By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Sting Like a Lion, Float Like a Santa
November 11, 2007
Weekend Estimates
Domestic Market Share
Last weekend’s leaders switched positions with the animated yellow jacket Bee Movie edging out the crime saga American Gangster with respective estimates of $25.7 million and $24.5 million. That left weekend freshmen scrambling for patrons with holiday family entry Fred Claus corralling a solid $18.5 million while political thriller Lions for Lambs couldn’t sell its agenda on a $6.4 million gross and the nail biter P2 barely raised neck hairs with a $1.8 million tally.
New niche and specialized entries flooded the marketplace including unprecedented exposure for Bollywood fare. Two high profile Indian musicals cracked the top 25 with Saawariya posting an impressive $540,000 and Om Shanti Om grossing a record breaking $1.7 million debut reflecting warm global response in India and Diaspora outposts in the U.K., Australia and South Africa.
Fueled by strong critical response No Country for Old Men rang up an eye-popping $42,390 average from 28 engagements while the chills were tame for the second Horrorfest anthology that grossed $417,000 and limited bows of non-fiction entries War/Dance and Steal a Pencil for Mewere no better than fair.
However the deluge did not expand the marketplace. The weekend total of slightly more than $110 million was 18% behind from seven days earlier. It also trailed 2006 by 13% when second weekerBorat reigned with a $28.3 million box office.
Last weekend’s freshmen leaders both weathered incoming fire well with Bee performing at 68% and Gangster at a 56% level. The latter film propelled Universal to a yearly tally of more than $1 billion on Saturday at a record pace.
The bigger questions (and prospects) hung over the costly family newcomer Fred Claus. The rush to judgment perspective wasn’t rosy but the film opened comparably to the likes of The Santa Clauseand Charlotte’s Web and with Thanksgiving coming up fast could find itself one of the better long distance runners even with fierce competition for general audiences.
Neither critics nor crowds were kind to the revived UA label Lions for Lambs. The high profile cast and hot button theme couldn’t overcome marketplace reticence. With Valkyrie – about the historic plot to assassinate Hitler by Nazi officers – in the wings, there’s pronounced industry nervousness about the banner’s ability to sustain under current management.
The frame also saw the debut of Summit as a domestic distributor with an inauspicious toe tester inP2. The psychological thriller pancaked along with dull response to the eight-title Horrorfestpackage and both appear to be on the fast track to Blockbuster.
Bollywood appeared to be making Hollywood-like misjudgments with two high profile films butting heads for Diwali holiday business. Om Shanti Om had been tipped as out-performing Saawariyaand the Mumbai crowd largely saw no benefit in squandering its global audience with a head-to-head showdown. Om appears headed for record breaking grosses but if it falls short pundits will have someplace facile for their finger pointing.
The violent, quirky adaptation of No Country of Old Men got off to a fast start following considerable festival exposure. Still there’s a degree of caution hanging over its expansion in light of fierce niche competition in the wings in a season that’s already seen not quite traditional on-going vitality for the likes of The Darjeeling Limited, The Assassination of Jesse James and Lust, Caution.
Weekend Estimates – November 9-11, 2007
itle |
Distributor
|
Gross (average)
|
% change
|
Theater
|
Cume
|
Bee Movie |
Par
|
25.7 (6,550)
|
-32%
|
3928
|
71.9
|
American Gangst |
Uni
|
24.5 (8,020)
|
-44%
|
3054
|
80.8
|
Fred Claus |
WB
|
18.5 (5,130)
|
–
|
3603
|
18.5
|
Lions for Lambs |
MGM
|
6.4 (2,870)
|
–
|
2215
|
6.4
|
Dan in Real Life |
BV
|
5.7 (2,940)
|
-27%
|
1941
|
30.5
|
Saw IV |
Lions Gate
|
4.7 (1,600)
|
-55%
|
2904
|
57.7
|
The Game Plan |
BV
|
2.3 (1,080)
|
-40%
|
2161
|
85.3
|
30 Days of Nights |
Sony
|
2.0 (1,200)
|
-46%
|
1696
|
37.3
|
P2 |
Summit
|
1.8 (860)
|
2131
|
1.8
|
|
Martian Child |
New Line
|
1.7 (870)
|
-48%
|
2020
|
6
|
Michael Clayton |
WB
|
1.5 (1,340)
|
-45%
|
1150
|
35.5
|
Om Shanti Om |
Eros
|
1.7 (14,6550)
|
114
|
1.7
|
|
Why Did I Get Ma |
Lions Gate
|
1.4 (1,570)
|
-45%
|
908
|
53.1
|
Gone Baby Gone |
Miramax
|
1.4 (1,490)
|
-36%
|
957
|
17
|
No Country for Old |
Miramax
|
1.2 (42,390)
|
28
|
1.2
|
|
Into the Wild |
Par Vantage
|
.95 (1,610)
|
-26%
|
590
|
12.4
|
Bella |
Roadside Attract.
|
.87 (3,150)
|
-19%
|
276
|
3.7
|
Nightmare Before |
BV
|
.84 (1,780)
|
-45%
|
473
|
14.1
|
Across the Univer |
Sony
|
.82 (1,410)
|
-32%
|
582
|
22.3
|
The Darjeeling Lim |
Fox Searchlight
|
.68 (1,760)
|
-44%
|
386
|
9.2
|
Lars and the Real |
MGM
|
.64 (2,240)
|
-17%
|
286
|
3
|
The Comebacks |
Fox
|
.56 (790)
|
-61%
|
706
|
12.7
|
Saawariya |
Sony
|
.54 (6,350)
|
–
|
85
|
0.55
|
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
$106.20
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
|
% Change (Last Year) |
-13%
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
|
% Change (Last Week) |
-18%
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
|
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Horrorfest |
FreeStyle
|
.42 (1,290)
|
–
|
323
|
0.42
|
Before the Devil K |
Thinkfilm
|
.36 (3,520)
|
-2%
|
103
|
0.98
|
War/Dance |
Thinkfilm
|
15,900 (5,300)
|
–
|
3
|
0.02
|
I’ll Believe You |
Stand Up
|
11,700 (400)
|
–
|
29
|
0.01
|
Christmas in Won |
FreeStyle
|
10,100 (670)
|
–
|
15
|
0.01
|
Steal a Pencil for |
7th Art
|
9,660 (3,220)
|
–
|
3 | 0.01 |
Top Limited Releases – To November 8, 2007
Title |
Distributor
|
Gross
|
Waitress |
Fox Searchlight
|
19,074,800 |
Notes on a Scandal |
Fox Searchlight
|
16,889,774 |
The Last King of Scotland |
Fox Searchlight
|
13,987,084 |
The Namesake |
Fox Searchlight
|
13,569,248 |
The Nightmare Before Christ |
BV
|
13,238,062 |
Into the Wild |
Par Vantage
|
11,443,048 |
The Lives of Others |
Sony Classics
|
11,286,112 |
Deep Sea 3-D |
WB
|
11,178,161 |
La Vie en Rose |
TVA/Picturehouse
|
10,007,790 |
Once |
Fox Searchlight
|
9,384,266 |
Volver |
Sony Class/Seville
|
8,667,708 |
The Darjeeling Limited |
Fox Searchlight
|
8,482,953 |
Death at a Funeral |
MGM
|
8,411,022 |
El Cantante |
Picturehouse
|
7,556,712 |
The Painted Veil |
WIP
|
7,552,537 |
Away from Her |
Mongrel/Lions Gate
|
5,747,729 |
Rescue Dawn |
MGM
|
5,484,401 |
Paris je t’aime |
First Look/Maple Pic
|
5,291,651 |
Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagon |
Sky High
|
4,733,404 |
Magnificent Desolation |
Imax
|
4,707,172 |
Domestic Market Share – November 8, 2007
Distributor (releases) |
Gross (millions)
|
Mrkt Share |
Paramount (18) |
1312.5
|
16.20% |
Sony (26) |
1169.5
|
14.40% |
Warner Bros. (27) |
1080.9
|
13.30% |
Buena Vista (18) |
1074.5
|
13.20% |
Universal (19) |
984.4
|
12.10% |
Fox (19) |
760.8
|
9.40% |
New Line (12) |
420.4
|
5.20% |
Lions Gate (20) |
354.6
|
4.40% |
MGM (22) |
293.3
|
3.60% |
Focus (8) |
107.9
|
1.30% |
Fox Searchlight (12) |
99.7
|
1.20% |
Miramax (8) |
78.9
|
1.00% |
Picturehouse (7) |
56.9
|
0.70% |
Paramount Vantage (6) |
46.9
|
0.60% |
Other * (157) |
280
|
3.40% |
– |
8121.2
|
100.00% |