By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Gee Whiz!
The rodents of G-Force proved to be mighty mites as they usurped King Potter for the box office crown with an estimated $32.2 million. Two other film debuts figured near the top of the charts. The template rom-com The Ugly Truth ranked third with $27.3 million and the generic chiller The Orphan followed in the order with $12.7 million.
The session was also rife with specialty and niche fare that included a raucous bow of $178,000 from eight venues for the black comic In the Loop. The spy spoof sequel OSS 117: Rio ne repond plusgenerated an okay $102,000 in Quebec and Shrink, another off-kilter comedy, had an encouraging $16,300 bow from two screens. However the latest Bollywood entry Luck rolled snake eyes with $78,200 from 42 exposures.
Overall sales took another dip and no one’s betting the bank that upcoming releases such as Funny People, G.I. Joe or Julie & Julia will effect a reversal of fortune for the current season.
While the 3-D family-oriented G-Force opened near its expected box office potency, pundits expected a less precipitous drop for Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince. The sixth chapter of the franchise expects to slow the erosion next week when it goes wide on Imax screens (it’s currently in just four large-format venues) but it’s going to be a hard slog pushing toward a $300 million domestic gross.
Also opening to anticipated strength were The Ugly Truth and The Orphan and the prospects through Labor Day aren’t strong for a surprise or sleeper success among the lineup. Weekend box office should slightly exceed $150 million that translates into a 7% dip from seven days earlier and a 17% erosion from 2008. One year back the second weekend of The Dark Knight led with $75.1 million and the $30.9 million debut of Step Brothers followed.
The session featured a couple of notable platform entries working hard to attain a national presence. The fifth weekend of The Hurt Locker roughly doubled its exposure to 238 locations and maintained a sturdy $5,710 average. Still there’s no evidence that the film is shedding its image as a serious, specialized Iraq War meditation; or that audiences are being drawn to a potential Oscar contender and that could make its glass ceiling in the neighborhood of $10 million.
There’s better crossover potential for the dreamy romance (500) Days of Summer that expanded from 27 to 85 sites and saw its screen average dip about one-third of its opening salvo. Word-of-mouth is strong and the thirst for an upbeat, enjoyable idyll remains commercially unquenchable.
A third platformer — the satiric In the Loop — posted strong per screens but bowed simultaneously as a pay-per-view title. To date pictures that have used that strategy have optimized at about a $4 million box office level and regardless of the break-even threshold, it’s hard to imagine a movie that can break out of the current mold.
Weekend Estimates – July 24-26, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross (averag | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
G-Force | BV | 32.2 (8,710) | – | 3697 | 32.2 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | WB | 30.1 (6,960) | -61% | 4325 | 221.9 |
The Ugly Truth | Sony | 27.3 (9,460) | – | 2882 | 27.3 |
The Orphan | WB | 12.7 (4,600) | – | 2750 | 12.7 |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Fox | 8.0 (2,430) | -54% | 3300 | 171.1 |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Par | 7.9 (2,440) | -42% | 3237 | 379 |
The Proposal | BV | 6.4 (2,290) | -23% | 2779 | 140.1 |
The Hangover | WB | 6.4 (2,810) | -22% | 2285 | 247 |
Public Enemies | Uni | 4.1 (1,780) | -47% | 2291 | 86 |
Bruno | Uni | 2.7 (1,410) | -68% | 1895 | 56.5 |
Up | BV | 1.6 (1,490) | -50% | 1070 | 283.6 |
(500) Days of Summer | Fox Searchlight | 1.6 (18,940) | 93% | 85 | 3 |
The Hurt Locker | Summit | 1.4 (5,710) | 84% | 238 | 3.9 |
My Sister’s Keeper | WB | 1.3 (1,030) | -54% | 1258 | 45 |
Du Pere en flic | Alliance | .84 (9,440) | 1% | 89 | 5.1 |
I Love You, Beth Cooper | Fox | .74 (1,010) | -73% | 730 | 13.4 |
Night at the Museum 2 | Fox | .62 (1,570) | -18% | 396 | 173 |
The Taking of Pelham 123 | Sony | .46 (1,350) | -48% | 342 | 63.8 |
Star Trek | Par | .43 (1,400) | -38% | 307 | 254 |
Moon | Sony Classics | .38 (1,850) | -28% | 205 | 3.4 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $145.80 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | – | -17% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | -7% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Away We Go | Focus | .28 (1,340) | -44% | 206 | 8.9 |
Whatever Works | Sony Classics | .23 (1,210) | -51% | 191 | 4.4 |
In the Loop | IFC | .18 (22,250) | – | 8 | 0.18 |
Cheri | Miramax | .18 (950) | -36% | 188 | 2.3 |
OSS 117: Rio ne repond plus | TVA | .10 (2,570) | – | 40 | 0.1 |
Luck | Studio 18 | 78,200 (1,860) | – | 42 | 0.08 |
Humpday | Magnolia | 66,200 (3,310) | 185% | 20 | 0.16 |
Shrink | Roadside At. | 16,300 (8,150) | – | 2 | 0.02 |
The Answer Man | Magnolia | 13,300 (2,220) | – | 6 | 0.01 |
Paraiso Travel | Peace Arch | 6,400 (2,130) | – | 3 | 0.01 |
Surviving Crooked Lake | NeoClassics | 3,500 (350) | – | 10 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – July 23, 2009
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
Warner. Bros (22) | 1233.3 | 20.00% |
Paramount (12) | 1148.7 | 18.70% |
Fox (12) | 848.7 | 13.80% |
Buena Vista (12) | 725.8 | 11.80% |
Sony (13) | 620.3 | 10.10% |
Universal (14) | 593.6 | 9.60% |
Lionsgate (7) | 237.4 | 3.90% |
Fox Searchlight (7) | 195.7 | 3.20% |
Summit (7) | 150 | 2.40% |
Focus (5) | 104.1 | 1.70% |
Paramount Vantage (2) | 52.4 | 0.80% |
MGM (3) | 42.3 | 0.70% |
Miramax (5) | 40.8 | 0.70% |
Weinstein Co. (6) | 34.5 | 0.60% |
Other * (170) | 127.6 | 2.00% |
* none greater than 0.45% | 6155.2 | 100% |
Top Limited Releases – January 1 – July 23, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross |
The Wrestler * | Fox Searchlight | 25,068,864 |
Milk * | Focus | 17,246,974 |
Under the Sea 3D | WB | 13,271,466 |
Sunshine Cleaning | Overture | 12,062,558 |
Away We Go | Focus | 8,578,607 |
Du Pere en flic | Alliance | 4,307,814 |
Deep Sea 3-D | WN/Imax | 4,265,887 |
Whatever Works | Sony Classics | 4,136,295 |
Entre les murs (The Class) | Sony Classics | 3,766,810 |
The Brothers Bloom | Summit | 3,448,280 |
Two Lovers | Magnolia | 3,149,034 |
Moon | Sony Classics | 2,979,106 |
Rachel Getting Married * | Sony Classics | 2,696,170 |
The Hurt Locker | Summit | 2,576,715 |
Sin Nombre | Focus | 2,536,665 |
Easy Virtue | Sony Class/Alliance | 2,507,763 |
Food, Inc. | Magnolia/Alliance | 2,429,119 |
Magnificent Desolation * | Imax | 2,217,088 |
Waltz with Bashir * | Sony Class/E1 | 2,174,364 |
Cheri | Miramax | 2,162,007 |
* does not include 2008 box office | – | – |