

By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Pop Goes the Diesel
Fast & Furious lived up to its moniker, speeding past the competition and re-writing the record books with an estimated $72.4 million debut. In another expansive frame the only other national debut — the droll retro-comedy Adventureland — didn’t provide much in counter-programming with a $5.7 million tally.
The session was also rife with limited and niche bows including a pair of inspirational films — The One Lamb and C Me Dance — that failed to speak to the converted. The lauded inside baseball-set Sugar slid home with an okay $64,500 at 10 stadiums and French import Paris 36 showed comparable strength with $45,800 gross from seven venues, while Bollywood entry 8 x 10 Tasveer disappointed with $50,200 at 38 theaters.
Exclusive openers were slightly more encouraging, including the documentary Enlighten Up!, the musical oddity Anvil! The Story of Anvil and the Oscar short-listed Tulpan from Kazakhstan.
Overall box office experienced a slight 8% bump from last weekend and a massive expansion compared with 2008.
Tracking had been torrid for Fast & Furious, which reassembled the original cast of the souped-up franchise. Fandango had the film taking 53% of its advance ticket sales and industry estimates predicted it would bow somewhere between $50 million and $55 million, or slightly less than last weekend’s launch of Monsters vs. Aliens.
However, following a $1.8 million gross from Thursday previews and full-day box office of $30.4 million expectations revved up. If estimates hold, F & F will be Universal’s biggest opening weekend ever, usurping The Lost World’s $72.1 million tally from its Memorial holiday debut. It certainly mowed down the prior April record of $42 million, held by Anger Management.
While reviews were upbeat for Adventureland, response was tepid for the mix of nostalgia, comedy and cheap thrills.
Ticket sales approached $157 million for the frame with Fast & Furious and runner up Monsters vs. Aliens accounting for about two-thirds of admissions. The tally exceeded 2008 business by 70% when debuts of Nim’s Island ($13.1 million) andLeatherheads ($12.7 million) failed to unseat the second weekend score of $15.3 million posted by 21.
Marketplace volume continued to contract with just 14 films, including the slowly expanding Sunshine Cleaning, posting a gross in excess of $500,000. The acclaimed American indie Sin Nombre is also taking the cautious route with few titles in the wings directed to alternative audiences in the coming months.
Last year’s success of Fireproof had to have been a prod for a pair of inspirational tales that bowed over the weekend in primarily Heartland locations. But neither C Me Dance nor The One Lamb connected with that audience which is primed for commercial pruning … if you have the right picture that hits the target and can crossover.
Weekend Finals – April 3-5, 2009
Title | Distrib | Weekend | % Change | Theaters | Cume | Wks | ||
1 | New | Fast & Furious | Uni | 70,950,500 | 3461 | 70,950,500 | 1 | |
2 | 1 | Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 32,609,165 | -45% | 4109 | 104,799,387 | 2 |
3 | 2 | The Haunting in Connecticut | Lions Gate | 9,481,647 | -59% | 2732 | 37,171,280 | 2 |
4 | 3 | Knowing | Summit | 8,146,156 | -45% | 3323 | 58,219,770 | 3 |
5 | 4 | I Love You, Man | Par | 7,722,469 | -39% | 2829 | 49,159,559 | 3 |
6 | New | Adventureland | Miramax | 5,722,039 | 1862 | 5,722,039 | 1 | |
7 | 5 | Duplicity | Uni | 4,174,240 | -46% | 2522 | 32,250,215 | 3 |
8 | 6 | Race to Witch Mountain | BV | 3,212,602 | -45% | 2825 | 58,249,111 | 4 |
9 | 7 | 12 Rounds | Fox | 2,260,906 | -58% | 2331 | 8,982,767 | 2 |
10 | 11 | Sunshine Cleaning | Overture | 1,807,164 | 42% | 479 | 4,702,721 | 4 |
11 | 9 | Taken | Fox | 1,544,471 | -43% | 1355 | 139,416,323 | 10 |
12 | 10 | The Last House on the Left | Uni | 1,259,325 | -52% | 1305 | 30,674,195 | 4 |
13 | 8 | Watchmen | WB | 1,074,320 | -61% | 1103 | 105,346,566 | 5 |
14 | 12 | Slumdog Millionaire | Fox Searchlight | 499,257 | -57% | 498 | 140,244,722 | 21 |
15 | 13 | Medea Goes to Jail | Lions Gate | 479,975 | -58% | 619 | 89,869,224 | 7 |
16 | 14 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Sony | 373,718 | -55% | 545 | 143,162,362 | 12 |
17 | 16 | Gran Torino | WB | 268,026 | -39% | 363 | 146,236,899 | 17 |
18 | 24 | Under the Sea 3D | WB | 255,980 | 27% | 43 | 4,733,885 | 8 |
19 | 15 | He’s Just Not That Into You | WB | 207,532 | -56% | 261 | 92,901,114 | 9 |
20 | 21 | Bedtime Stories | BV | 205,224 | -20% | 244 | 11,641,389 | 15 |
21 | 17 | Hotel for Dogs | Par | 194,542 | -38% | 240 | 71,651,821 | 12 |
22 | 19 | The Reader | Weinstein Co. | 192,085 | -38% | 232 | 33,807,465 | 17 |
23 | 41 | Sin Nombre | Focus | 184,380 | 163% | 24 | 398,982 | 3 |
24 | 20 | Coraline | Focus | 178,148 | -42% | 211 | 74,255,387 | 9 |
25 | 25 | Two Lovers | Magnolia | 171,555 | -6% | 121 | 2,479,261 | 8 |
26 | 35 | Push | Summit | 142,179 | 54% | 214 | 31,331,232 | 9 |
27 | 40 | The Pink Panther 2 | Sony | 137,174 | 93% | 227 | 36,078,721 | 9 |
28 | 23 | Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Par | 131,342 | -37% | 213 | 127,247,417 | 15 |
29 | 26 | Entre les murs (The Class) | Sony Classics | 129,928 | -28% | 114 | 3,269,585 | 12 |
30 | 28 | Dede a travers les brumes | TVA | 122,238 | -28% | 66 | 1,231,871 | 4 |
31 | 22 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | BV | 103,044 | -59% | 164 | 43,662,614 | 8 |
32 | 18 | The Cross | Gener8Xion | 93,980 | -70% | 127 | 496,009 | 2 |
33 | 29 | Gomorrah | IFC/E1 | 93,757 | -16% | 49 | 1,287,229 | 8 |
34 | 34 | The Great Buck Howard | Magnolia | 91,988 | -2% | 64 | 390,092 | 3 |
35 | New | Ayan | Sun | 87,223 | 10 | 87,223 | 1 | |
36 | 56 | Friday the 13th | WB | 81,465 | 104% | 202 | 64,877,692 | 8 |
37 | 50 | Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li | Fox | 70,350 | 36% | 69 | 8,646,753 | 6 |
38 | 27 | Fired Up | Sony | 69,064 | -61% | 151 | 17,231,291 | 7 |
39 | New | 8 x 10 Tasveer | Navar | 65,716 | 48 | 65,716 | 1 | |
40 | 36 | Grande ourse: La Cle des possibles | Alliance | 62,799 | -28% | 44 | 189,042 | 2 |
41 | 31 | Bride Wars | Fox | 60,339 | -41% | 143 | 58,570,609 | 13 |
42 | New | Sugar | Sony Classics | 60,140 | 11 | 60,140 | 1 | |
43 | 30 | Bolt | BV | 58,442 | -47% | 144 | 115,481,079 | 20 |
44 | 32 | Marley and Me | Fox | 57,249 | -42% | 89 | 143,084,510 | 15 |
45 | 33 | The Wrestler | Fox Searchlight | 57,143 | -39% | 107 | 26,063,654 | 16 |
46 | 66 | Valentino: The Last Emperor | Truly Indie | 56,783 | 82% | 4 | 177,180 | 3 |
47 | 81 | Play the Game | Slow Hand | 52,542 | 254% | 55 | 276,773 | 6 |
48 | 55 | Everlasting Moments | IFC | 47,703 | 13% | 25 | 295,104 | 5 |
49 | 38 | Doubt | Miramax | 45,577 | -45% | 77 | 33,422,556 | 17 |
50 | 71 | Shall We Kiss? | Music Box | 44,786 | 56% | 19 | 83,715 | 2 |
51 | New | Paris 36 | Sony Classics | 44,690 | 7 | 44,690 | 1 | |
52 | New | Alien Trespass | Roadside Attract. | 43,437 | 40 | 43,437 | 1 | |
53 | 37 | Inkheart | WB | 42,287 | -49% | 101 | 17,281,832 | 11 |
54 | 43 | One Week | Mongrel | 40,410 | -37% | 28 | 985,342 | 5 |
55 | 42 | Last Chance Harvey | Overture | 38,473 | -40% | 73 | 14,785,709 | 15 |
56 | 64 | Magnificent Desolation | Imax | 38,111 | 14% | 7 | 28,066,172 | 185 |
57 | 52 | Dolphins and Whales 3D | 3D Entertainment | 37,506 | -14% | 7 | 5,842,602 | 60 |
58 | 68 | Space Station 3D | Imax | 37,343 | 20% | 7 | 78,301,156 | 364 |
59 | 39 | The Uninvited | Par | 34,823 | -53% | 91 | 28,631,641 | 10 |
60 | 49 | The International | Sony | 33,558 | -36% | 42 | 25,641,379 | 8 |
61 | New | Bart Got a Room | Anchor Bay | 32,764 | 11 | 32,764 | 1 | |
62 | 48 | Che | IFC/E1 | 32,372 | -38% | 30 | 2,001,717 | 17 |
63 | 58 | Goodbye Solo | Roadside Attract. | 30,395 | -20% | 5 | 80,868 | 2 |
64 | 61 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | NatGeo | 29,279 | -17% | 15 | 21,233,671 | 79 |
65 | 44 | Revolutionary Road | Par Vantage | 27,401 | -57% | 56 | 22,938,881 | 15 |
66 | 67 | Wendy and Lucy | Oscilloscope | 26,212 | -14% | 32 | 783,789 | 17 |
67 | 63 | New in Town | Lions Gate | 24,867 | -26% | 51 | 16,811,835 | 10 |
68 | RE | The Neccesities of Life | E1 | 24,556 | 273% | 9 | 361,801 | 7 |
69 | New | C Me Dance | FreeStyle | 24,066 | 151 | 24,066 | 1 | |
70 | 51 | Defiance | Par Vantage | 23,635 | -52% | 52 | 28,514,684 | 14 |
71 | 46 | Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Sony | 23,012 | -61% | 62 | 46,758,824 | 11 |
72 | 75 | Tokyo! | Liberation | 20,652 | 12% | 12 | 172,789 | 5 |
73 | 60 | Fly Me to the Moon | Summit | 20,272 | -44% | 8 | 13,408,004 | 34 |
74 | 57 | Tokyo Sonata | Regent | 19,202 | -50% | 9 | 138,805 | 4 |
75 | 53 | Frost/Nixon | Uni | 17,883 | -59% | 40 | 18,704,594 | 18 |
Source: EDI/MCN |
Estimates – April 3-5, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross (average | % change | Theaters | Cume |
Fast & Furious | Uni | 72.4 (20,920) | – | 3461 | 72.4 |
Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 33.6 (8,170) | -43% | 4109 | 105.8 |
The Haunting in Connecticut | Lions Gate | 9.7 (3,540) | -58% | 2732 | 37.4 |
I Love You Man | Par | 7.9 (2,780) | -38% | 2829 | 49.3 |
Knowing | Summit | 8.1 (2,440) | -45% | 3323 | 58.2 |
Adventureland | Miramax | 5.7 (3,080) | – | 1862 | 5.7 |
Duplicity | Uni | 4.2 (1,670) | -45% | 2522 | 32.3 |
Race to Witch Mountain | BV | 3.2 (1,140) | -44% | 2825 | 58.3 |
12 Rounds | Fox | 2.3 (980) | -57% | 2331 | 9 |
Sunshine Cleaning | Overture | 1.9 (3,890) | 46% | 479 | 4.8 |
Taken | Fox | 1.5 (1,140) | -44% | 1335 | 139.4 |
Last House on the Left | Uni | 1.3 (980) | -52% | 1305 | 30.7 |
Watchmen | WB | 1.1 (970) | -61% | 1103 | 105.3 |
Slumdog Millionaire | Fox Searchlight | .50 (1,010) | -57% | 498 | 140.3 |
Madea Goes to Jail | Lions Gate | .45 (730) | -60% | 619 | 89.8 |
Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Sony | .37 (770) | -56% | 479 | 143.2 |
Gran Torino | WB | .27 (750) | -38% | 363 | 146.2 |
Under the Sea 3D | WB | .26 (6,070) | 27% | 43 | 4.7 |
He’s Just Not That Into You | WB | .22 (840) | -54% | 261 | 92.9 |
Sin Nombre | Focus | .19 (8,220) | 170% | 23 | 0.4 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | – | $153.40 | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Year) | – | 70% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | 8% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Sugar | Sony Classics | 64,500 (6,450) | – | 10 | 0.06 |
The One Lamb | United Methodist | 58,300 (580) | – | 100 | 0.06 |
8 x 10 Tasveer | Precept | 50,200 (1,320) | – | 38 | 0.05 |
Paris 36 | Sony Classics | 45,800 (6,520) | – | 7 | 0.05 |
Alien Trespass | Roadside Attract. | 41,200 (1,030) | – | 40 | 0.04 |
Bart Got a Room | Anchor Bay | 31,300 (2,850) | – | 11 | 0.03 |
C Me Dance | FreeStyle | 28,700 (190) | – | 151 | 0.03 |
Enlighten Up! | Balcony | 14,100 (14,100) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Gigantic | First Independent | 11,200 (11,200) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil | Abramorama | 10,300 (10,300) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Tulpan | Zeitgeist | 8,900 (8,900) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
The Song of Sparrows | Regent | 8,100 (8,100) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Forbidden Lie$ | Roxie | 1,750 (1,750) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – April 2, 2009
Distributor (releases) | Gross (millions) | Mrkt Share |
Warner Bros. (15) | 471.5 | 19.10% |
Sony (9) | 308.3 | 12.50% |
Fox (7) | 298.7 | 12.10% |
Paramount (7) | 293.1 | 11.90% |
Lions Gate (6) | 193.1 | 7.80% |
Fox Searchlight (5) | 184.8 | 7.50% |
Buena Vista (8) | 183.9 | 7.50% |
Universal (7) | 133.3 | 5.40% |
Summit (4) | 103.1 | 4.20% |
Focus (2) | 91.5 | 3.70% |
Paramount Vantage (2) | 51.1 | 2.10% |
MGM (3) | 42.3 | 1.70% |
Weinstein Co. (6) | 33.8 | 1.40% |
Miramax (3) | 22.4 | 0.90% |
Overture (3) | 37.7 | 0.70% |
Other * (80) | 37.7 | 1.50% |
* none greater than 0.4% | 2466.4 | 100.00% |