Global 2013: 'Die Hard' Rebounds With $25M

As iconic action hero John McClane of the Die Hard franchise would say -- yippe-ki-yay.

After a touch-and-go start, Bruce Willis starrer A Good Day to Die Hard has pulled ahead of rivals Safe Haven and holdover Identity Thief to narrowly win Presidents Day weekend with a three-day gross of $25 million. The 20th Century Fox pic is now projected to earn $30 million for the full holiday weekend, pushing its five-day debut to $38.3 million (both Die Hard and Safe Haven opened on Valentine's Day).

Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman's R-rated comedy Identity Thief has plenty of reason to laugh in its second weekend. Declining a narrow 33 percent, the Universal pic came in No. 2 for the weekend with $23.4 million. Its projected Friday-Monday gross is $27.7 million for a domestic haul of $75 million through Monday.

Relativity Media's Nicholas Sparks film adaptation Safe Haven remains a big winner as well, even at No. 3. Fueled by younger females, the romantic drama grossed $21.4 million for the three day weekend, and should earn $25 million for the four days.

Pairing Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, Safe Haven wasn't expected to open much past $25 million; now, it should finish Monday with $34 million in the bank. Safe Haven narrowly won Valentine's Day and tied with Die Hard on Friday.

Die Hard had been widely expected to amass a five day gross in the $40 million to $45 million range. Dismal reviews likely are hurting the R-rated film since the franchise's fan base is older and more influenced by a critic's opinion. Those who are turning out gave the film a B+ CinemaScore.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/box-office-report-die-hard-rebounds-25-mil-050000193.html

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Monday, February 18, 2013