By Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — “The Amazing Spider-Man” continues to weave an enticing web at the box office as the superhero has ensnared $59.2 million after two days in theaters.
Sony Pictures is anticipating that its 3-D movie will have taken in about $130 million by Sunday, on the low end of what most in Hollywood had originally predicted for the movie’s six-day opening. Some industry experts believe the superhero flick could gross as much as $150 million by weekend’s end, which would be a good start for a film that cost $230 million to produce.
“Spider-Man,” starring Andrew Garfield, has captured more than $50.2 million in a limited number of foreign markets and is expected to ultimately make most of its money overseas.
Meanwhile, two new films entering the fray this weekend will get caught in Spidey’s web: the music documentary “Katy Perry: A Part of Me,” which hit theaters Thursday, and Oliver Stone’s gritty crime drama “Savages,” which begins Friday. Each is expected to have a modest opening of about $13 million.
Fortunately for Paramount Pictures’ low-budget Insurge label, the 3-D concert film following pop star Perry on her recent California Dreams tour cost only about $12 million. Universal Pictures and Relativity Media, however, spent roughly $45 million to make “Savages,” which follows two beach bums whose successful pot business becomes the takeover target of a Mexican drug cartel.
Whereas Perry’s movie is aimed at her young “Katy cat” fan base, the Stone film is hoping to attract older males. However, “Savages” may continue a recent downturn set by adult dramas “People Like Us” and “Seeking a Friend at the End of the World,” both of which flopped at the box office in past weeks.
“Savages” features an all-star cast that includes Blake Lively, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson.
The picture’s release comes at an interesting time for some of those actors: Travolta is in the public spotlight again after becoming the subject of recent sexual harassment allegations, and Kitsch is coming off two big-budget flops this year, “John Carter” and “Battleship.”
For Stone, the R-rated movie marks a return to his violent crime movies, including “Natural Born Killers.” The Oscar-winning director’s new picture has received mixed reviews, notching a 68 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
