‘Think Like a Man Too’ keeps ‘Jersey Boys’ at bay with $30 million

It was a tale of two Sony sequels at the box office this weekend.

“Think Like a Man Too” proved to be a no-brainer for moviegoers, topping the box office with $30 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to estimates from its distributor Sony. No doubt making the dethroning of “22 Jump Street,” also a Sony film, from the No. 1 spot a little easier for the studio to stomach.

Headlined by Kevin Hart and directed by Tim Story, “Think Like a Man Too’s” debut is in line with the $33 million the original film, based on Steve Harvey’s book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” brought in during its April 2012 opening. But it falls short of the $41.5 million the previous Story-Hart collaboration “Ride Along” banked in January.

“I think this proves that funny is funny,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, in regards to media’s tendency to qualify the success of films with minority-heavy casts. “There is no doubt that Kevin Hart spreads a wide net to a very diverse audience, as does the rest of that cast.”

The Sony/Screen Gems battle-of-the-sexes comedy, which cost $24 million to produce, played in 2,225 theaters and earned an A- CinemaScore despite little critical praise. Females made up the bulk of the audience at 63%, with 41% of the crowd under the age of 30.

That left the Channing Tatum-Jonah Hill comedy “22 Jump Street” to settle in at No. 2 with $29 million in ticket sales, about a 50% drop in its second week.

The follow-up buddy cop comedy, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, might not be the new kid on the block anymore, but the film at least crossed the $100 million threshold domestically in its second weekend.

Keeping the sequel momentum going was DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” The Fox-distributed film took the third slot with $25.3 million in its second week, about a 49% drop from its opening.

Some boys came out to play, too--they just weren’t too rowdy. “Jersey Boys,” Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, took in $13.5 million domestically, according to estimates from its distributor, Warner Bros. The modest number is in line with early projections from the studio.

The older-skewing tale of the 1960s singing group the Four Seasons has drawn tepid reactions from critics, with a 55% on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences seem to be singing its praises--the film received an A- CinemaScore.

The R-rated rise-and-fall biopic, which features a core cast of relative unknowns (John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda and Vincent Piazza), played in 2,905 locations. At a cost of $40 million, the musical has to collect more coins from passersby to work its way into the black for the studio.

Rounding things out at No. 5 was Disney’s “Maleficent” with $13 million in its fourth week. That brings the Angelina Jolie-starring film to $185 million domestically in its fourth week.

Meanwhile, “The Fault in Our Stars” is closer to reaching the $100 million benchmark than Tom Cruise’s sci-fi epic “Edge of Tomorrow.” The teen tearjerker, which placed behind the action saga over the weekend, is within arms reach at $98.7 million -- outpacing “Edge’s” $74 million domestic total in its third weekend.