NORTH AMERICA: ‘Furious 7’ Moves Closer To The $300M Mark After Leading Monday With $2.02M; ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2’ Rides To $25M After $1.26M Monday Take

Universal’s Furious 7 grossed $2.02 million on Monday to lead the daily box office for an 18th consecutive day. The seventh installment of the blockbuster franchise featuring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker was down 74 percent from Sunday and down 44.5 percent from last Monday. Furious 7 has grossed a massive $296.53 million in 18 days and is on course to surpass the $300 million domestic milestone on Wednesday. The film is running a very impressive 45 percent ahead of the $204.96 million 18-day take of 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.

Sony’s Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 placed in second with $1.26 million. The modestly budgeted Kevin James led comedy sequel fell 80 percent from Sunday’s performance. That represented the day’s sharpest daily percentage decline among wide releases. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has grossed $25.02 million in four days. The film is performing in line with expectations and is off to a very solid start with its price tag in mind. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is running 11 percent ahead of the $22.52 million four-day start of 2011’s Zookeeper.

Unfriended took in $0.823 million to claim third place. The ultra low-budget horror film from Universal and Blumhouse Productions fell 73 percent from Sunday. Unfriended has grossed $16.67 million in four days. While the film has been unable to break out to the degree its pre-release online buzz suggested, it is still performing well given its low cost. Unfriended is running 20 percent behind the $20.92 million four-day take of last year’s Ouija.

Home claimed fourth place with $0.686 million. The successful 3D computer animated film from Fox and DreamWorks Animation was down 79 percent from Sunday and down a slim 7 percent from last Monday.Home continues to exceed expectations in a big way with a 25-day take of $143.60 million. The film is running just ahead of the $143.16 million 25-day take of 2013’s The Croods.

Fellow Fox release The Longest Ride rounded out Monday’s top five with $0.532 million. The Nicholas Sparks adaptation starring Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood declined 68 percent from Sunday and 34 percent from last Monday. The Longest Ride has grossed $24.21 million in eleven days. That places the film 35 percent ahead of the $17.89 million eleven-day take of last year’s The Best of Me.

Meanwhile, Monkey Kingdom landed in eighth place for the day with $0.403 million. The latest nature documentary from Disney’s Disneynature label fell 70 percent from Sunday. Monkey Kingdom has grossed $4.98 million in four days. That is on the low end of the film’s modest expectations and is 8 percent softer than the $5.43 million four-day start of last year’s Bears. With Earth Day falling on Wednesday, Monkey Kingdom is likely to hold up very well today and tomorrow.

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