Oz Crashes Weekend Box Office, Kills Box Office’s Wicked Sister

James FrancoWith an $80 million weekend, Oz the Great and Powerful scored easily the best opening weekend of the year so far. Which means GET READY for more character-specific Oz offerings. Cowardly Lion: Witch Hunter? You’re next. This is good news for all sorts of people: Sam Raimi, who has yet another blockbuster success with franchise potential. James Franco, who can finance a hundred more student films about his fascination with gayness with whatever he makes off the back end. Mila Kunis, who should probably start claiming credit for that awesome interview with that British kid.

There will be no credit passed around the camp at Jack the Giant Slayer. With a $10 million second weekend that officially qualifies as a plummet, Bryan Singer’s film is looking at a John Carter–like disaster.

Dead Man Down debuted in fourth place, which is still pretty OK for a movie you STILL don’t know exists. It got bested the fifth week in release by Identity Thief, as Melissa McCarthy is now a bona fide movie star, and expectations for The Heat, her buddy cop comedy with Sandra Bullock, have got to be through the roof now.

In other news, 21 and Over made back its budget this weekend (boo), while Silver Linings Playbook hung around in the top 10, making about five times its budget (hooray!).

The full top 10:

1. Oz the Great and Powerful: $80,278,000 (total gross $80,278,000)
2. Jack the Giant Slayer: $10,020,000 ($43,811,000)
3. Identity Thief: $6,319,000 ($116,530,000)
4. Dead Man Down: $5,350,000 ($5,350,000)
5. Snitch: $5,100,000 ($31,855,000)
6. 21 and Over: $5,056,000 ($16,840,000)
7. Safe Haven: $3,800,000 ($62,884,000)
8. Silver Linings Playbook: $3,745,000 ($120,749,000)
9. Escape From Planet Earth: $3,207,000 ($47,832,000)
10. The Last Exorcism Part II: $3,120,000 ($12,083,000)

Filed Under: Box office, James Franco, Oz the Great and Powerful