By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Easter Lays an Egg…
The second weekend of Horton Hears a Who led weekend film going but not as definitively as it had in its debut. The Seussical sophomore session rang up an estimated $25.3 million while the debut of Meet the Browns from niche auteurTyler Perry was within striking distance at $20.2 million.
The Easter weekend (not one of the better holiday viewing periods) also served up indifferent bows for Drillbit Taylor – a contempo, dumbed-down version of 1980s My Bodyguard – of $10.1 million and a predictable $10.7 million for Shutter, a facsimile chiller adapted from the Asian hit produced in Thailand back in 2004. More encouraging was the limited release of Hispanic targeted, Sundance preemed Under the Same Moon that rang up close to a $9,000 average from 266 theaters.
Also out of the gate fast was Bollywood entry Race (think Daytona) with $820,000 from 111 exposures. Self-distributed Rockeyesque The Hammer with Adam Carolla as an unlikely pugilist faired well in prelims with a $108,000 tally at 20 rings and there was encouraging response for exclusive runs of the documentary Planet B-Boy and the French-U.S. thriller Boarding Gate.
Weekend business continued 2008’s fever chart fluctuations with its $110 million plus frame providing a 6% decline from seven days earlier and an 18% erosion with the comparable 2007 frame. It was also 10% off from the 2007 Easter weekend when the second weekend of Blades of Glory led with $22.5 million and the top debut was third ranked Are We Done Yet? with $14.3 million.
What’s most striking about Easter 2008 is an underlying risk adverse attitude toward programming. Horton had already staked out the family crowd and other distributors were loath to compete … or compete head on. So, competition aimed for very specific niches.
Since the theatrical bow of Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2002, Perry has claimed a spring slot and his latest, Meet the Browns, opened with roughly the same box office force as his earlier movies. That should ultimately translate into a theatrical gross between $50 million and $60 million. We’re told that his films are gradually extending their appeal outside the African-American community but that trend has to be glacial based upon the annual consistency of his revenues and one suspects he’ll be making some radical changes in the next couple of years.
The horror genre is in desperate need of a creative infusion akin to the one seen three decades back when Halloween, Chainsaw and Nightmare changed the landscape. However, for the foreseeable future junior production execs have their marching orders – check out Asian movies for potential remakes, ring-a-ding ding.
Also the much touted Apatow comedy factory is discovering that volume is having an untoward effect. Drillbit Taylor (and the earlier, better reviewed Walk Hard) is again high concept but lacks the distinctive, anarchic spin that set the filmmaker’s really popular movies apart from the pack.
The most compelling question of the weekend was the on-going potential for the American indie Under the Same Moonthat created a heart-warming narrative to illustrate the hot button immigration issue. The film has had a peripatetic history that can be traced back to split rights involving Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Co. Notwithstanding it wedged into the top 10 as a result of very strategic screen selection. The film went wide in Mexico where it ranked third with a four-day gross of $1.4 million. The quest for a crossover Hispanic movie has eluded myriad attempts in the past two decades and despite Moon’s very good start, it’s likely to push the envelope without becoming that breakthrough.
Weekend Finals – March 21-23, 2008
| Title | Distrib | Weekend | % Change | Theaters | Cume | Wks | ||
| 1 | 1 | Horton Hears a Who | Fox | 24,590,596 | -45% | 3961 | 86,010,517 | 2 |
| 2 | New | Meet the Browns | Lions Gate | 20,082,809 | – | 2006 | 20,082,809 | 1 |
| 3 | New | Shutter | Fox | 10,447,559 | – | 2753 | 10,447,559 | 1 |
| 4 | New | Drillbit Taylor | Par | 10,309,986 | – | 3056 | 10,309,986 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | 10,000 B.C. | WB | 8,934,064 | -47% | 3454 | 76,401,302 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 | Never Back Down | Summit | 4,827,250 | -44% | 2729 | 16,790,361 | 2 |
| 7 | 4 | College Road Trip | BV | 4,697,683 | -40% | 2575 | 32,073,003 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | The Bank Job | Lions Gate | 4,191,773 | -17% | 1613 | 19,521,672 | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Vantage Point | Sony | 3,805,541 | -30% | 2124 | 65,300,784 | 5 |
| 10 | New | Under the Same Moon | Weinstein Co. | 2,770,000 | – | 266 | 3,496,710 | 1 |
| 11 | 7 | Doomsday | Uni | 2,249,880 | -54% | 1938 | 8,976,710 | 2 |
| 12 | 9 | The Other Boleyn Girl | Sony | 2,038,236 | -29% | 1188 | 22,557,175 | 4 |
| 13 | 12 | Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | Focus | 1,481,593 | -24% | 531 | 7,542,124 | 3 |
| 14 | 10 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | Par | 1,205,418 | -48% | 1226 | 67,793,487 | 6 |
| 15 | 8 | Semi-Pro | New Line | 1,152,569 | -62% | 1144 | 32,279,215 | 4 |
| 16 | 13 | Fool’s Gold | WB | 953,068 | -43% | 1011 | 67,073,779 | 7 |
| 17 | 11 | Jumper | Fox | 939,906 | -54% | 862 | 77,553,504 | 6 |
| 18 | New | Race | UTV | 802,254 | 96 | 802,254 | 1 | |
| 19 | 15 | Juno | Fox Searchlight | 769,842 | -35% | 603 | 141,099,121 | 16 |
| 20 | 14 | Step Up 2 the Streets | BV | 541,008 | -65% | 640 | 56,715,909 | 6 |
| 21 | 25 | The Counterfeiters | Sony Classics | 496,625 | 18% | 92 | 1,851,862 | 5 |
| 22 | 23 | In Bruges | Focus | 472,762 | -3% | 216 | 5,920,566 | 7 |
| 23 | 18 | The Bucket List | WB | 408,265 | -34% | 409 | 90,914,213 | 13 |
| 24 | 36 | National Treasure: Book of Secrets | BV | 390,118 | 135% | 348 | 217,684,901 | 14 |
| 25 | 16 | Penelope | Summit | 386,547 | -56% | 501 | 9,110,144 | 4 |
| 26 | 17 | Definitely, Maybe | Uni | 372,330 | -46% | 378 | 31,395,755 | 6 |
| 27 | 24 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Fox | 372,057 | -47% | 404 | 215,760,497 | 15 |
| 28 | 19 | Be Kind Rewind | New Line | 312,963 | -47% | 264 | 10,575,239 | 5 |
| 29 | 28 | The Band’s Visit | Sony Classics | 267,209 | 1% | 118 | 1,919,596 | 7 |
| 30 | 22 | Funny Games | WIP | 244,110 | -55% | 289 | 1,045,279 | 2 |
| 31 | 26 | Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 3-D | BV | 212,820 | -47% | 40 | 64,547,158 | 8 |
| 32 | 27 | There Will Be Blood | Par Vantage | 211,636 | -39% | 224 | 39,705,413 | 13 |
| 33 | 29 | U2 3D | nWave | 208,033 | -14% | 58 | 6,900,393 | 7 |
| 34 | 30 | 27 Dresses | Fox | 187,901 | -20% | 244 | 75,820,494 | 10 |
| 35 | 35 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventu | nWave | 183,860 | 10% | 45 | 9,485,530 | 25 |
| 36 | 21 | No Country for Old Men | Miramax | 175,512 | -67% | 229 | 74,062,608 | 20 |
| 37 | 20 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Uni | 150,930 | -74% | 258 | 42,018,345 | 7 |
| 38 | 40 | Married Life | Sony Classics | 142,677 | 45% | 32 | 356,858 | 3 |
| 39 | 31 | I Am Legend | WB | 114,710 | -50% | 202 | 256,227,323 | 15 |
| 40 | 37 | La Ligne brisee | Alliance | 105,275 | -32% | 63 | 603,478 | 3 |
| 41 | 33 | Cloverfield | Par | 103,488 | -45% | 205 | 79,801,225 | 10 |
| 42 | New | The Hammer | Intl Film Circuit | 97,137 | – | 20 | 97,137 | 1 |
| 43 | 42 | Paranoid Park | IFC/Filmoption | 94,943 | 9% | 40 | 283,653 | 3 |
| 44 | 34 | Enchanted | BV | 88,510 | -51% | 151 | 128,173,062 | 18 |
| 45 | RE | First Sunday | Sony | 82,350 | – | 142 | 38,140,384 | 11 |
| 46 | 32 | The Eye | Lions Gate | 74,749 | -64% | 135 | 31,155,025 | 8 |
| 47 | 56 | Space Station 3-D | Imax | 71,341 | 54% | 7 | 74,038,953 | 310 |
| 48 | 45 | Deep Sea 3-D | WB | 60,417 | 3% | 10 | 34,703,970 | 108 |
| 49 | 38 | Rambo | Lions Gate | 55,348 | -47% | 136 | 42,724,402 | 9 |
| 50 | 70 | Snow Angels | WIP | 53,411 | 110% | 15 | 106,839 | 3 |
| 51 | 61 | Magnificent Desolation | Imax | 52,689 | 31% | 5 | 23,032,794 | 131 |
| 52 | 47 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Miramax | 50,998 | -17% | 55 | 5,875,116 | 17 |
| 53 | 39 | Atonement | Focus | 46,720 | -54% | 71 | 50,830,581 | 16 |
| 54 | 53 | Caramel | Roadside Attract. | 45,906 | -9% | 33 | 575,186 | 8 |
| 55 | 51 | Persepolis | Sony Classics | 44,702 | -16% | 57 | 4,101,434 | 13 |
| 56 | 46 | Jodhaa Akbar | UTV | 42,606 | -39% | 20 | 3,397,218 | 6 |
| 57 | 93 | The Great Debaters | MGM | 40,237 | 395% | 113 | 30,157,871 | 13 |
| 58 | 55 | Sleepwalking | Overture | 39,923 | -16% | 69 | 103,660 | 2 |
| 59 | 62 | Continental, un film sans fusils | Christal | 38,963 | 8% | 12 | 223,898 | 15 |
| 60 | 49 | Meet the Spartans | Fox | 38,877 | -33% | 66 | 38,077,470 | 9 |
| 61 | 54 | 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days | IFC/Mongrol | 37,762 | -21% | 47 | 1,228,870 | 19 |
| 62 | 50 | The Savages | Fox Searchlight | 37,445 | -31% | 43 | 6,493,735 | 17 |
| 63 | 59 | Diary of the Dead | Weinstein Co. | 35,694 | -16% | 47 | 808,281 | 6 |
| 64 | 60 | CJ7 | Sony Classics | 34,849 | -17% | 30 | 153,436 | 3 |
| 65 | 43 | Mad Money | Overture | 32,623 | -61% | 87 | 20,608,466 | 10 |
| 66 | 68 | Year My Parents Went on Vacation | City Lights | 32,219 | 26% | 22 | 386,565 | 6 |
| 67 | 52 | The Kite Runner | Par Vantage | 31,810 | -37% | 46 | 15,752,605 | 15 |
| 68 | 58 | Borderline | TVA | 30,769 | -29% | 25 | 1,080,368 | 7 |
| 69 | 57 | Charlie Bartlett | MGM | 29,127 | -37% | 31 | 3,898,441 | 5 |
| 70 | New | Planet B-Boy | Elephant Eye | 27,777 | – | 2 | 27,777 | 1 |
| 71 | 44 | The Water Horse: Legend of Deep | Sony | 26,518 | -65% | 75 | 42,003,115 | 13 |
| 72 | New | The Grand | Anchor Bay | 26,321 | – | 6 | 26,321 | 1 |
| 73 | 87 | The Duchess of Langeais | IFC | 23,889 | 70% | 7 | 134,494 | 5 |
| 74 | New | Love Songs | IFC | 20,488 | – | 2 | 20,488 | 1 |
| 75 | 83 | Roving Mars | BV | 20,315 | 20% | 10 | 8,394,239 | 113 |
| 76 | 63 | Untraceable | Sony | 20,308 | -40% | 33 | 28,927,984 | 9 |
| 77 | 67 | La Vie en Rose | Picturehse/TVA | 20,211 | -29% | 20 | 10,228,231 | 54 |
| 78 | 74 | Charlie Wilson’s War | Uni | 19,152 | -21% | 16 | 66,779,488 | 14 |
| Source: MCN/EDI | ||||||||
Estimates – March 21-23, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| Horton Hears a Who | Fox | 25.3 (6,390) | -44% | 3961 | 86.6 |
| Meet the Browns | Lions Gate | 20.2 (10,080) | – | 2006 | 20.2 |
| Shutter | Fox | 10.7 (3,870) | – | 2753 | 10.7 |
| Drillbit Taylor | Par | 10.1 (3,310) | – | 3056 | 10.1 |
| 10,000 B.C. | WB | 8.8 (2,540) | -48% | 3454 | 76.2 |
| Never Back Down | Summit | 4.9 (1,780) | -43% | 2729 | 16.8 |
| College Road Trip | BV | 4.6 (1,780) | -41% | 2575 | 32 |
| The Bank Job | Lions Gate | 4.1 (2,530) | -19% | 1613 | 19.4 |
| Vantage Point | Sony | 3.7 (1,750) | -32% | 2124 | 65.2 |
| Under the Same Moon | Weinstein Co. | 2.4 (8,910) | 266 | 2.4 | |
| Doomsday | Uni | 2.2 (1,120) | -56% | 1938 | 8.9 |
| The Other Boleyn Girl | Sony | 2.1 (1,760) | -28% | 1188 | 22.5 |
| Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | Focus | 1.4 (2,620) | -28% | 531 | 7.5 |
| The Spiderwick Chronicles | Par | 1.2 (1,000) | -47% | 1226 | 67.8 |
| Semi-Pro | New Line | 1.1 (970) | -64% | 1144 | 32.3 |
| Fool’s Gold | WB | 1.0 (960) | -43% | 1011 | 67.1 |
| Jumper | Fox | .91 (1,060) | -55% | 862 | 77.5 |
| Race | UTV | .82 (7,390) | – | 111 | 0.82 |
| Juno | Fox Searchlight | .77 (1,280) | -36% | 603 | 141.1 |
| In Bruges | Focus | .50 (2,310) | 2% | 216 | 5.9 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $107.50 | – | – | – | |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | -18% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -6% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Counterfeiters | Sony Classics | .45 (4,890) | 7% | 92 | 1.8 |
| The Hammer | Hammer | .11 (5,400) | – | 20 | 0.11 |
| Planet B-Boy | Elephant Eye | 28,300 (14,150) | – | 2 | 0.03 |
| The Grand | Anchor Bay | 21,600 (3,600) | – | 6 | 0.02 |
| Love Songs | IFC | 19,500 (8,750) | – | 2 | 0.02 |
| Boarding Gate | Magnolia | 11,400 (11,400) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
| Irina Palm | Strand | 3,500 (3,500) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
| Shelter | Regent | 3,400 (3,400) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – To March 13, 2008
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Mkt Share |
| Warner Bros. (12) | 322.7 | 18.20% |
| Fox (7) | 269.5 | 15.20% |
| Buena Vista (8) | 236.1 | 13.30% |
| Paramount (5) | 170.9 | 9.60% |
| Sony (10) | 166.4 | 9.40% |
| Fox Searchlight (3) | 115.4 | 6.50% |
| Universal (5) | 113.2 | 6.40% |
| Lions Gate (6) | 85.8 | 4.80% |
| Par Vantage (6) | 63.2 | 3.50% |
| New Line (4) | 53.2 | 3.00% |
| Focus (4) | 47.6 | 2.70% |
| Miramax (3) | 36.6 | 2.10% |
| Overture (1) | 20.4 | 1.10% |
| MGM (6) | 20.2 | 1.10% |
| Other * (69) | 55.6 | 3.10% |
| – | 1776.8 | 100.00% |
Top Limited Grossers – To March 6, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross |
| The Orphanage | Picture/Christal | 6,785,399 |
| U2 3D | nWave | 5,928,939 |
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Mrmx | 4,658,936 |
| The Savages | Fox Searchlight | 4,439,120 |
| In Bruges | Focus | 4,029,929 |
| Persepolis | Sony Classics | 3,668,394 |
| Jodhaa Akbar | UTV | 3,114,658 |
| Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventu | nWave | 2,908,041 |
| Cassandra’s Dream | Weinstein Co. | 978,515 |
| The Band’s Visit | Sony Classics | 970,389 |
