By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Take A Vantage…
The twisty little thriller Vantage Point ascended to the top of weekend movie going with an estimated $24.4 million. In a softish frame running up to Sunday’s Oscar telecast, another trio of pictures bowed in modestly wide release with the off kilter comedy Be Kind Rewind attracting a respectable $4 million. However, neither the $2.1 million tally for Larry the Cable Guy in Witless Protection or the coming-of-ager Charlie Bartlett’s $1.8 million displayed signs of box office stamina.
There was no great Oscar box office surge, though No Country for Old Men at least registered a modest upward bump. Also, foreign-language contender The Counterfeiters from Austria was the sole limited opener to demonstrate significant niche appeal.
With snow storms in the East and raindrops falling on western heads, movie going proved generally overcast. Business fell 21% from the President’s Day frame and was 5% behind last year’s business when the second weekend of Ghost Rider led with $20.1 million and the debut of The Number 23nudged out Bridge to Terabithia with a $14.6 million gross.
A kind of pastiche of political thrillers, Vantage Point’s tale of Presidential peril tilted more toward In the Line of Fire than Air Force One. The film benefited from a momentary distribution lull and a type of homogeneous appeal. Meanwhile, last weekend’s leader Jumper took a sharp dip while The Spiderwick Chronicles appeared to be benefiting as one of the few family oriented pics at the multiplex.
It’s perhaps reading too much to ascribe Be Kind Rewind’s modest promotional push to structural/leadership changes in the wing at New Line. More credible would be Cable Guy Larry having a financial investment in his third feature – otherwise there’s no balance that makes fiscal sense in the equation.
Oscar nominated Juno became the first film to gross $100 million in calendar 2008 on Saturday. It also posted the best gross among Sunday’s nominees and regardless of its score card already has won the industry’s really big prize – a golden reel that will generate revenues close to $300 million on a $10 million negative.
It’s also lining up as an Oscar edition that won’t be of much benefit to the winner in the foreign-language category. The most likely to take the award are either The Counterfeiters that opened Friday in the U.S. to a not too shabby $12,000 plus per engagement from seven sites or Russia’s submission 12, based upon the vintage 12 Angry Men. Counterfeiters has largely played out in Europe to good but hardly exceptional theatrical business and the Russian film has yet to play outside of the CIS and will need the statuette as the commercial hook to secure international distribution.
Weekend Estimates – February 22-24, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross (averag | % change | Theater | Cume |
| Vantage Point | Sony | 24.4 (7,760) | – | 3149 | 24.4 |
| The Spiderwick Chronicles | Par | 12.6 (3,280) | -34% | 3847 | 43.6 |
| Jumper | Fox | 12.6 (3,670) | -54% | 3430 | 56.1 |
| Step Up 2: The Streets | BV | 9.4 (3,800) | -50% | 2480 | 41 |
| Fool’s Gold | WB | 6.3 (2,040) | -51% | 3075 | 52.4 |
| Definitely, Maybe | Uni | 5.1 (2,310) | -48% | 2220 | 21.7 |
| Be Kind Rewind | New Line | 4.0 (4,990) | – | 808 | 4 |
| Juno | Fox Searchlight | 4.0 (2,330) | -13% | 1727 | 130.3 |
| Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Uni | 3.9 (2,100) | -54% | 1873 | 35.4 |
| There Will Be Blood | Par Vantage | 2.6 (1,840) | -15% | 1402 | 35 |
| The Bucket List | WB | 2.5 (1,300) | -38% | 1902 | 85.1 |
| No Country for Old Men | Miramax | 2.2 (2,020) | 18% | 1101 | 64.1 |
| Witless Protection | Lions Gate | 2.1 (1,560) | – | 1333 | 2.1 |
| Charlie Bartlett | MGM | 1.8 (1,590) | – | 1122 | 1.8 |
| 27 Dresses | Fox | 1.6 (1,160) | -50% | 1367 | 73.1 |
| Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Conc | BV | 1.5 (2,490) | -53% | 613 | 61.9 |
| The Eye | Lions Gate | 1.3 (1,060) | -60% | 1211 | 28.8 |
| Atonement | Focus | 1.1 (1,470) | -24% | 755 | 49.3 |
| U2 3D | nWave | 1.0 (1,520) | 155% | 686 | 4.9 |
| In Bruges | Focus | .76 (4,660) | -22% | 163 | 2.8 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | Fox | .72 (1,030) | -33% | 698 | 212.8 |
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets | BV | .64 (1,120) | -51% | 571 | 215.9 |
| Rambo | Lions Gate | .63 (870) | -68% | 727 | 41.7 |
| Michael Clayton | WB | .62 (1,460) | -35% | 425 | 48.5 |
| Untraceable | Sony | .52 (950) | -70% | 548 | 28.3 |
| Jodhaa Akbar | UTV | .51 (5,730) | -61% | 89 | 2.3 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $104.50 | – | – | – | |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | -5% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -21% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | – | – | – | – | – |
| Persepolis | Sony Classics | .33 (700) | -19% | 475 | 3.4 |
| Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Miramax | .23 (1,440) | -34% | 161 | 5.3 |
| The Signal | Magnolia | .13 (840) | – | 160 | 0.13 |
| The Counterfeiters | Sony Classics | 86,300 (12,330) | – | 7 | 0.09 |
| La Riviere aux Castors | Alliance | 55,100 (1,310) | – | 42 | 0.06 |
| Cover | ACI | 29,500 (2,100) | – | 14 | 0.03 |
Domestic Market Share – To February 20, 2008
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Mkt Share |
| Warner Bros. (11) | 250.3 | 18.20% |
| Fox (7) | 231.9 | 16.90% |
| Buena Vista (7) | 190.9 | 13.90% |
| Paramount (5) | 137.1 | 10.00% |
| Fox Searchlight (3) | 102.5 | 7.50% |
| Sony (8) | 94.2 | 6.90% |
| Universal (5) | 89.5 | 6.50% |
| Lions Gate (4) | 68.9 | 5.00% |
| Par Vantage (6) | 55.9 | 4.10% |
| Focus (3) | 39.1 | 2.80% |
| Miramax (2) | 24.3 | 1.80% |
| Overture (1) | 20.2 | 1.50% |
| New Line (2) | 16.6 | 1.20% |
| MGM (5) | 16.1 | 1.20% |
| Picturehouse (2) | 6.6 | 0.50% |
| Other * (46) | 28.1 | 2.00% |
| – | 1372.2 | 100.00% |
Domestic Grossers – To February 14, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross |
| Juno * | Fox Searchlight | 91,538,337 |
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets * | BV | 80,102,102 |
| Cloverfield | Par | 76,773,236 |
| The Bucket List * | WB | 76,232,361 |
| 27 Dresses | Fox | 66,761,871 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks * | Fox | 61,187,876 |
| Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Con | BV | 55,127,562 |
| I Am Legend * | WB | 54,979,314 |
| Rambo | Lions Gate | 38,199,768 |
| First Sunday | Sony | 37,627,592 |
| Meet the Spartans | Fox | 34,776,211 |
| Atonement * | Focus | 34,761,980 |
| Fool’s Gold | WB | 28,954,687 |
| P.S. I Love You * | WB | 27,837,545 |
| There Will Be Blood * | Par Vantage | 27,581,368 |
| Charlie Wilson’s War * | Uni | 27,440,875 |
| One Missed Call | WB | 26,569,730 |
| Untraceable | Sony | 25,388,456 |
| Sweeney Todd * | Par | 23,842,967 |
| The Eye | Lions Gate | 23,145,696 |
