By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Silent Night, Silent Matinee
While the first weekend of December is traditionally not quite the lowest grossing weekend of the year … it is pretty close to the bottom. This year is no exception as distributors continued the tradition of releasing movies with limited potency as evidenced by the opening of Punisher: War Zone, which ranked eighth in the lineup with an estimated $3.9 million. Better, in terms of theater average, was the bow of the musical bio of Chess Records Cadillac Ranch, which grossed $3.5 million, but the independent drama Nobel Son was a total fizzle with a $343,000 tally in 893 locations.
The lowest noise among newcomers was the three screen launch of Frost/Nixon, which generated a per location average of $58,000. Otherwise, debuting niche fare was largely moribund. A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy had an encouraging single screen tally of $5,700, but such critically lauded fare as The Black Balloon from Australia and the Cannes-prized, Irish prison-set Hunger failed to translate kudos into ticket sales.
Overall business was sliced a not untypical 50% from the Thanksgiving session. The industry has been loath to debut new movies in early December, convinced viewers are otherwise focused on holiday buying. Even in the current recession there was no thought given to reverse the trend. The few exceptions in the past — Disclosure, Daylight and last year’s domestic underperformer The Golden Compass — failed to convince industry mavens that this point in the calendar was fertile ground to expand the season.
The opening of Frost/Nixon was largely attended with positive reviews, particularly for Oscar-touted respective performances by Michael Sheen and Frank Langella. The film’s older appeal was reflected in exit polls that identified the audience as 69% over the age of 35. It will expand limited to the top 20 markets next weekend and go wide at Christmas with hopes sufficient commercial momentum will expand its appeal.
Cadillac Records, set in the 1960s, also skewed older despite the presence of Beyonce. It’s also getting positive word-of-mouth but faces stiff competition in the coming weeks from holiday releases that are likely to erode its print count in the waning days of 2008.
Weekend business was edging toward $80 million, representing a slim 2% boost from 2007. A year ago there was little to embrace beyond the $25.8 million debut of The Golden Compass and Enchanted’s second place $10.7 million gross.
The brunt of current holdovers in wide release experienced drops in the 40% to 60% range. The exceptions were a pair of award positioned platforms — Milk and the recently announced National Board of Review best picture winner Slumdog Millionaire. Both films are still weeks away from wide release and are not unaware of the hurdles to clear to get mainstream audiences to warm to a biography of a bygone gay political activist and a Mumbai urchin on the brink of quiz show riches.
The coming weeks appear unusually stuffed with movies in need of crossover assistance from critical endorsements. Otherwise the season is relying on the star power of Jim Carrey in Yes Men and Will Smith in Seven Pounds, though the latter is a darker yarn than expected in the actor’s cannon. Marquee value and upscale elements are the come on forThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and bygone comic crimefighter The Spirit could be a left field hit.
Weekend Finals
| Title | Distrib | Weekend | % Change | Theaters | Cume | Wks | ||
| 1 | 1 | Four Christmases | WB | 16,755,478 | -46% | 3335 | 69,418,170 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 | Twilight | Summit | 13,046,722 | -50% | 3620 | 138,402,068 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | Bolt | BVI | 9,796,149 | -63% | 3516 | 79,381,422 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | Australia | Fox | 7,050,261 | -52% | 2721 | 30,919,097 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | Quantum of Solace | Sony | 6,752,390 | -64% | 3423 | 151,620,134 | 4 |
| 6 | 6 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Par | 5,079,120 | -64% | 3317 | 165,653,852 | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Transporter 3 | Lions Gate | 4,668,898 | -61% | 2626 | 25,549,454 | 2 |
| 8 | New | Punisher: War Zone | Lions Gate | 4,271,451 | – | 2508 | 4,271,451 | 1 |
| 9 | New | Cadillac Ranch | Sony | 3,445,559 | – | 686 | 3,445,559 | 1 |
| 10 | 8 | Role Models | Uni | 2,574,460 | -51% | 1907 | 61,617,805 | 6 |
| 11 | 10 | Milk | Focus | 1,834,914 | 26% | 99 | 4,284,465 | 2 |
| 12 | 11 | Slumdog Millionaire | Fox Searchlight | 1,402,176 | 4% | 78 | 5,339,510 | 4 |
| 13 | 9 | The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | Miramax | 1,031,036 | -39% | 678 | 6,657,280 | 5 |
| 14 | 12 | Changeling | Uni | 501,070 | -58% | 681 | 34,683,447 | 7 |
| 15 | New | Nobel Son | FreeStyle | 333,912 | – | 893 | 333,912 | 1 |
| 16 | 19 | Babine | Alliance | 318,784 | -20% | 73 | 929,352 | 2 |
| 17 | 15 | Rachel Getting Married | Sony Classics | 285,331 | -46% | 170 | 9,226,246 | 10 |
| 18 | 18 | Fireproof | IDP | 251,459 | -42% | 499 | 32,678,691 | 11 |
| 19 | 13 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | BV | 244,722 | -77% | 632 | 89,132,272 | 7 |
| 20 | 16 | Zack and Mira Make a Porno | Weinstein Co. | 226,098 | -57% | 275 | 30,839,277 | 6 |
| 21 | 14 | The Secret Life of Bees | Fox Searchlight | 217,469 | -61% | 432 | 36,994,417 | 8 |
| 22 | 20 | The Dark Knight | WB | 187,418 | -45% | 269 | 530,540,885 | 21 |
| 23 | New | Frost/Nixon | Uni | 180,708 | – | 3 | 180,708 | 1 |
| 24 | 22 | Synecdoche, New York | Sony Classics | 163,627 | -43% | 115 | 2,244,636 | 7 |
| 25 | 27 | The Polar Express (reissue) | WB | 146,228 | -7% | 21 | 433,662 | 3 |
| 26 | 25 | I’ve Loved You So Long | Sony Class/Metro | 144,675 | -32% | 51 | 1,722,120 | 12 |
| 27 | 21 | Happy-Go-Lucky | Mrmx | 141,162 | -51% | 202 | 2,861,186 | 9 |
| 28 | 17 | Soul Men | MGM | 133,421 | -71% | 233 | 11,874,010 | 5 |
| 29 | 23 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua | BV | 114,523 | -55% | 248 | 92,231,434 | 10 |
| 30 | 24 | Eagle Eye | Par | 113,174 | -54% | 205 | 100,404,599 | 11 |
| 31 | 29 | Let the Right One In | Magnolia | 104,312 | -23% | 50 | 1,000,653 | 7 |
| 32 | 26 | A Christmas Tale | IFC | 91,283 | -43% | 44 | 619,310 | 4 |
| 33 | 30 | Lakeview Terrace | Sony | 75,386 | -42% | 162 | 40,006,625 | 12 |
| 34 | 33 | Igor | MGM | 65,509 | -41% | 162 | 19,327,987 | 12 |
| 35 | 35 | Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist | Sony | 58,298 | -44% | 161 | 31,832,314 | 10 |
| 36 | 39 | Max Payne | Fox | 55,578 | -31% | 145 | 40,521,670 | 8 |
| 37 | 68 | Pride and Glory | WB | 54,637 | 343% | 180 | 15,709,385 | 7 |
| 38 | 51 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | nWave | 50,253 | 21% | 21 | 20,046,097 | 62 |
| 39 | 31 | Wall-E | BV | 46,898 | -60% | 166 | 223,704,223 | 24 |
| 40 | 37 | Burn After Reading | Focus | 45,414 | -48% | 78 | 60,244,987 | 13 |
| 41 | 47 | The Duchess | Par Vantage | 44,684 | -4% | 135 | 13,823,741 | 12 |
| 42 | 32 | Saw V | Lions Gate | 42,029 | -63% | 115 | 56,729,973 | 7 |
| 43 | 42 | Appaloosa | WB | 40,323 | -40% | 104 | 19,991,616 | 12 |
| 44 | 38 | Body of Lies | WB | 37,443 | -56% | 44 | 38,970,379 | 9 |
| 45 | 43 | Religulous | Lions Gate | 35,630 | -43% | 59 | 12,953,375 | 10 |
| 46 | 40 | The Family That Preys | Lions Gate | 35,177 | -60% | 94 | 37,569,349 | 13 |
| 47 | 28 | Yuvraaj | Eros | 34,336 | -78% | 77 | 565,440 | 3 |
| 48 | 48 | JCVD | Peace Arch | 33,234 | -29% | 21 | 337,038 | 5 |
| 49 | 36 | Dostana | Yash Raj | 30,919 | -67% | 34 | 1,235,028 | 4 |
| 50 | 41 | The Haunting of Molly Hartley | FreeStyle | 28,229 | -82% | 55 | 13,396,904 | 6 |
| 51 | 45 | City of Ember | Fox | 27,861 | -49% | 83 | 7,781,625 | 9 |
| 52 | New | Don Carlo | Emerging | 27,834 | – | 5 | 27,834 | 1 |
| 53 | 54 | RockNRolla | WB | 25,069 | -34% | 36 | 5,622,796 | 9 |
| 54 | 49 | Vicky Christina Barcelona | MGM | 23,467 | -46% | 12 | 22,512,805 | 17 |
| 55 | 44 | W. | Lions Gate | 22,018 | -61% | 44 | 25,556,511 | 8 |
| 56 | 59 | Space Station 3D | Imax | 21,779 | -18% | 6 | 77,089,897 | 347 |
| 57 | 55 | Magnificent Desolation | Imax | 20,976 | -38% | 7 | 26,666,743 | 168 |
| 58 | 34 | Righteous Kill | Overture | 20,908 | -80% | 89 | 40,054,627 | 13 |
| 59 | 52 | Mamma Mia! | Uni | 18,166 | -56% | 66 | 144,182,509 | 21 |
| 60 | 46 | Deep Sea 3-D | WB | 18,021 | -63% | 10 | 37,052,356 | 145 |
| 61 | 72 | My Name is Bruce | Image Ent. | 17,214 | 30% | 2 | 154,342 | 6 |
| Source: MCN/EDI | ||||||||
Estimates – December 6-7, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | %Chg | Theas | Cume |
| Four Christmases | WB | 17.8 (5,330) | -43% | 3335 | 70.4 |
| Twilight | Summit | 13.3 (3,680) | -49% | 3629 | 138.7 |
| Bolt | BV | 9.6 (2,640) | -64% | 3654 | 79.2 |
| Australia | Fox | 6.8 (2,510) | -54% | 2721 | 30.7 |
| Quantum of Solace | Sony | 6.7 (1,950) | -65% | 3423 | 151.5 |
| Madagascar: Back 2 Africa | Par | 5.1 (1,530) | -64% | 3317 | 165.7 |
| Transporter 3 | Lions Gate | 4.6 (1,760) | -62% | 2626 | 25.5 |
| Punisher: War Zone | Lions Gate | 3.9 (1,570) | – | 2508 | 3.9 |
| Cadillac Records | Sony | 3.5 (5,060) | – | 686 | 3.5 |
| Role Models | Uni | 2.6 (1,380) | -49% | 1907 | 61.7 |
| Milk | Focus | 1.8 (18,380) | 25% | 99 | 4.3 |
| Slumdog Millionaires | Fox Searchlight | 1.4 (18,330) | 6% | 78 | 5.4 |
| Boy in the Striped Pajamas | Miramax | 1.0 (1,500) | -40% | 678 | 6.6 |
| Changeling | Uni | .51 (750) | -58% | 1010 | 34.7 |
| Nobel Son | FreeStyle | .34 (380) | – | 893 | 0.34 |
| Babine | Alliance | .31 (4,080) | -21% | 76 | 1 |
| Rachel Getting Married | Sony Classics | .29 (1,690) | -45% | 172 | 9.2 |
| Zack and Mira Make a Porno | Weinstein Co. | .25 (900) | -52% | 275 | 30.9 |
| High School Musical 3 | BV | .22 (350) | -79% | 632 | 89.1 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $78.60 | – | – | – | |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | 2% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -50% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Frost/Nixon | Uni | .17 (58,000) | – | 3 | 0.17 |
| Synecdoche, New York | Sony Classics | .15 (1,500) | -47% | 101 | 2.2 |
| The Black Balloon | NeoClassics | 10,100 (1,260) | – | 8 | 0.01 |
| A Good Day to Be Black & Se | Magnolia | 5,700 (5,700) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
| Shooting Michael Moore | Hypocrate | 2,760 (920) | – | 3 | 0.01 |
| Ciao | Regent | 2,300 (2,300) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
| Hunger | IFC | 1,950 (1,950) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – To December 4, 2008
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Mrkt Share |
| Warner Bros. (27) | 1637.9 | 18.40% |
| Paramount (16) | 1509.9 | 16.90% |
| Sony (24) | 1202.4 | 13.50% |
| Universal (20) | 1068.3 | 12.00% |
| Buena Vista (17) | 917.4 | 10.30% |
| Fox (22) | 853.1 | 9.60% |
| Lions Gate (19) | 407.3 | 4.60% |
| Fox Searchlight (8) | 194.6 | 2.20% |
| Summit (5) | 180.9 | 2.00% |
| Focus (7) | 127.5 | 1.40% |
| MGM (16) | 119.1 | 1.30% |
| Overture (6) | 95.7 | 1.10% |
| Paramount Vantage (11) | 86.7 | 1.00% |
| Miramax (9) | 66.3 | 0.70% |
| Picturehouse (7) | 63.3 | 0.70% |
| New Line (4) | 61.8 | 0.70% |
| Other * (309) | 321 | 3.60% |
| * none greater than 0.5% | 8913.2 | 100.00% |
Top Domestic Grossers – To December 4, 2008
| Title | Distributor | Gross |
| The Dark Knight | WB | 530,258,989 |
| Iron Man | Par | 318,338,993 |
| Indiana Jones & Kingdom of th | Par | 317,023,851 |
| Hancock | Sony | 229,431,675 |
| Wall-E | BV | 223,641,119 |
| Kung Fu Panda | Par | 215,915,512 |
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Par | 159,066,369 |
| Horton Hears a Who | Fox | 154,529,439 |
| Sex and the City | WB | 152,647,258 |
| Mamma Mia! | Uni | 144,147,766 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prin | BV | 141,682,713 |
| Quantum of Solace | Sony | 141,418,534 |
| The Incredible Hulk | Uni | 134,617,678 |
| Wanted | Uni | 134,512,024 |
| Get Smart | WB | 130,335,095 |
| Twilight | Summit | 119,706,509 |
| Juno * | Fox Searchlight | 115,568,583 |
| Tropic Thunder | Par | 110,562,193 |
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dra | Uni | 103,183,080 |
| Journey to the Center of the E | WB | 101,689,940 |
