Box office report: 'Identity Thief' steals the No. 1 spot from 'Snitch' with $14.1 million

The biggest hit of 2013, Universal’s $35 million comedy Identity Thief, returned to the top spot at the box office in its third weekend. The Melissa McCarthy/Jason Bateman vehicle dipped 41 percent to $14.1 million, lifting its total to a robust $93.7 million. By this time next week, Identity Thief will have swiped over $100 million domestically, which bodes very well for Melissa McCarthy’s upcoming Sandra Bullock collaboration The Heat, due out June 28.

Were Identity Thief not holding so well, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest action thriller Snitch could have won the weekend. As things stand, though, it will have to settle for second place with a not-half-bad $13 million. Snitch‘s debut can’t hold a candle to Johnson’s recent efforts in ensemble sequels like Fast Five ($86.2 million opening) and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island ($27.3 million opening), but it opened much better than his last effort as a leading action star, Faster, which started with $8.5 million in 2010.

Distributor Summit, who acquired the film from Exclusive Media and Participant, did not disclose a budget for the film when reached, though IMDb estimates it cost $35 million to produce. Snitch earned a middling “B” CinemaScore grade from audiences, which were 53 percent male and 57 percent above the age of 30.

The Weinstein Co.’s animated effort Escape From Planet Earth continued to benefit from being the only family film in the marketplace, dropping just 31 percent to $11 million for a decent $35.1 million ten-day total against a $40 million budget. The film, which opened with $15.9 million last weekend, started its run well behind both both Safe Haven ($21.4 million) and A Good Day to Die Hard ($24.8 million), but thanks to its great hold, passed both of those pictures this weekend. Speaking of, Safe Haven fell by 51 percent this weekend to $10.6 million for $48.1 million after two frames. Relativity spent $28 million on the Nicholas Sparks adaptation. Die Hard, meanwhile, fell by a full 60 percent to $10 million for a $51.8 million after eleven days. The Bruce Willis vehicle cost Fox $92 million.

Just outside the Top 5, Weinstein/Dimension’s extraterrestrial horror film Dark Skies fizzled on opening weekend with only $8.9 million from 2,313 theaters. Fortunately for the team behind the Keri Russell thriller, which earned a weak “C+” CinemaScore grade, it cost only $3.5 million to produce.

1. Identity Thief – $14.1 million

2. Snitch – $13.0 million

3. Escape from Planet Earth – $11 million

4. Safe Haven – $10.6 million

5. A Good Day to Die Hard – $10 million

6. Dark Skies – $8.9 million

Check back next week for full box office coverage of 21 And Over, Jack the Giant Slayer, The Exorcism Part II, and Phantom.

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