In an article from Variety talking about this weekend’s box office, the trade discussed the performance of The Punisher, which made $14 million for second place.
Rothenberg asserted that “The Punisher” — developed by Marvel and Valhalla for Artisan prior to Lions Gate’s purchase of Artisan — had performed in line with internal expectations. And Arad said he was “very pleased” with the results, citing its moderate budget in the low $30 millions and its use of one of the lesser-known of Marvel’s stable of 4,700 characters.
“It’s a terrific opening for a reasonably priced movie with one of our non-superhero characters,” Arad said. “We feel this is a business model that’s worth pursuing.”
It was the first No. 2 opening for a Marvel pic after seven No. 1 bows, which include “Spider-Man,” “Daredevil,” “The Hulk,” the two “X-Men” and the two “Blade” pics.
Source: Variety
