By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Whole in One
March 14 , 2010
Alice in Wonderland didn’t quite fall by half but its estimated $61.9 million was more than adequate to lead weekend movie sales.
Four new releases followed the leader with the most potent being the Iraq War-set thriller Green Zone, which grossed $14.5 million. The beauty and the geek comedy She’s Out of My League debuted with $9.4 million and the romantic Remember Me launched with $8.4 million. The multi-racial nuptials of Our Family Wedding added $7.6 million to the mix.
Activity in the niches was slim and mostly bland with acclaimed Korean import Mother the bright spot with a $30,200 tally from five initial exposures.
A couple of Oscar winners received a post-event boost but they contributed no more than a ripple toward a big bounce from 2009 box office results.
Alice was expected to embody the old adage of the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Some trackers anticipated as much as a two-thirds drop, so its 53% hold proved to be comparatively hardy as it passed $200 million domestically in its tenth day at the multiplex.
The crowded field of newcomers appeared to blunt the opening force of Green Zone. Pundits had pegged its bow at close to $20 million and while the film arrived with respectable results its hefty price tag will be difficult to recoup. It debuted better internationally with approximately $10 million from 14 territories including a $3.2 million top position in the U.K.
Both She’s Out of My League and Remember Me largely played to expectations for first quarter fungible releases. Conversely Our Family Wedding didn’t quite cross over to black and Latino audiences with the hoped for vivacity that had been anticipated.
Overall revenues for the frame edged toward $145 million that translated into a 26% decline from Alice’s opening salvo. It was nonetheless 49% better than last year when the debut of Race to Witch Mountain opened with $24.4 million and freshman The Last House on the Left ranked third with $14.1 million.
With the dust settling from award’s season, The Hurt Locker experienced a theatrical boost but with the film already at video stores, it was only a comparative victory and a fraction of Avatar’s weekend business. More significant were the bump for the resilient The Blind Side and an almost unchanged gross for Crazy Heart. And with no great surprise the overlooked including Up in the Air and An Education pancaked in the aftermath.
-by Leonard Klady
Weekend Estimates: March 12-14, 2010
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| Alice in Wonderland | BV | 61.9 (16,610) | -47% | 3728 | 208.6 |
| Green Zone | Uni | 14.5 (4,820) | New | 3003 | 14.5 |
| She’s Out of My League | Par | 9.4 (3,180) | New | 2956 | 9.4 |
| Remember Me | Summit | 8.4 (3,780) | New | 2212 | 8.4 |
| Shutter Island | Par | 8.0 (2,370) | -40% | 3356 | 107.8 |
| Our Family Wedding | Fox Searchlight | 7.6 (4,710) | New | 1605 | 7.6 |
| Avatar | Fox | 6.4 (3,710) | -21% | 1718 | 730.1 |
| Brooklyn’s Finest | Overture | 4.3 (2,200) | -68% | 1939 | 21.3 |
| Cop Out | WB | 4.2 (1,470) | -54% | 2882 | 39.4 |
| The Crazies | Overture | 3.7 (1,560) | -56% | 2359 | 33.4 |
| Crazy Heart | Fox Searchlight | 3.1 ((2,250) | -7% | 1361 | 34.2 |
| Percy Jackson & the Olympians | Fox | 3.0 (1,380) | -41% | 2175 | 82.2 |
| The Blind Side | WB | 1.6 (1,960) | 25% | 803 | 252.7 |
| Valentine’s Day | WB | 1.5 (870) | -64% | 1703 | 108.9 |
| The Ghost Writer | Summit | 1.2 (5,450) | -5% | 224 | 4.3 |
| Dear John | Sony | 1.0 (820) | -63% | 1249 | 78.5 |
| The Hurt Locker | Summit | .81 (2,600) | 91% | 311 | 15.7 |
| The Tooth Fairy | Fox | .69 (940) | -59% | 737 | 57.2 |
| Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Fox | .45 (1,110) | -17% | 408 | 218 |
| The Last Station | Sony Classics | .43 (1,780) | -41% | 242 | 5.3 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | – | $141.30 | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | 49% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -26% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Up in the Air | Par | .26 (960) | -57% | 274 | 83.5 |
| A Prophet | Sony Classics | .16 (3,740) | -27% | 43 | 0.63 |
| A Single Man | Weinstein Co. | .15 (990) | -60% | 153 | 8.8 |
| An Education | Sony Classics | .13 (1,010) | -63% | 133 | 12.3 |
| Mother | Magnolia | 30,200 (6,040) | New | 5 | 0.03 |
| Severe Clear | Sirk | 7,800 (3,900) | New | 2 | 0.01 |
| Children of Invention | Variance | 3,100 (3,100) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
| Tales from the Script | First Run | 2,100 (2,100) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
| Stolen | IFC | 1,200 (1,200) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – March 11, 2010
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
| Fox (5) | 674.6 | 31.80% |
| Warner Bros. (10) | 452.8 | 21.30% |
| Buena Vista (5) | 209.8 | 9.90% |
| Paramount (4) | 193.1 | 9.10% |
| Universal (5) | 160.1 | 7.50% |
| Sony (10) | 130.9 | 6.20% |
| Lionsgate (5) | 86.6 | 4.10% |
| Overture (3) | 47.8 | 2.20% |
| Fox Searchlight (2) | 34.5 | 1.60% |
| Weinstein Co. (4) | 34.2 | 1.60% |
| Sony Classics (7) | 20.8 | 1.00% |
| Summit (4) | 17.1 | 0.80% |
| CBS Films (1) | 12.5 | 0.60% |
| Apparition (2) | 10.1 | 0.50% |
| Other * (77) | 38.1 | 1.80% |
| – | 2123 | 100.00% |
