By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Slice and Nice
Weekend box office ballooned as two iconic vehicles found avid fan bases lining up in force. High School Musical 3 led the frame with an estimated $42.3 million and the runner-up slot fell to Saw Vwith a not too shabby $30.6 million. The third national launch was the cop meller Pride and Glory, which opened to no-more-than-okay results of $6.3 million.
Debuts in specialty and regional configurations were once again boisterous. The first wave for the period drama Changeling generated an impressive $33,400 theater average from 15 venues. There was unexpected potency for the gay-themed drama Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, which generated $144,000 from five exposures, and the hard-to-define Synecdoche, New York leaped its first hurdle effectively with a $162,000 gross from nine playdates.
Additionally, there were solid returns of $164,000 for Heroes on the Bollywood circuit and the Quebec bow of Le Deserteur with a $64,600 initial foray. The horror import Let the Right One Inwas also encouraging with a $36,300 tally on five, but a couple of animated entries came up short. The seasonal perennial The Nightmare Before Christmas — now in digital 3D — had a listless $1,310 average in 284 locations and Roadside Romeo — the first joint venture of Disney and Bollywood– was comparably soft with an $1,120 average at 29 sites.
Overall business spiked by 35% from both last weekend and the comparable frame in 2007.
For those scratching their heads about the prior editions of High School Musical … suffice it to say this movie’s not likely for you. The HSM brand has been nurtured by Disney on the small screen and has already generated successful theatrical versions in Argentina and Mexico. For its core youth audience this was the season’s hot ticket and advance sales on MovieTickets.com catapulted the tuner into its top 20 all-time list. In the days leading up to release, the film accounted for 70% to 80% of daily sales on the various ticketing outlets.
Whether it was confidence or bluff, Saw V continued to be a potent horror franchise much in the way that Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street provided October surprises in the past. One can be assured that eventually a new scare franchise will emerge and this one will fade away or be reinvented.
Early fall niche fare, including The Duchess and Appaloosa, have peaked but continue to retain a toe-hold as award season draws closer. Meanwhile, Rachel Getting Married continues its slow and steady expansion effectively and better than pundits’ predictions.
Weekend Estimates – October 24-26, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average | % chh | Theas | Cume |
| High School Musical | BV | 42.3 (11,680) | – | 3623 | 42.3 |
| Saw V | Lionsgate | 30.6 (10,010) | – | 3060 | 30.6 |
| Max Payne | Fox | 7.7 (2,290) | –56% | 3381 | 29.8 |
| Beverly Hills Chihuahua | BV | 6.8 (2,140) | -40% | 3190 | 78.1 |
| Pride and Glory | WB | 6.3 (2,430) | – | 2585 | 6.3 |
| The Secret Life of Bees | Fox Searchlight | 6.0 (3,660) | -43% | 1630 | 19.1 |
| W. | Lionsgate | 5.3 (2,560) | -50% | 2050 | 18.7 |
| Eagle Eye | Par | 5.2 (2,020) | -27% | 2558 | 88 |
| Body of Lies | WB | 3.9 (1,820) | –43% | 2150 | 30.7 |
| Quarantine | Sony | 2.5 (1,130) | -59% | 2228 | 28.7 |
| Fireproof | IDP | 2.0 (2,270) | -21% | 898 | 23.5 |
| Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist | Sony | 2.0 (1,250) | -47% | 1571 | 29.5 |
| Sex Drive | Summit | 1.8 (780) | -49% | 2358 | 6.9 |
| Nights in Rodanthe | WB | 1.3 (1,040) | -51% | 1240 | 39.2 |
| The Duchess | Par Vantage | 1.2 (1,340) | -45% | 873 | 11.1 |
| Appaloosa | WB | 1.1 (1,240) | -44% | 920 | 16.3 |
| Religulous | Lionsgate | .96 (2,120) | -34% | 452 | 10.6 |
| Rachel Getting Married | Sony Classics | ,83 (7,090) | 26% | 117 | 2.7 |
| Burn After Reading | Focus | .77 (1,820) | -30% | 422 | 58.3 |
| Passchendaele | Alliance | .64 (3,170) | -25% | 202 | 1.9 |
| Changeling | Uni | .50 (33,400) | – | 15 | 0.5 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films | $129.70 | – | – | – | |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | 35% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | 35% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D (reissue) | BV | .37 (1,310) | – | 284 | 0.37 |
| Passengers | Sony | .18 (1,450) | – | 125 | 0.18 |
| Heroes | Eros | .16 (2,740) | – | 60 | 0.16 |
| Synecdoche, NY | Sony Classics | .16 (18,060) | – | 9 | 0.16 |
| Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom | Open Door | .14 (28,840) | – | 5 | 0.14 |
| What Just Happened? | Magnolia | 1.2 (3,370) | -39% | 35 | 0.38 |
| Le Deserteur | TVA | 65,650 (2,430) | – | 27 | 0.07 |
| Let the Right One In | Magnolia | 36,300 (7,260) | – | 5 | 0.04 |
| Roadside Rodeo | Yash Raj | 32,500 (1,120) | — | 29 | 0.03 |
| Heaven on Earth | Mongol | 30,400 (4,340) | — | 7 | 0.03 |
| Fears of the Dark | IFC | 6,800 (6,800) | — | 1 | 0.01 |
| Stranded | Zeitgeist | 3,500 (3,500) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – To October 23, 2008
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Mrkt Share |
| Warner Bros. (25) | 1539.4 | 19.70% |
| Paramount (15) | 1330.6 | 17.10% |
| Sony (22) | 1044.9 | 13.40% |
| Universal (18) | 972.8 | 12.50% |
| Fox (21) | 809.7 | 10.40% |
| Buena Vista (14) | 735.1 | 9.40% |
| Lionsgate (16) | 313.4 | 4.00% |
| Fox Searchlight (7) | 167.1 | 2.10% |
| Focus (6) | 122.4 | 1.60% |
| MGM (14) | 105.7 | 1.40% |
| Overture (6) | 94.7 | 1.20% |
| Paramount Vantage (11) | 82.9 | 1.10% |
| Picturehouse (7) | 63.1 | 0.80% |
| New Line (4) | 61.8 | 0.80% |
| Miramax (8) | 58.3 | 0.80% |
| Summit (4) | 51.9 | 0.70% |
| Other * (270) | 239.6 | 3.00% |
| * none greater than 0.4% | 7793.4 | 100.00% |
Top Domestic Grossers – To October 16, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross |
| The Dark Knight | WB | 526,944,204 |
| Iron Man | Par | 318,338,993 |
| Indiana Jones & Kingdom of the Cry | Par | 317,023,851 |
| Hancock | Sony | 229,288,873 |
| Wall-E | BV | 221,761,836 |
| Kung Fu Panda | Par | 215,573,112 |
| Horton Hears a Who | Fox | 154,529,439 |
| Sex and the City | WB | 152,647,258 |
| Mamma Mia! | Uni | 143,159,980 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | BV | 141,682,713 |
| The Incredible Hulk | Uni | 134,617,678 |
| Wanted | Uni | 134,512,024 |
| Get Smart | WB | 130,199,503 |
| Juno * | Fox Searchlight | 115,568,583 |
| Tropic Thunder | Par | 109,786,868 |
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon E | Uni | 102,922,809 |
| Step Brothers | Sony | 101,076,923 |
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | WB | 100,570,180 |
| You Don’t Mess with the Zohan | Sony | 100,112,110 |
| 10,000 B.C. | WB | 94,819,450 |
