MCN Columnists
Leonard Klady

By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Day the Box Office Stood Still

A sturdy debut estimated at $31.4 million for The Day the Earth Stood Still wasn’t enough to stave an overall box office downturn as 2008 creeps toward closure. The session also featured an okay bow of $3.7 million for the seasonal Nothing Like the Holidays, which ranked sixth in the lineup. However, it was no show for the animated Delgo as it squeaked to a $470,000 gross from 2160 theaters.

With Christmas looming the action was centered on niche and platform releases keyed to the award season. One of the most anticipated titles on the Bollywood scene — Rab Ne Bana di Jodi — did not disappoint with an opening salvo of $1.1 million.

Similarly, a clutch of pedigree titles displayed potent initial strength. On a per engagement basis, Clint Eastwood’s “Geezer Harry” in Gran Torino was tops with a $45,300 average at six shootouts; the guilt-laden Doubt registered a $33,800 average from 15 confessionals; Che revolutionized $28,150 each at two venues and The Reader parsed a $21,500 average gross at eight sittings. Even in this crowded field the independent drama Wendy and Lucy managed a respectable $17,200 from two exclusive engagements.

But overall weekend revenues of roughly $92 million translated into a 44% decline from 2007 when the openings of I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks generated industry smiles with respective debuts of $77.2 million and $44.3 million. The year-to-date maintains a slim 0.8% edge from last year and the possibility that economic malaise could translate into annual box office that’s flat with admissions declining by at least 5%.

The remake of the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still had shown considerable interest in tracking studies in the past month. Online advance ticketing on Fandango had the cautionary tale dominating with 51% of sales leading up to opening day and its appeal to young males was seen as a contributing factor in the push-back of the Will Smith vehicle Seven Pounds.

TDTEST also bowed internationally to an estimated $39 million tally including openings in 11 major countries where it ranked first in the marketplace.

Providing a Hispanic twist to seasonal cheer in Nothing Like the Holidays didn’t quite provide the intended crossover boost but the film could benefit from word of mouth in the coming weeks. Delgo — a rather adult tale of urban justice — simply failed to reach any sort of audience.

Once again Milk and Slumdog Millionaire — both recent award winners from critics groups — added theaters and maintained strong interest. They were joined by Frost/Nixon, which has also been enlivened by early kudos.

And that upscale field has ballooned in the current session with entries from Eastwood, Soderbergh, John Patrick Shanleyand Stephen Daldry. The quartet of freshmen entries all posted better-than-encouraging returns but each faces considerable hurdles in the weeks ahead and the odds of all of them successfully platforming into mainstream successes is, frankly, unlikely. In addition to upcoming mainstream competition, the films will be butting heads with other demanding niche titles including Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler, as well as such straddlers as Valkyrie and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

– Leonard Klady


Weekend Finals – December 12-14, 2008

Title Distrib Weekend % Change Theaters Cume Wks
1 New The Day the Earth Stood Still Fox 30,480,153 3560 30,480,153 1
2 1 Four Christmases WB 13,074,470 -22% 3540 87,775,974 3
3 2 Twilight Summit 7,951,131 -39% 3649 150,045,826 4
4 3 Bolt BVI 7,464,282 -24% 3133 88,849,005 4
5 4 Australia Fox 4,169,277 -41% 2703 37,767,253 3
6 5 Quantum of Solace Sony 3,715,522 -45% 2635 157,583,232 5
7 New Nothing Like the Holidays Overture 3,531,664 1671 3,531,664 1
8 6 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Par 3,181,231 -37% 2768 169,937,394 6
9 11 Milk Focus 2,598,638 42% 328 7,590,976 3
10 7 Transporter 3 Lions Gate 2,351,229 -50% 2541 29,377,088 3
11 12 Slumdog Millionaire Fox Searchlight 2,175,518 55% 169 8,048,764 5
12 9 Cadillac Ranch Sony 1,585,407 -54% 688 5,909,492 2
13 10 Role Models Uni 1,543,625 -40% 1328 64,133,465 7
14 8 Punisher: War Zone Lions Gate 1,383,898 -68% 2508 7,011,427 2
15 New Rab Ne Bana di Jodi Yash Raj 911,711 83 911,711 1
16 13 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Miramax 685,465 -33% 679 7,763,062 6
17 23 Frost/Nixon Uni 626,377 247% 39 873,836 2
18 New Delgo FreeStyle 511,920 2160 511,920 1
19 New Doubt Miramax 507,226 15 507,226 1
20 New Gran Torino WB 271,720 6 271,720 1
21 14 Changeling Uni 256,840 -49% 393 35,161,607 8
22 17 Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics 221,323 -22% 151 9,560,874 11
23 25 The Polar Express (reissue) WB 198,404 27% 26 720,745 4
24 30 Eagle Eye Par 198,135 75% 320 100,639,704 12
25 16 Babine Alliance 179,016 -44% 74 1,231,645 3
26 New The Reader Weinstein Co. 168,051 8 179,970 1
27 18 Fireproof IDP 147,543 -41% 346 32,938,242 12
28 21 The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight 114,061 -48% 271 37,208,667 9
29 22 The Dark Knight WB 112,253 -40% 205 530,723,626 22
30 24 Synecdoche, New York Sony Classics 104,777 -36% 97 2,430,402 8
31 26 I’ve Loved You So Long Sony Class/Metro 102,590 -29% 46 1,842,789 13
32 19 High School Musical 3: Senior Year BV 101,527 -58% 260 89,302,354 8
33 20 Zack and Mira Make a Porno Weinstein Co. 100,786 -55% 163 31,047,926 7
34 27 Happy-Go-Lucky Mrmx 86,872 -38% 144 3,014,482 10
35 31 Let the Right One In Magnolia 76,549 -27% 53 1,132,898 8
36 29 Beverly Hills Chihuahua BV 70,981 -38% 173 92,338,383 11
37 32 A Christmas Tale IFC 61,982 -32% 43 719,193 5
38 New Che IFC 61,070 2 61,070 1
39 33 Lakeview Terrace Sony 52,260 -31% 140 40,091,053 13
40 28 Soul Men MGM 49,944 -63% 95 11,966,888 6
41 36 Max Payne Fox 45,734 -18% 121 40,589,549 9
42 34 Igor MGM 45,700 -30% 118 19,389,266 13
43 54 Vicky Christina Barcelona Weinstein Co. 40,479 72% 28 80,864 1
44 38 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure nWave 40,333 -20% 21 20,086,485 63
45 35 Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist Sony 32,737 -44% 101 31,894,655 11
46 40 Burn After Reading Focus 32,481 -28% 57 60,301,580 14
47 RE Santa vs. the Snowman (reissue) Imax 31,184 13 190,776 5
48 39 Wall-E BV 30,820 -34% 123 223,749,872 25
49 53 RockNRolla WB 28,624 14% 123 5,665,302 10
50 48 JCVD Peace Arch 27,441 -47% 26 382,923 6
51 44 Body of Lies WB 24,176 -35% 37 39,015,553 10
52 45 Religulous Lions Gate 21,664 -39% 42 12,995,673 11
53 41 The Duchess Par Vantage 20,169 -55% 66 13,859,147 13
54 46 The Family That Preys Lions Gate 19,742 -44% 62 37,599,924 14
55 57 Magnificent Desolation Imax 19,543 -5% 5 26,706,092 169
56 60 Deep Sea 3-D WB 19,374 4% 10 37,085,889 146
57 43 Appaloosa WB 18,789 -53% 65 20,030,803 13
58 61 My Name is Bruce Image Ent. 18,238 6% 2 173,064 7
59 New Wendy and Lucy Oscilloscope 18,218 2 25,443 1
60 51 City of Ember Fox 16,760 -40% 63 7,807,276 10
61 15 Nobel Son FreeStyle 16,603 -95% 99 529,934 2
Source: MCN/EDI

Estimates – December 12-14, 2008

Title Distributor Gross (averag % chan Theate Cume
The Day the Earth Stood Still Fox 31.4 (8,820) 3560 31.4
Four Christmases WB 13.1 (3,690) -33% 3540 87.8
Twilight Summit 7.8 (2,130) -40% 3649 149.9
Bolt BV 7.6 (2,430) -22% 3133 89
Australia Fox 4.2 (1,540) -41% 2703 37.8
Nothing Like the Holidays Overture 3.7 (2,240) 1671 3.7
Quantum of Solace Sony 3.7 (1,400) -46% 2635 157.6
Madagascar: Back 2 Africa Par 3.2 (1,160) -37% 2768 170
Milk Focus 2.5 (7,620) 36% 328 7.5
Transporter 3 Lions Gate 2.2 (860) -53% 2541 29.2
Slumdog Millionaires Fox Searchlight 2.1 (12,480) 50% 169 8
Cadillac Records Sony 1.5 (2,230) -56% 688 5.8
Role Models Uni 1.5 (1,130) -41% 1328 64.1
Punisher: War Zone Lions Gate 1.3 (510) -70% 2508 6.9
Rab Ne Bana de Jodi Yash Raj 1.1 (10,760) 105 1.1
Boy in the Striped Pajamas Miramax .69 (1,020) -33% 679 7.8
Frost/Nixon Uni .63 (16.050) 246% 39 0.88
Doubt Miramax .51 (33,800) 15 0.51
Delgo FreeStyle .47 (220) 2160 0.47
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $88.70
% Change (Last Year) -44%
% Change (Last Week) 13%
Also debuting/expanding
Gran Torino WB .27 (45,330) 6 0.27
Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics .22 (1,460) -59% 151 9.6
The Reader Weinstein Co. .17 (21,500) 8 0.17
Che IFC 56,300 (28,150) 2 0.06
Wendy and Lucy Oscilloscope 17,200 (8,600) 2 0.02
Dark Streets IDP 9,600 (530) 18 0.01
What Doesn’t Kill You Yari 5,100 (2,550) 2 0.01
Timecrimes Magnolia 3,900 (1,950) 2 0.01
Where God Left His Shoes IFC 2,600 (2,600) 1 0.01
While She Was Out Anchor Bay 2,400 (480) 5 0.01

Domestic Market Share – To December 4, 2008

Distributor (releases) Gross Mrkt Share
Warner Bros. (27) 1660.8 18.40%
Paramount (16) 1516.2 16.80%
Sony (25) 1215.9 13.50%
Universal (21) 1072.8 11.90%
Buena Vista (17) 929.8 10.30%
Fox (22) 862.8 9.60%
Lions Gate (20) 419.2 4.60%
Summit (5) 197.7 2.20%
Fox Searchlight (8) 196.8 2.20%
Focus (7) 130.1 1.40%
MGM (16) 119.3 1.30%
Overture (6) 95.7 1.10%
Paramount Vantage (11) 86.8 1.00%
Miramax (9) 68.1 0.70%
Picturehouse (7) 63.3 0.70%
New Line (4) 61.8 0.70%
Other * (312) 324.6 3.60%
* none greater than 0.5% 9021.7 100.00%

Top Limited Grossers – To December 11, 2008

Title Distributor Gross
Vicky Christina Barcelona MGM 22,524,653
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure nWave 14,360,905
Religulous Lions Gate 12,974,009
Under the Same Moon Weinstein Co. 12,590,147
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Focus 12,413,165
Fly Me to the Moon Summit 12,385,637
U2 3D nWave 9,642,039
The Visitor Overture 9,427,089
Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics 9,339,551
In Bruges Focus 7,800,824
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Mrmx 7,077,597
The Orphanage Picture/Christal 6,894,612
Tell No One Music Box/E1 6,468,156
Brideshead Reisited Mrmx 6,448,127
Slumdog Millionaire Fox Searchlight 5,873,246
Mongol Picturehouse 5,705,761
The Counterfeiters Sony Classics 5,488,570
Shine a Light Par Vantage 5,421,098
Dolphins and Whales 3D 3D Entertainme 5,163,693
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Mrmx 5,064,793
Milk Focus 4,992,338
Be Sociable, Share!

Comments are closed.

Klady

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon