

By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Play Stalk Man Woman
Audiences opted for the perverse office politics of Obsessed with the film bowing to an estimated $28.8 million. The frame’s other national debuts included the hard kicking actioner Fighting with $11.3 million in third position and, close behind, the potent drama The Soloist with $9.7 million. Also new was the eco-documentary Earth that bowed on Wednesday and scored an opening weekend tally of $8.6 million.
The Informers – the premier outing for Senator Films – fizzled with $292,000 at 482 venues. Among the better limited release freshmen were the pugilistic portrait Tyson with $75,300 at 11 arenas, the documentary Nursery University with $9,600 from a single screen and Italian political thriller Il Divo grossing $13,200 at two exposures.
Overall business expanded slightly from a week earlier and saw another sizeable boost from last year’s record.
Obsessed, a latter day Fatal Attraction, was tracking ahead of the pack though estimates pegged its opening at between $23 million and $25 million. Exit polls pegged the audience at 58% female and split 50/50 at the over/under 25-year-old divide. The title was a real asset and the prospect of bad behavior and just desserts spurred along opening weekend business.
Fighting drew in young males to its yarn of underground brawling and the plus 25s gravitated toward the real life saga of a homeless, emotionally troubled musician in The Soloist. Both films performed pretty much as expected though the generally positive response to the Robert Downey Jr.-Jamie Foxx drama bodes well for that picture’s stamina.
Earth also skewed older. It’s been in release internationally since late 2007 with boffo returns in Germany, France and Japan and an overall foreign tally of more than $76 million.
Weekend business generated slightly better than $115 million for a 4% hike from the prior frame’s revenues. It was a potent 30% improved from 2008 when debuts of Baby Mama and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay led with respective box offices of $17.4 million and $14.9 million. Domestic box office to date is running 15% ahead of 2008’s pace.
The announcement that Germany’s Senator Films was entering the U.S. distribution market last year didn’t provide many details about a slate or gestalt. The company had a history of co-financing American movies but that hardly guaranteed a flow of A-list product. Its initial offering, The Informers, mirrors a disconnect associated with past European initiatives such as Penta but that’s hardly sufficient to write an obit. Far more telling for its future is how it will weather the current tight money market and create a slate in these recessionary times.
Weekend Finals
Title | Distrib | Weekend | % Change | Theaters | Cume | Wks | ||
1 | New | Obsessed | Sony | 28,612,730 | – | 2514 | 28,612,730 | 1 |
2 | 1 | 17 Again | WB | 11,518,495 | -51% | 3255 | 39,823,333 | 2 |
3 | New | Fighting | Uni | 11,024,370 | – | 2309 | 11,024,370 | 1 |
4 | New | The Soloist | Par | 9,716,458 | – | 2024 | 9,716,458 | 1 |
5 | New | Earth | BV | 8,825,760 | – | 1804 | 14,472,792 | 1 |
6 | 4 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 8,520,826 | -36% | 3358 | 174,813,830 | 5 |
7 | 2 | State of Play | Uni | 6,848,885 | -51% | 2807 | 25,081,890 | 2 |
8 | 3 | Hannah Montana: The Movie | BV | 6,437,141 | -52% | 3231 | 65,655,057 | 3 |
9 | 5 | Fast & Furious | Uni | 6,204,940 | -47% | 3566 | 145,367,040 | 4 |
10 | 6 | Crank: High Voltage | Lions Gate | 2,618,379 | -62% | 2223 | 11,735,952 | 2 |
11 | 9 | I Love You, Man | Par | 1,952,921 | -41% | 1563 | 67,809,860 | 6 |
12 | 8 | Knowing | Summit | 1,943,154 | -46% | 1860 | 76,780,504 | 6 |
13 | 7 | Observe and Report | WB | 1,746,102 | -58% | 2010 | 22,171,543 | 3 |
14 | 10 | The Haunting in Connecticut | Lions Gate | 1,497,120 | -52% | 1675 | 54,207,345 | 5 |
15 | 14 | Sunshine Cleaning | Overture | 587,176 | -40% | 638 | 9,769,146 | 7 |
16 | 12 | Adventureland | Miramax | 532,270 | -60% | 581 | 15,124,996 | 4 |
17 | 13 | Duplicity | Uni | 442,255 | -60% | 610 | 39,870,305 | 6 |
18 | 15 | Race to Witch Mountain | BV | 405,716 | -45% | 591 | 64,373,915 | 7 |
19 | 17 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Sony | 357,883 | -24% | 342 | 145,151,723 | 15 |
20 | 16 | Taken | Fox | 355,149 | -39% | 450 | 142,607,741 | 13 |
21 | New | The Informers | Senator | 306,600 | – | 482 | 306,600 | 1 |
22 | 11 | Dragonball Evolution | Fox | 300,000 | -83% | 500 | 8,723,546 | 3 |
23 | 29 | Gran Torino | WB | 288,315 | 118% | 348 | 147,092,477 | 20 |
24 | 24 | Under the Sea 3D | WB | 270,406 | 0% | 43 | 6,330,109 | 11 |
25 | 21 | Sin Nombre | Focus | 206,935 | -20% | 83 | 1,496,373 | 6 |
26 | 22 | Hotel for Dogs | Par | 190,466 | -24% | 276 | 72,594,587 | 15 |
27 | 18 | The Last House on the Left | Uni | 155,720 | -46% | 229 | 32,474,735 | 7 |
28 | 25 | He’s Just Not That Into You | WB | 133,347 | -36% | 232 | 93,625,873 | 12 |
29 | 26 | Watchmen | WB | 125,198 | -37% | 145 | 107,061,353 | 8 |
30 | 45 | Is Anybody There? | Story Island | 116,479 | 1525 | 54 | 178,676 | 2 |
31 | RE | La Sonnambula | Fathom | 107,197 | – | 66 | 1,265,196 | 5 |
32 | 43 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | BV | 101,246 | 101% | 176 | 43,997,966 | 11 |
33 | 56 | Fired Up | Sony | 100,961 | 263% | 61 | 17,419,445 | 10 |
34 | 20 | 12 Rounds | Fox | 100,484 | -62% | 223 | 11,492,383 | 5 |
35 | 30 | Sugar | Sony Classics | 91,739 | -11% | 51 | 454,772 | 4 |
36 | New | Tyson | Sony Classics | 85,046 | – | 11 | 85,046 | 1 |
37 | 27 | Coraline | Focus | 80,815 | -48% | 141 | 74,928,014 | 12 |
38 | 33 | Valentino: The Last Emperor | Truly Indie | 72,741 | -12% | 27 | 571,977 | 6 |
39 | 28 | Slumdog Millionaire | Fox Searchlight | 71,403 | -50% | 131 | 141,171,367 | 24 |
40 | 23 | American Violet | IDP | 66,510 | -73% | 58 | 372,053 | 2 |
41 | 32 | Push | Summit | 63,373 | -28% | 93 | 31,730,682 | 12 |
42 | New | Mini Punjab | Movie Box | 60,520 | – | 11 | 60,520 | 1 |
43 | 46 | Paris 36 | Sony Classics | 58,735 | 28% | 36 | 280,129 | 4 |
44 | 52 | Anvil! The Story of Anvil | Abramarama/FWL | 48,160 | 36% | 13 | 168,379 | 3 |
45 | 35 | Every Little Step | Sony Classics | 47,407 | -31% | 8 | 151,200 | 2 |
46 | 34 | Two Lovers | Magnolia | 44,864 | -43% | 56 | 2,937,226 | 11 |
47 | 37 | Gomorrah | IFC/E1 | 42,948 | -35% | 50 | 1,616,264 | 11 |
48 | 49 | Lymelife | Screen Media | 41,505 | -1% | 25 | 139,731 | 3 |
49 | 81 | Defiance | Par Vantage | 40,672 | 276% | 102 | 28,622,873 | 17 |
50 | 39 | The International | Sony | 37,962 | -38% | 66 | 25,823,425 | 11 |
51 | 60 | Fly Me to the Moon | Summit | 37,074 | 54% | 8 | 13,592,311 | 37 |
52 | 44 | Shall We Kiss? | Music Box | 36,511 | -26% | 28 | 325,089 | 5 |
53 | 51 | Magnificent Desolation | Imax | 36,011 | -8% | 6 | 28,472,272 | 188 |
54 | 31 | Medea Goes to Jail | Lions Gate | 35,228 | -64% | 99 | 90,543,564 | 10 |
55 | 36 | Entre les murs (The Class) | Sony Classics | 33,650 | -49% | 64 | 3,642,327 | 15 |
56 | 41 | Tera Mera Ki Rishta | Eros | 31,067 | -47% | 17 | 262,245 | 3 |
57 | 47 | Goodbye Solo | Roadside Attract. | 27,304 | -36% | 15 | 268,583 | 5 |
58 | 38 | Bedtime Stories | BV | 27,052 | -58% | 75 | 12,028,694 | 17 |
59 | 48 | The Great Buck Howard | Magnolia | 23,668 | -44% | 44 | 647,374 | 6 |
60 | 66 | Dolphins and Whales 3D | 3D Entertainment | 22,394 | 8% | 8 | 5,939,990 | 63 |
61 | 50 | Space Station 3D | Imax | 21,832 | -13% | 5 | 78,522,271 | 367 |
62 | 42 | The Reader | Weinstein Co. | 20,822 | -62% | 55 | 34,157,651 | 20 |
63 | New | Le Crime est notre affaire | Metropole | 20,121 | – | 8 | 20,121 | 1 |
64 | 54 | Everlasting Moments | IFC | 20,096 | -35% | 24 | 453,943 | 8 |
65 | 40 | Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Par | 19,530 | -67% | 39 | 127,528,856 | 18 |
66 | 58 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | NatGeo | 18,977 | -28% | 11 | 21,360,502 | 82 |
67 | 62 | The Cross | Gener8Xion | 17,900 | -24% | 35 | 675,000 | 5 |
Source: EDI/MCN |
Estimates – April 24-26, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
Obsessed | Sony | 28.8 (11,470) | – | 2514 | 28.8 |
17 Again | WB | 11.6 (3,560) | -51% | 3255 | 39.9 |
Fighting | Uni | 11.3 (4,908) | – | 2309 | – |
The Soloist | Par | 9.7 (4,780) | – | 2024 | 9.7 |
Earth | BV | 8.6 (4,770) | – | 1804 | 14.3 |
Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 8.6 (2,430) | -35% | 3538 | 174.9 |
State of Play | Uni | 6.8 (2,440) | -51% | 2807 | 25.1 |
Hannah Montana: The Movie | BV | 6.4 (1,970) | -52% | 3231 | 65.6 |
Fast & Furious | Uni | 5.9 (1,660) | -50% | 3566 | 145.1 |
Crank: High Voltage | Lions Gate | 2.5 (1,130) | -64% | 2223 | 11.6 |
I Love You Man | Par | 1.9 (1,240) | -42% | 1563 | 67.8 |
Knowing | Summit | 1.9 (1,010) | -47% | 1860 | 76.7 |
Observe and Report | WB | 1.7 (840) | -60% | 2010 | 22.1 |
The Haunting in Connecticut | Lions Gate | 1.5 (880) | -53% | 1675 | 54.2 |
Sunshine Cleaning | Overture | .58 (910) | -41% | 638 | 9.8 |
Adventureland | Miramax | .52 (900) | -61% | 581 | 15.1 |
Duplicity | Uni | .45 (740) | -69% | 610 | 39.9 |
The Informers | Senator | .29 (610) | – | 482 | 0.3 |
Race to Witch Mountain | BV | .35 (590) | -53% | 591 | 64.3 |
Taken | Fox | .33 (730) | -43% | 450 | 142.6 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $108.30 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | – | 30% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | 4% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Sin Nombre | Focus | .20 (2,450) | -21% | 83 | 1.5 |
Is Anybody There? | Story Island | .11 (2,010) | 134% | 54 | 0.17 |
Tyson | Sony Classics | 75,300 (6,840) | – | 11 | 0.08 |
American Violet | IDP | 63,300 (1,110) | -74% | 57 | 0.37 |
April Showers | Pure Motive | 13,400 (790) | – | 15 | 0.01 |
Il Divo | Music Box | 13,200 (6,600) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
Nursery University | Variance | 9,600 (9,600) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
The Mutant Chronicles | Magnet | 4,800 (2,400) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
Treeless Mountain | Oscilloscope | 4,700 (2,350) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – April 23, 2009
Distributor (releases) | Gross (millio | Mrkt Share |
Warner Bros. (17) | 526.5 | 17.50% |
Paramount (7) | 412.9 | 13.80% |
Fox (8) | 316.7 | 10.50% |
Sony (9) | 311.2 | 10.40% |
Universal (9) | 305.1 | 10.20% |
Buena Vista (10) | 259.7 | 8.60% |
Lions Gate (7) | 228.3 | 7.60% |
Fox Searchlight (5) | 185.6 | 6.20% |
Summit (4) | 128.4 | 4.30% |
Focus (3) | 93.4 | 3.10% |
Paramount Vantage (2) | 51.2 | 1.70% |
MGM (3) | 42.3 | 1.40% |
Miramax (4) | 37.2 | 1.20% |
Weinstein Co. (6) | 34.4 | 1.10% |
Overture (3) | 24.2 | 0.80% |
Other * (98) | 46.6 | 1.60% |
* none greater than 0.4% | 3003.7 | 100.00% |