

By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Advance to the Rear
Comedy ruled as the debut of Couples Retreat shattered expectations with an estimates $35.2 million opening to lead weekend ticket sales. The film had the unusual good fortune of being the only new national release in a session that includes holiday Mondays in Canada for its Thanksgiving as well as some Eastern states that celebrate Columbus Day.
Conversely, activity in the niches was torrid with a flood of new titles hoping to claim a toe-hold in the marketplace. There was an unexpectedly potent $1.1 million launch for the non-fiction Good Hairfeaturing Chris Rock. However, other mid-range releases that included Britain’s St. Trinian’s, the motorcross themed Free Style and the Latino-targeted From Mexico with Love were moribund with the theater average that barely registered a pulse.
In Canada a couple of local titles capitalized on the long weekend with Toronto prize winner Cairo Timegrossing $56,700 from 12 depots and in Quebec 5150, rue des Ormes tallying up $269,000 from 51 venues. There was also a wave of Brit pics in exclusive release including a dynamic $161,000 bow forAn Education at four locales. Also good from the U.K. were the soccer saga The Damned United and the crime bio Bronson.
And to cap it off expansions of A Serious Man and Paranormal Activity were fierce. The latter, a no-budget thriller rang up per screens that recalled the Blair Witch Project of a decade back.
All combined the weekend added up to an 3% improvement from last weekend and a 8% boost from last year. In 2008, the second weekend of Beverly Hills Chihuahua led with a $17.5 million box office; followed by bows of Quarantine and Body of Lies with respective openers of $14.2 million and $12.9 million.
The ensemble Couples Retreat was expected to lead the session but predictions pegged its bow in the range of $25 million to $28 million. Its appeal to women of all ages pumped up the volume. It also broke the string of disappointments Universal has experienced for the past five months as that studio had a changing of the guard and prepares for further re-structuring.
Good reviews and buzz provided Zombieland with a sturdy hold that placed it second on the chart with $15.1 million while most holdover titles experienced 40% to 50% hits.
Weekend Estimates: October 2 – 4, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross (averag | % change | Theas | Cume |
Couples Retreat | Uni | 35.2 (11,760) | – | 3000 | 35.2 |
Zombieland | Sony | 15.1 (4,960) | -39% | 3038 | 47.9 |
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Sony | 11.6 (3,890) | -26% | 2992 | 95.9 |
Toy Story 1 & 2 (BV) | BV | 7.6 (4,320) | -39% | 1752 | 22.6 |
Paranormal Activity | Par | 7.1 (44,190) | 1229% | 160 | 8.3 |
Surrogates | BV | 4.1 (1,360) | -44% | 2992 | 32.5 |
The Invention of Lying | WB | 3.3 (1,880) | -53% | 1743 | 12.2 |
Whip It | Fox Searchlight | 2.7 (1,570) | -41% | 1738 | 8.7 |
Capitalism: A Love Story | Overture | 2.5 (2,540) | -43% | 995 | 8.9 |
Fame | MGM | 2.4 (780) | -47% | 3110 | 19.9 |
The Informant! | WB | 2.2 (990) | -41% | 2202 | 29.8 |
I Can Do Bad By Myself | Lions Gate | 1.5 (1,120) | -43% | 1313 | 50.3 |
Love Happens | Uni | 1.4 (760) | -48% | 1894 | 21.2 |
Good Hair | Roadside Attractio | 1.1 (5,880) | – | 186 | 1.1 |
Tosca Live | Fathom | 1.0 (2,700) | – | 375 | 1 |
Inglourious Basterds | Weinstein Co. | .81 (840) | -43% | 968 | 118.3 |
9 | Focus | .78 (640) | -44% | 1216 | 30.6 |
Pandorum | Overture | .76 (510) | -62% | 1479 | 9.5 |
All About Steve | Fox | .63 (530) | -45% | 1200 | 32.7 |
Bright Star | Apparition | .61 (1,610) | -15% | 380 | 2.8 |
Jennifer’s Body | Fox | .51 (510) | -59% | 1005 | 15.7 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $102.90 | – | |||
% Change (Last Year) | 8% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | 3% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Coco Before Chanel | Alliance/Sony Cla | .46 (4,860) | 17% | 95 | 1.7 |
A Serious Man | Focus | .44 (21,050) | 76% | 21 | 0.79 |
From Mexico with Love | Roadside Attractio | .32 (1,140) | – | 279 | 0.32 |
5150, rue des Ormes | Allliance | .27 (5,270) | – | 51 | 0.27 |
The Boys Are Back | Miramax | .19 (2,480) | 238% | 75 | 0.33 |
I Hope They Serve Beer in Heaven | FreeStyle | .18 (680) | -41% | 266 | 1.2 |
An Education | Sony Classics | .16 (40,250) | – | 4 | 0.16 |
More Than a Game | Lions Gate | .12 (2,800) | -33% | 44 | 0.34 |
Free Style | IDP | .10 (370) | – | 261 | 0.1 |
Je l’amais | Seville | 59,800 (3,740) | – | 16 | 0.06 |
Cairo Time | Mongrel | 56,700 (4,720) | – | 12 | 0.06 |
Passport to Love | In Focus | 38,200 (6,370) | – | 6 | 0.04 |
The Damned United | Sony Classics | 35,300 (5,880) | – | 6 | 0.04 |
St. Trinian’s | Neo Classics | 14,400 (190) | – | 76 | 0.01 |
The Yes Men Fix the World | Shadow | 10,500 (10,500) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Bronson | Magnolia | 9,800 (9,800) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Peter and Vandy | Strand | 7,700 (2,570) | – | 3 | 0.01 |
Adventures of Power | Variance | 5,400 (5,400) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Visual Accoustics | Arthouse | 3,500 (3,500) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: To October 8, 2009
Distributor (releases) | Gross (in millions | Market Share |
Warner Bros. (28) | 1621.7 | 20.20% |
Paramount (14) | 1334.9 | 16.60% |
Sony (18) | 1038.1 | 12.90% |
Fox (15) | 961.1 | 11.90% |
Buena Vista (18) | 943.7 | 11.70% |
Universal (17) | 700.7 | 8.70% |
Lions Gate (11) | 307.1 | 3.80% |
Fox Searchlight (10) | 241.1 | 3.00% |
Weinstein Co. (8) | 184.3 | 2.30% |
Summit (9) | 177.5 | 2.20% |
Focus (8) | 143.1 | 1.80% |
Paramount Vantage (4) | 67.6 | 0.80% |
MGM (4) | 59.8 | 0.70% |
Miramax (7) | 52.3 | 0.70% |
Overture (6) | 43.4 | 0.50% |
Other * (246) | 172.2 | 2.20% |
* none greater than 0.4% | 8048.6 | 100.00% |
Top Domestic Grossers – January 1 – October 8, 2009
Title | Distributor | Gross |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Par | 401,997,617 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princ | WB | 300,290,780 |
Up | BV | 292,495,781 |
The Hangover | WB | 275,386,118 |
Star Trek | Par | 257,774,097 |
Monsters vs. Aliens | Par | 198,377,900 |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Fox | 195,757,564 |
X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Fox | 179,883,157 |
Night at the Museum 2 | Fox | 177,180,513 |
The Proposal | BV | 163,385,063 |
Fast & Furious | Uni | 155,239,768 |
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Par | 148,281,637 |
Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Sony | 146,777,505 |
Taken | Fox | 145,000,989 |
Gran Torino * | WB | 142,251,852 |
Angels & Demons | Sony | 133,859,408 |
Terminator Salvation | WB | 125,322,459 |
Slumdog Millionaire * | Fox Searchlight | 119,092,566 |
G-Force | BV | 117,672,433 |
Inglourious Basterds | Weinstein Co. | 117,448,699 |