Warner Bros.' new entry "Transcendence" was not able to hold out its own against the battle of the sequels, with Disney-Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" taking a small lead over Fox's "Rio 2" at the Friday box office.
The "Captain America" sequel earned $9.6 million, just over the animated movie's $9.2 million. Meanwhile, the Johnny Depp-starrer came in at a disappointing fourth place with $4.8 million, making it the actor's fourth flop in a row.
"Transcendence" stars Depp as a computer genius turned power-mad computer. The movie debuted in 3,455 theaters, marks Depp's worst ever showing for a feature released in more than 3,000 theaters. Its total was even lower than 2004's "Secret Window," Depp's previous wide-release nadir, which earned $18.2 million in March of that year.
"Transcendence," which The Hollywood Reporter notes cost north of $100 million to produce, is just the latest flop on Depp's resume, following "The Rum Diary," "Dark Shadows" and "The Lone Ranger." In fact, Depp hasn't enjoyed a non-franchise, non-animated hit since 2009's "Public Enemies"; the only film close to a success in this period was 2010's "The Tourist," which was a bust in North America but grossed $210 million overseas.
Conversely, "Captain America" is on track to pass the $200 million mark by Sunday when it could add an estimated $24 million-plus to its cume.
"Rio 2" looks to benefit from the holiday timeframe with many children still on spring break. It's headed toward a $23 million second frame, which would raise its cume to $76 million. The 3D comedy opened to $39.3 million last weekend, slightly edging out the $39.2 million launch of the original pic.
Meanwhile, "Transcendence" is likely suffering from poor reviews and currently has a 19% Rotten Tomatoes meter). "Transcendence" could, however, make up for the loss overseas, where Depp has a strong fanbase. Alcon Entertainment and China's DMG Entertainment are co-financing the pic, which saw a day-and-date release in China.
Despite the setbacks, Depp isn't taking it easy. He's got a surfeit of features coming soon, including "Mordecai," "Black Mass" and "Into the Woods." There's also talk of a fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean" film, but that has not yet received the go-ahead from Disney.
