By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Step Lively
The (Dark) Knight remained box office king with a weekend estimated at $76.5 million but there was significant room for laughs as Step Brothers debuted in second place with a potent $30 million. Doubting Thomases plaguedX-Files: I Want to Believe – the frame’s other national bow – with the franchise attracting a fan base of $10.1 million to rank fourth.
Activity was fierce in the niche and limited arenas with Brideshead Revisited getting a commercial thumb’s up just shy of $330,000 from 33 venues. The tightrope act of Man on Wire was applauded to $47,400 on two screens but two new Bollywood entries were moribund. Also on the plus side were pop doc American Teen with a $41,200 tally at five and Brit social drama Boy A generating $11,400 at two sites.
Last weekend’s one-two punch of The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! had excellent sophomore frames with respective drops of 52% and 36%. The gloomy Bat set a new speed record as it passed the $200 million milestone in its 10th day in theaters with Imax sites particularly buoyant with screen averages triple those of conventional engagements.
The other film benefiting from unconventional exhibition is Journey to the Center of the Earth in its roughly 800 3-D exposures. While critical response was mixed, reviewers urged filmgoers to see the enhanced version if they opted to buy a ticket. Theater owners and distributors only complaint is the paucity of 3-D outlets that essentially limit the marketplace to a single stereoscopic release at a time.
Pundits sensed that summer viewers were ready for seasonal silliness but unconvinced by a new tale of the paranormal and both predictions proved valid. The Ferrell-Reilly comedy redux of Step Brothers effectively touched the national funny bone and its strategic arrival should ride out the rest of the summer.
The new X-Files, despite claims of non-cognoscenti appeal, played to the choir and that may for bottom lines be just enough to break even. However, die-hards may have been a bit non-plused as the new big screen yarn played more like CSI than The Outer Limits.
Weekend box office approached $180 million and experienced a not unexpected 32% decline from the prior record setting session. It was also slightly off the 2007 pace by 3% when The Simpsons Movie bowed to a staggering $74 million.
Industry trackers were skeptical of the summer placement of Brideshead Revisited but the historic record for niche upscale fare has plenty of positive precedent to support an audience for alternative fare. Mongol and The Visitor have already effectively mined the hot months and the current roll outs of Tell No One and The Wacknessare also contributing to the expansion of the summer crowd.
– Leonard Klady
Weekend Estimates – July 18-20, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| The Dark Knight | WB | 76.5 (17,520) | -52% | 4366 | 315.1 |
| Step Brothers | Sony | 30.0 (9,690) | – | 3094 | 30 |
| Mamma Mia! | Uni | 17.8 (5,940) | -36% | 2990 | 62.6 |
| X-Files: I Want to Believe | Fox | 10.1 (3,160) | – | 3185 | 10.1 |
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | WB | 9.3 (3,470) | -24% | 2688 | 60.1 |
| Hancock | Sony | 8.0 (2,420) | -43% | 3309 | 206.2 |
| Wall-E | BV | 6.2 (2,043) | -38% | 3044 | 195.1 |
| Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Uni | 4.8 (1,600) | -52% | 3018 | 65.8 |
| Space Chimps | Fox | 4.3 (1,700) | -40% | 2538 | 15.9 |
| Wanted | Uni | 2.7 (1,520) | -47% | 1754 | 128.6 |
| Get Smart | WB | 2.1 (1,490) | -49% | 1420 | 124 |
| Kung Fu Panda | Par | 1.0 (1,110) | -45% | 917 | 209 |
| Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | Picturehouse | .62 (1,160) | -35% | 535 | 15.3 |
| Indiana Jones: Kingdom of Crystal Skull | Par | .57 (1,190) | -40% | 477 | 313.6 |
| Sex and the City | WB | .51 (1,470) | -29% | 347 | 150.9 |
| The Incredible Hulk | Uni | .39 (970) | -38% | 403 | 132.5 |
| Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | BV | .38 (1,180) | 171% | 322 | 140.1 |
| Meet Dave | Fox | .37 (740) | -78% | 503 | 10.8 |
| Tell No One | Music Box | .36 (4,910) | -8% | 75 | 1.6 |
| Brideshead Reisited | Miramax | .33 (9,970) | – | 33 | 0.33 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | – | $174.40 | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | -3% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -32% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Wackness | Sony Classics | .19 (1,690) | 24% | 111 | 1.01 |
| Mongol | Picturehouse | .16 (1,120) | -37% | 144 | 5.2 |
| Man on Wire | Magnolia | 47,400 (23,700) | – | 2 | 0.05 |
| American Teen | Par Ventage | 41,200 (8,220) | – | 5 | 0.04 |
| CSNY: déjà vu | Roadside At. | 38,800 (1,620) | – | 24 | 0.04 |
| Money Hai To Honey Hai | Eros | 20,300 (810) | – | 25 | 0.02 |
| Mission Istanbul | Shemaroo | 14,100 (830) | – | 17 | 0.01 |
| Boy A | Weinstein Co. | 11,400 (7,200) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
| Bustin’ Down the Door | Screen Media | 10,500 (2,620) | – | 4 | 0.01 |
| Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer | Anchor Bay | 4,800 (1,200) | – | 4 | 0.01 |
| No Regrets | Regent | 3,900 (1,950) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – To July 24, 2008
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
| Paramount (12) | 1109.1 | 19.50% |
| Warner Bros. (18) | 1028.9 | 18.10% |
| Universal (14) | 695.4 | 12.20% |
| Sony (16) | 681.8 | 12.00% |
| Fox (15) | 678.8 | 11.90% |
| Buena Vista (10) | 603.9 | 10.60% |
| Lions Gate (8) | 204.1 | 3.60% |
| Fox Searchlight (5) | 150.8 | 2.60% |
| Par Vantage (9) | 71.9 | 1.30% |
| New Line (4) | 61.8 | 1.10% |
| Focus (5) | 60.1 | 1.10% |
| Miramax (5) | 48.1 | 0.80% |
| MGM (9) | 46.5 | 0.80% |
| Summit (2) | 34.9 | 0.60% |
| Picturehouse (6) | 32.7 | 0.60% |
| Other * (194) | 180.5 | 3.20% |
| * none greater than 0.5% | 5689.3 | 100.00% |
Top Limited Releases – To July 24, 2008
| Title * | Distributor | Gross |
| Under the Same Moon | Weinstein Co. | 12,590,147 |
| Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | Focus | 12,413,165 |
| Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | nWave | 10,601,018 |
| U2 3D | nWave | 8,942,770 |
| The Visitor | Overture | 8,891,128 |
| In Bruges | Focus | 7,800,824 |
| The Orphanage | Picture/Christal | 6,894,612 |
| The Counterfeiters | Sony Classics | 5,463,111 |
| Shine a Light | Par Vantage | 5,421,098 |
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Mrmx | 5,064,793 |
| Mongol | Picturehouse | 5,008,741 |
| The Savages | Fox Searchlight | 4,795,616 |
| Persepolis | Sony Classics | 4,266,064 |
| Young@Heart | Fox Searchlight | 3,847,606 |
| Then She Found Me | Thinkfilm | 3,679,854 |
| Jodhaa Akbar | UTV | 3,440,718 |
| Dolphins and Whales 3D | 3D Entertainment | 3,341,856 |
| The Band’s Visit | Sony Classics | 3,054,457 |
| Cruising Bar 2 | Alliance | 2,776,340 |
| Space Station | Imax | 2,679,134 |
