Back to Black , a biopic based on the life of acclaimed singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse , grossed a disappointing $2.85 million in its first weekend at the domestic (U.S.
and Canada) box office, according to boxofficemojo.com . That put it in sixth place for the weekend, and in third place among debuting films.
The weekend leader was IF ($35 million in its first weekend), followed by Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ($26 million in its second weekend), The Strangers: Chapter 1 ($12 million in its first weekend), The Fall Guy ($8.5 million in its third weekend) and Challengers ($2.9 million in its fourth weekend).
This year’s top-grossing biopic, Bob Marley: One Love , grossed $33.6 million in its first weekend, which was the three-day President’s Day weekend in February. (For a direct, apples-to-apples comparison to the Winehouse film , the Bob Marley biopic grossed $28.
7 million in the Friday to Sunday period.) Marisa Abela stars as Winehouse in Back to Black , which was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and written by Matt Greenhalgh. That same director/writer team collaborated on Nowhere Boy , a 2009 film about the early life of John Lennon .
(Taylor-Johnson’s biggest hit to date as a director is Fifty Shades of Grey .) Winehouse released just two albums in her lifetime — Frank (released in October 2003) and Back to Black (October 2006). The latter album was a global smash, reaching No.
1 on the Official U.K. Album Chart and No.
2 on the Billboard 200. It produced th.