By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
A Touch of Clash
April 4 , 2010
Ye Gods! Clash of the Titans felled the competition to take weekend bragging rights with an estimated $61.1 million. The record setting session also saw excellent results of $30.1 million for Why Did I Get Married Too?; a strong hold that generated $29.3 million for How to Train Your Dragon; and a solid $16.1 million bow for weepy The Last Song.
In the niches there were several impressive expansions but the newbies generally had no more than encouraging results. The Manhattan solo for American indie Breaking Upwards was slightly better with $16,100. But other independents ranged from good for The Greatest to ‘over’ for Don McKay and Chinese import The Warlords was fair if you factor in simultaneous video-on-demand revenues.
It was indeed Clash of the Titans in the marketplace as the Greek myth vied with the Norse animated saga for 3D venues. Ultimately How to Train Your Dragon corralled slighted more stereoscopic sites (2,000 to 1,800) while Alice in Wonderland dwindled to about 575 and Avatar clung to roughly 50.
For those sufficiently seasoned to remember the 1981 Clash — an unintended laugh riot — the new edition offers something with a lot of sound and fury … Critical response as well as Cinemascore polling of ticket buyers might be characterized as we got sold the sizzle not the steak. Crowds appeared to be aware that the epic had been retro-fitted with 3D and were not impressed … but it unquestionably proved to be a marketing asset at least for its initial weekend.
The Tyler Perry brand continued (in its own way) to be the Pixar in the non-cel arena. Why Did I Get Married Too? had a first weekend gross about 50% greater than its inspiration and second biggest in his career. The one but in his phenomenal string of successes is that his crossover appeal has been glacial even with the heightened profile provided by The House of Payne skein.
Overall ticket sales approached $180 million; setting a new benchmark for the Easter holiday frame. The gross was 40% better than last weekend and 16% improved from Palm Sunday 2009 when Fast & Furious proved true to its name with a $70.9 million debut with Monsters vs. Aliens in place position with $32.6 million.
The Last Song, the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation (Remember Him?), got a head start on the weekend clash with a Wednesday bow and a $9.3 million gross in its first two days. The presence of Miley Cyrus further accentuated its appeal to a young, distaff crowd.
Recent alternative fare entries including Greenberg and Chloe already appear to be losing traction while The Runaways skidded off the cliff. However, the slow, steady build of City Island has been working and the big winner in multis is unquestionably Swedish thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The first of three completed films based on bestsellers by the late Steig Larsson, Dragon Tattoo and its backup combo have grossed $170 million to date internationally.
Weekend Estimates: April 2-4, 2010
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
Clash of the Titans | WB | 61.1 (16,170) | – | 3777 | 63.7 |
Why Did I Get Married Too? | Lions Gate | 30.1 (13,980) | – | 2155 | 30.1 |
How to Train Your Dragon | Par | 29.3 (7,230) | -33% | 4060 | 92.5 |
The Last Song | BV | 16.1 (6,020) | – | 2673 | 25.5 |
Alice in Wonderland | BV | 8.1 (2,720) | -54% | 2980 | 309.6 |
Hot Tub Time Machine | MGM | 7.9 (2,860) | -44% | 2754 | 27.7 |
The Bounty Hunter | Sony | 6.2 (1,980) | -49% | 3118 | 48.9 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Fox | 5.4 (1,740) | -47% | 3083 | 46.1 |
Sutter Island | Par | 1.5 (1,120) | -52% | 1356 | 123.5 |
She’s Out of My League | Par | 1.5 (1,060) | -58% | 1390 | 28.7 |
Green Zone | Uni | 1.2 (960) | -65% | 1242 | 33.1 |
The Ghost Writer | Summit | 1.1 (1,690) | -35% | 656 | 11 |
Avatar | Fox | 1.0 (1,900) | -53% | 511 | 742.3 |
Our Family Wedding | Fox Searchlight | .74 (1,020) | -69% | 722 | 18.8 |
Greenberg | Focus | .72 (3,870) | -30% | 186 | 2.3 |
Repo Men | Uni | .53 (610) | -82% | 873 | 13.1 |
Chloe | Sony Classics/E1 | .52 (1,460) | -42% | 355 | 1.8 |
Remember Me | Summit | .49 (540) | -75% | 906 | 18.2 |
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Music Box | .46 (5,320) | 36% | 87 | 1.4 |
Hubble 3D | WB | .43 (10,750) | 12% | 40 | 2 |
Percy Jackson & the Olympians | Fox | .36 (870) | -47% | 412 | 86.7 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $173.50 | – | |||
% Change (Last Year) | 16% | – | |||
% Change (Last Week) | 40% | – | |||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
The Runaways | Apparition/E1 | .18 (2,150) | -60% | 84 | 2 |
City Island | Anchor Bay | .14 (5,420) | 194% | 26 | 0.25 |
Vincere | IFC | 77,800 (3,110) | 62% | 25 | 0.18 |
Mother | Magnolia | 58,100 (2,070) | -29% | 28 | 0.33 |
The Greatest | Paladin | 33,200 (4,150) | – | 8 | 0.03 |
Max Manus | D Film | 16,300 (5,430) | – | 3 | 0.02 |
Breaking Upwards | IFC | 16,100 (16,100) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Warlords | Magnolia | 10,400 (3,470) | – | 3 | 0.01 |
Don McKay | Image Ent. | 9,500 (1,360) | – | 7 | 0.01 |
Thorn in the Heart | Osciloscope | 6,400 (6,400) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – March 28, 2010
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
Fox (6) | 737.4 | 28.10% |
Warner Bros. (11) | 471 | 18.00% |
Buena Vista (5) | 358.2 | 13.70% |
Paramount (6) | 283.9 | 10.80% |
Universal (7) | 203.3 | 7.80% |
Sony (11) | 171.3 | 6.50% |
Lions Gate (5) | 87 | 3.30% |
Overture (4) | 65 | 2.50% |
Fox Searchlight (3) | 58.2 | 2.20% |
Summit (5) | 42.8 | 1.60% |
Weinstein Co. (4) | 34.6 | 1.30% |
Sony Classics (8) | 24.1 | 0.90% |
MGM (1) | 14 | 0.50% |
Other * (195) | 69.3 | 2.70% |
* none greater than 0.45% | 2491 | 100.00% |
Top Global Grossers: January 1 – Aprl 1, 2010
Title | Distributor | Gross |
Avatar * | Fox | 1,640,936,254 |
Alice in Wonderland | BV | 691,286,223 |
Sherlock Holmes * | WB | 304,763,633 |
Shutter Island | Par | 249,199,787 |
Percy Jackson & the Olympians | Fox | 220,433,446 |
Valentine’s Day | WB | 216,111,980 |
Alvin & the Chipmunks: Squeakquel * | Fox | 205,739,161 |
It’s Complicated * | Uni | 162,701,912 |
The Book of Eli | WB/Summit | 141,423,653 |
The Wolfman | Uni | 137,977,273 |
The Princess and the Frog * | BV | 137,899,466 |
Up in the Air * | Par | 128,709,969 |
How to Train Your Dragon | Par | 105,864,658 |
The Tooth Fairy | Fox | 100,160,177 |
Invictus * | WB | 96,996,268 |
The Lovely Bones * | Par | 92,475,508 |
Dear John | Sony/Alliance/LGF | 90,590,605 |
The Blind Side * | WB | 81,201,468 |
Edge of Darkness | WB/GK | 78,664,631 |
Green Zone | Uni | 61,881,814 |
* does not include 2009 box office | ||