By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
HP and the Full-Blooded Dish
It was all Harry 24/7 as the sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, stormed the box office with an estimated $79.7 million box office ($159.9 million for 5½ days). It was the most fierce debut in the series history (inflation unadjusted) and all the more incredible in light of a paucity of Imax playdates (just three).
The session also afforded a torrid debut for the youthful romance (500) Days of Summer of $850,000 from a scant 27 screens. Otherwise niche bows were largely subsumed by the Hogwarts deluge.
Anticipation was rabid for the latest chapter in the money-printing franchise with some pundits spit-balling the prospects of a $200 million opening week gross. And while its opening salvo was bigger than past efforts, the film’s box office curve proportionally was a virtual carbon copy to the prior episode, Order of the Phoenix. The difference, at least domestically, was the absence of large-format dates that won’t enter the picture significantly until the third weekend and should be a large carrot for fans anxious to repeat the viewing experience.
While a number of box office records for an individual film were broken, one Potter wasn’t enough to carry the marketplace. Overall revenues pushed close to $165 million and that represented a 13% upturn from last weekend’s Bruno debut. But it plummeted 38% from 2008 when The Dark Knightvirtually equaled the current session with a $158.4 million debut and second spot added $27.7 million for freshman Mamma Mia!
As the summer grinds on there’s little question that the steam’s escaping faster from the seasonal bullet train. There’s little chance short of unrelenting catastrophe that a new summer box office record won’t be reached. But there might still be a good news/bad news scenario for ticket sales. Continued erosion through Labor Day could well translate to a marginal boost in ticket sales of 3% or 4%. But in light of fewer wide releases any increase in attendance sustains the contention that the size of the audience remains consistent even with fewer choices at the multiplex.
The verdict on where the money’s being spent (and not) will just have to wait for the dust to settle.
Weekend Estimates – July 17-19, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross (averag | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | WB | 79.7 (18,430) | – | 4325 | 159.9 |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Fox | 17.6 (4,620) | -36% | 3817 | 151.9 |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Par | 13.6 (3,540) | -44% | 3857 | 363.7 |
Bruno | Uni | 8.4 (3,060) | -72% | 2759 | 49.6 |
The Hangover | WB | 8.4 (3,150) | -15% | 2667 | 236 |
The Proposal | BV | 8.3 (2,720) | -22% | 3043 | 128 |
Public Enemies | Uni | 7.6 (2,430) | -45% | 3121 | 79.5 |
Up | BV | 3.1 (1,820) | -34% | 1706 | 279.5 |
My Sister’s Keeper | WB | 2.7 (1,390) | -36% | 1967 | 41.4 |
I Love You, Beth Cooper | Fox | 2.7 (1,420) | -46% | 1872 | 10.3 |
Du Pere en flic | Alliance | 1.0 (9,370) | -22% | 111 | 3.7 |
The Taking of Pelham 123 | Sony | .89 (1,460) | -42% | 610 | 62.9 |
(500) Days of Summer | Fox Searchlight | .85 (31,480) | – | 27 | 0.85 |
The Hurt Locker | Summit | .75 (8,060) | 17% | 93 | 2.2 |
Night at the Museum 2 | Fox | .73 (1,420) | -50% | 515 | 171.8 |
Star Trek | Par | .67 (1,330) | -42% | 505 | 253.1 |
Moon | Sony Classics | .51 (2,020) | -24% | 252 | 2.6 |
Away We Go | Focus | .50 (1,670) | -31% | 299 | 8.3 |
Whatever Works | Sony Classics | .44 (1,810) | -35% | 244 | 3.9 |
Angels & Demons | Sony | .39 (1,070) | 16% | 365 | 132.4 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $158.00 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | – | -38% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | 13% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Cheri | Miramax | .28 (1,480) | -18% | 191 | 2 |
Humpday | Magnolia | 26,700 (5,340) | -7% | 5 | 0.07 |
Kalavaramaye Madilo | Adlabs | 18,800 (320) | – | 58 | 0.02 |
Death in Love | Screen Media | 14,300 (3,570) | – | 4 | 0.01 |
A Woman in Berlin | Strand | 11,200 (11,200) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Homecoming | Paper Street | 6,100 (3,050) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
The Poker House | Phase 4 | 4,700 (1,570) | – | 3 | 0.01 |
Off Jackson Avenue | Group Ent. | 2,900 (2,900) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – July 16, 2009
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
Paramount (12) | 1125.9 | 19.10% |
Warner. Bros (22) | 1100.9 | 18.60% |
Fox (12) | 813.2 | 13.80% |
Buena Vista (12) | 706.1 | 11.90% |
Sony (13) | 617.7 | 10.50% |
Universal (14) | 568.3 | 9.60% |
Lionsgate (7) | 237.4 | 4.00% |
Fox Searchlight (6) | 194.3 | 3.30% |
Summit (7) | 148.8 | 3.50% |
Focus (5) | 103.3 | 1.70% |
Paramount Vantage (2) | 52.4 | 0.90% |
MGM (3) | 42.3 | 0.70% |
Miramax (5) | 40.4 | 0.70% |
Weinstein Co. (6) | 34.5 | 0.60% |
Other * (165) | 121.7 | 2.10% |
* none greater than 0.45% | 5907.2 | 100% |
Top Global Grossers – January 1 – July 16, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Par | 733,174,657 |
Angels & Demons | Sony | 478,266,878 |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Fox | 450,422,134 |
Night at the Museum 2 | Fox | 379,629,917 |
Star Trek | Par | 378,103,399 |
Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 373,459,691 |
X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Fox | 362,212,338 |
Terminator Salvation | WB/Sony | 357,365,257 |
Slumdog Millionaire * | Fox Searchlight | 357,237,152 |
Fast & Furious | Uni | 349,433,766 |
Up | BV | 329,614,470 |
The Hangover | WB | 305,974,416 |
Curious Case of Benjamin Button * | Par/WB | 276,124,938 |
Gran Torino * | WB | 267,520,992 |
Watchmen | WB/Par Intl | 183,393,190 |
Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Sony | 182,874,488 |
Knowing | Summit | 170,669,247 |
Marley and Me * | Fox | 169,182,604 |
He’s Just Not That Into You | WB/New Line | 168,325,492 |
The Proposal | BV | 160,618,427 |
* does not include 2008 box office |