with the number we did. The film earned an A CinemaScore from audiences over the age of 25, which is what I was looking for. The movie will over-index during the week because its target audience is available."

Eastwood's Jersey Boys doesn't sport any A-list actors and is receiving mixed reviews. Still, both the director and the material are well-known brands. Jersey Boys, opening on Broadway in 2005, won four 2006 Tony Awards, including best musical. It has been restaged all over the world, including in London, and has had two North American national tours, the most recent in 2011.

At the same time, musical adaptations have a decidedly mixed track record at the box office. Hits include Mamma Mia!, which debuted to $27.8 million in summer 2008, and Hairspray, which launched to $27.5 million in summer 2007. On the other end of the spectrum, Rock of Ages only pulled in $14.4 million in summer 2012.

Jersey Boys' cast is led by John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza and Christopher Walken.

Overseas, Jersey Boys debuted in nine market, grossing a muted $1.6 million, including a $738,000 start in the U.K. -- slightly ahead of Eastwood's Gran Torino and J. Edgar -- and $428,000 in France, where a heat wave kept people away from cinemas. That puts the film's global opening at $15.1 million.

Among holdovers, 22 Jump Street crossed the $100 million mark domestically, finishing Sunday with a domestic total of $111.5 million.

Placing No. 3 for the weekend was DreamWorks Animation and Fox's How to Train Your Dragon 2. The animated family film fell 49 percent to $25.3 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $95.2 million.

Dragon 2 dominated overseas, winning the weekend with $43.5 million from 54 markets, no small feat considering the World Cup. In Brazil -- host country of the soccer championship -- Dragon 2 debuted to $6.8 million, the No 2 opening of all time for an animated film. The movie has now earned $77.2 at the foreign box office for a world total of $172.4 million.

Rounding out the top five in North America was Angelina Jolie's live-action fairy tale Maleficent, which came in just behind Jersey Boys with $13 million for a pleasing domestic cume of $186 million. Globally, the Disney film jumped the $500 million mark over the weekend to become Jolie's top live-action film of all time, besting the $478 million earned by Mr. & Mrs. Smith, not accounting for inflation. Maleficent's total through Sunday is $521.6 million.

David Michod's Australian drama The Rover, starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, struggled as it expanded nationwide, placing No. 15 with $500,000 from 599 theaters for a cume of $590,453. A24 Films opened the well-reviewed movie in New York and Los Angeles last weekend after The Rover made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Nor did Roman Polanski's Venus in Fur make a strong showing, debuting to roughly $26,000 from two theaters for Sundance Selects for a screen average of $13,000.

Debuting in one theater in New York, French comedy Le Chef earned $10,894. It's the second foodie comedy after Jon Favreau's breakout indie film Chef, which remains in the top 10, grossing nearly $17 million to date.

Sony Pictures Classics launched Paul Haggis' Third Person in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film earned $42,046 for a theater average of $8,419.

Here are the top 10 estimates for the weekend of June 20-22 at the domestic box office:

Title, Weeks in Release/Theater Count, Studio, Weekend Total, Percentage Drop, Cume
1. Think Like a Man Too, 1/2,225, Sony/Screen Gems, $30 million.
2. 22 Jump Street, 2/3,306, Sony/MGM, $29 million, -49%, $111.5 million.
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2, 2/4,268, Fox/DWA, $25.3 million, -49%, $95.2 million.
4. Jersey Boys, 1/2,905, Warner Bros., $13.5 million.
5. Maleficent, 4/3,450, Disney, $13 million, -30%, $186 million.
6. Edge of Tomorrow, 3/3,212, Warner Bros./Village Roadshow, $10.3 million, -37%, $74.5 million.
7. The Fault in Our Stars, 3/3,340, Fox, $8.6 million, -42%, $98.7 million.
8. X-Men: Days of Future Past, 5/2,681, Fox, $6.2 million, -37%, $216.8 million.
9. Chef, 7/961, Open Road Films, $1.85 million, -16%, $16.9 million.
10. Godzilla, 6/1,365, Warner Bros./Legendary, $1.82, -45%, $194.9 million.