BOX OFFICE REPORT (FEB. 15-17): 'A Good Day to Die Hard' Barely Fends Off 'Identity Thief' and 'Safe Haven' for No. 1 Spot

It's not a great weekend at the box office when the return of Bruce Willis and the Die Hard franchise almost get beaten by a comedy in its second weekend and a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book, but that's exactly what almost happened to A Good Day to Die Hard. While the film didn't get good reviews, I would think that a movie like A Good Day to Die Hard would have a built-in audience who would show up no matter what. I guess not.

At least A Good Day to Die Hard didn't suffer the same fate as Beautiful Creatures. The movie, based on a book of the same name, had been seen as the possible kickstarter of a new Twilight-esque series. Beautiful Creatures opened at No. 6 with just $7.46 million, so it doesn't look like this one will be the next Twilight.

1. A Good Day to Die Hard (N)
$25.00 million ($33.24 million)
While inflation makes it tricky to compare the five Die Hard films that have been released over a 25-year span, Live Free and Die Hard still holds the franchise's opening weekend record, bringing in $33.37 million in 2007. What went wrong here? Have people tired of John McClane? Has Willis lost his ability to open blockbuster films?

2. Identity Thief (1)

$23.44 million ($70.73 million)

Melissa McCarthy is a talented and funny woman, so it's great to see her find another movie that's successful at the box office, but can't someone write something that's full of intelligent comedy instead of just pratfalls and jokes about her appearance?

3. Safe Haven (N)

$21.43 million ($30.26 million)
While opening higher than A Walk to Remember or The Notebook did, Safe Haven continues the downward opening weekend trend for Sparks movies that began after Dear John debuted with $30.47 million back in 2010.

4. Escape from Planet Earth (N)

$16.07 million ($16.07 million)
If you contributed any money to this trite piece of lowest-common-denominator animation, you should feel awful. By giving your hard-earned money to movies like this, you're only encouraging studios to keep pumping crap like this out. Demand a higher level of excellence from animation.

5. Warm Bodies (2)

$9.00 million ($50.22 million)

I guess Valentine's Day didn't send Warm Bodies to a higher box office number.

Next week's predictions:

1. Dark Skies

2. Identity Thief

3. Safe Haven

4. A Good Day to Die Hard

5. Snitch

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo