Sony, producers Jay-Z and Will Smith pit Annie against Warner Bros./New Line-MGM’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Fox’s Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in Box Office Bout
As of Saturday morning, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is leading by a very wide margin. At second is Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb's and at close third is Annie. Based on a report from Deadline, The Hobbit made $16.575M, Museum $5.625M and Annie posted $5.3M on Friday's opening box office take.
Still, Sony is happy with Annie's box office performance. The film which received generally negative reviews from critics, got a favorable 'A-' CinemaScore, meaning the audiences loved it. Also, despite the negative fallout from the Sony hacking incident, which included the piracy of copies of Annie along with other then still unreleased films, the family-oriented musical is not too far behind Museum in the box office battle. As Rory Bruer, Sony's distribution head, told Deadline: "By opening on the 19th, it gave us a chance to build word of mouth with kids being out of school. It was bold in that sense: We knew there were two pictures that had a bit of cache to their franchises, but we always felt that Annie was different and special with everyone."
Will Smith, 46, who co-produced the film, during its red carpet premier, told reporters: "Anytime you revisit a timeless story, that's where you always wanna be able to add something different. Jay and Sia did a really brilliant job of creating that new sound, that new vibe and energy." Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z (Beyonce's husband Shawn Carter in real life), 45, who also co-produced Annie, added: "It feels like New York City. It feels like magic, anything can happen. There's a consistent theme there. That story of hope."
Will Gluck directed Annie, with 11-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis in the title role, Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks, Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan and Rose Byrne as Stacks' assistant Grace Farrell, along with Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutche in cameo appearances. The Annie soundtrack features songs from the original Broadway production which were arranged and given a modern makeover by Sia and Greg Kurstin, plus three new ones they co-wrote - Opportunity, Who Am I, and Moonquake Lake.