By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Shutter … the Thought
February 22, 2010
Paranoia reached new heights of popularity as Shutter Island topped weekend charts with an estimated $40.3 million. It was the sole new national release but reflecting the twisty thriller’s appeal was the exclusive bow of The Ghost Writer that rang up an impressive $43,200 from four reveals.
Other niche and limited debuts include OK results for the Oscar nominated shorts package of $212,000 from 65 venues and the French import Le Petit Nicolas that grossed $90,500 from 39 screens in Quebec. But several American indies such as Blood Done Sign My Name and Happy Tears opened to listless response.
Overall revenues experienced downturns from both last weekend’s holiday session as well as grosses from 2009.
Much has been written about Shutter Island’s delay from a late year 2009 release to early February and one can appreciate that regardless of its merits, it’s not what would be termed an “Oscar picture.” The film exceeded initial expectations but exit polling wasn’t positive and that suggests a steep second weekend drop.
Conversely The Ghost Writer rang in as an audience pleaser and one can only hope it rolls out quickly to capitalize on its obvious heat.
Weekend sales chimed in with roughly $135 million in torn tickets. That translated into a 36% drop from the three-day portion of last weekend’s President’s holiday frame. There was also a 6% erosion from a year ago when the debut of Medea Goes to Jail prevailed with a $41 million launch and Coraline’s third weekend took the place position with $11.4 million.
Holdover titles generally experienced drop offs of between 50% and 60% with family and award’s titles proving more resilient. Still, the latter group represents a slim field with vestigial income for all but Avatar, Crazy Heart and some foreign-language nominees.
Also bowing was the concert film Celine: Through the Eyes of the World but distributor Sony has decided not to report grosses despite sizeable returns from 300 plus engagements. The release of the Celine Dion concert film — in the style of live opera broadcasts — is generally receiving single showings rather than full daily compliments. Pre-weekend dates on Wednesday and Thursday generated an estimated $450,000 based on anecdotal reports.
Weekend Estimates: February 19-21, 2010
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| Shutter Island | Par | 40.3 (13,460) | New | 2991 | 40.3 |
| Valentine’s Day | WB | 17.3 (4,730) | -69% | 3665 | 87.6 |
| Avatar | Fox | 16.2 (6,280) | -31% | 2581 | 687.9 |
| Percy Jackson & the Olympians | Fox | 15.2 (4,480) | -51% | 3396 | 58.7 |
| The Wolfman | Uni | 9.8 (3,040) | -69% | 3223 | 50.3 |
| Dear John | Sony | 7.4 (2,420) | -54% | 3062 | 66.1 |
| The Tooth Fairy | Fox | 4.5 (1,770) | -26% | 2523 | 49.8 |
| Crazy Heart | Fox Searchlight | 2.9 (2,680) | -32% | 1089 | 21.5 |
| From Paris with Love | Lionsgate | 2.5 (1,080) | -55% | 2311 | 21.2 |
| Edge of Darkness | WB | 2.2 (1,050) | -54% | 2118 | 40.3 |
| Book of Eli | WB | 1.9 (1,310) | -47% | 1455 | 90.8 |
| When in Rome | BV | 1.8 (1,090) | -52% | 1627 | 29.4 |
| The Blind Side | WB | 1.5 (1,390) | -35% | 1060 | 247.1 |
| Up in the Air | Par | 1.1 (1,460) | -40% | 727 | 80.9 |
| Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Fox | .91 (1,080) | -29% | 841 | 215.6 |
| Sherlock Holmes | WB | .89 (1,250) | -44% | 713 | 205.6 |
| My Name is Khan | Fox | .71 (5,680) | -63% | 125 | 3.3 |
| It’s Complicated | Uni | .69 (1,150) | -43% | 598 | 110.7 |
| Legion | Sony | .62 (790) | -66% | 786 | 39.2 |
| The Last Station | Sony Classics | .57 (5,230) | 11% | 109 | 2.2 |
| The Princess and the Frog | BV | .51 (1,260) | -16% | 405 | 102.6 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | – | $129.50 | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | -6% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -36% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| An Education | Sony Classics | .35 (1,460) | -25% | 242 | 11.1 |
| A Single Man | Weinstein Co. | .33 (1,290) | -31% | 255 | 7.5 |
| 2010 Oscar Shorts | Magnolia | .21 (3,260) | New | 54 | 0.21 |
| The Hurt Locker | Summit | .18 (1,470) | -3% | 120 | 13.8 |
| The Ghost Writer | Summit | .17 (42,300) | New | 4 | 0.17 |
| The White Ribbon | Sony Classics | .17 (2,310) | 0% | 72 | 1.3 |
| Le Petit Nicolas | E1 | 90,500 (2,320) | New | 39 | 0.09 |
| Blood Done Sign My Name | Paladin | 83,600 (880) | New | 95 | 0.08 |
| The Good Guy | Roadside | 31,200 (3,470) | New | 9 | 0.03 |
| Ajami | Kino | 46,400 (5,800) | 21% | 8 | 0.16 |
| Defendor | Alliance | 13,100 (4,370) | New | 3 | 0.01 |
| Happy Tears | Roadside | 12,700 (850) | New | 15 | 0.01 |
| Phyllis and Harold | Rainbow | 5,100 (5,100) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – February 18, 2010
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
| Fox (5) | 572.6 | 37.30% |
| Warner Bros. (9) | 361.7 | 23.60% |
| Universal (5) | 137.1 | 8.90% |
| Sony (10) | 110.1 | 7.20% |
| Paramount (3) | 89.1 | 5.80% |
| Lionsgate (5) | 79.4 | 5.20% |
| Buena Vista (4) | 56.6 | 3.70% |
| Weinstein Co. (4) | 32.3 | 2.10% |
| Fox Searchlight (1) | 20.6 | 1.30% |
| Sony Classics (6) | 14.3 | 0.90% |
| CBS Films (1) | 12.2 | 0.80% |
| Summit (3) | 11.6 | 0.80% |
| Other * (61) | 37.5 | 2.40% |
| 1535.1 | 100.00% |
