By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Iron and Steal
May 9, 2010
Iron Man 2 signaled the start of the summer season with a blockbuster-like debut gross estimated at $134.1 million. With the comic book sequel fusing more than 70% of the marketplace, holdovers generally experienced 50% plus erosions and other debuts were confined to the niches.
The non-fiction Babies bowed at 534 theaters with a decent $1.5 million while Bollywood entry Badmaash Company managed an OK $106,000 tally at 50 venues. Limited and exclusive newcomers bowed with fair to poor results with a couple of exceptions. The family drama Mother and Child touched a nerve with a $59,700 gross at six screens and the resurrection of the 1928 seminal science-fiction epic Metropolis (in a now virtually complete version) was at S.R.O. levels with a $20,400 box office at solos in Manhattan and Los Angeles.
Overall revenues ballooned with weekend business generating about $185 million in ticket sales. That translated into a 79% uptick from last weekend and a 20% improvement from 2009 figures. Last year the re-conceived Star Trek led the frame with a $79.2 million debut.
Expectations were high for the Iron Man sequel with torrid tracking and business from advance ticketing outlets accounting for more than 90% of their trade. Midnight screenings paved the way with an estimated $7.5 million tally and the Friday to Saturday bump was a modest 5%.
Predictions by industry pundits were generally in the area of $150 million but it would be stretching the point to say a 10% short fall from crystal balling was a disappointment. While critical response was generally positive, most reviewers felt chapter two was less successful than the original. The real disappointment would be a more than a 60% decline next weekend.
The alternative marketplace meanwhile was gobbling up as many available screens as possible in the knowledge that upcoming event releases will be closing off opportunities. The successful earned expansions of the likes of City Island, Exit Through the Gift Shop and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have likely reached their zenith and recent entries such as Harry Brown and Please Give will be struggling to translate initial momentum into playdates as the season proceeds.
Weekend Estimates: May 7 – May 9, 2010
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
Iron Man II | Par | 134.1(30,620) | New | 4380 | 134.1 |
Nightmare on Elm Street | WB | 9.3 (2,790) | -72% | 3332 | 48.6 |
How to Train Your Dragon | Par | 6.5 (2,160) | -39% | 3003 | 200.8 |
Date Night | Fox | 5.3 (1,920) | -31% | 2734 | 80.8 |
The Back-Up Plan | CBS | 4.6 (1,530) | -37% | 3003 | 29.7 |
Furry Vengeance | Summit | 3.9 (1,300) | -41% | 3002 | 11.5 |
Clash of the Titans | WB | 2.3 (1,080) | -60% | 2157 | 157.8 |
Death at a Funeral | Sony | 2.0 (1,150) | -52% | 1706 | 38.2 |
The Losers | WB | 1.8 (750) | -69% | 2450 | 21.5 |
Kick-Ass | Lionsgate | 1.6 (890) | -65% | 1759 | 45.4 |
Babies | Focus | 1.5 (2,830) | New | 534 | 1.5 |
Oceans | BV | 1.4 (1,170) | -44% | 1232 | 16 |
The Last Song | BV | 1.1 (850) | -51% | 1303 | 60.3 |
Alice in Wonderland | BV | .66 (1,130) | -55% | 582 | 330.8 |
City Island | Anchor Bay | .61 (2,470) | -17% | 247 | 2.9 |
Hot Tub Time Machine | MGM | .52 (650) | -54% | 802 | 48.6 |
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Music Box/Alliance | .51 (2,490) | -16% | 205 | 6 |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Fox | .44 (700) | -55% | 625 | 61.5 |
Why Did I Get Married Too? | Lionsgate | .42 (1,040) | -48% | 404 | 59.4 |
Avatar | Fox | .40 (1,230) | -36% | 328 | 747.9 |
The Secret in Their Eyes | Sony Classics | .36 (4,750) | 9% | 77 | 1.55 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $177.70 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | – | 20% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | 79% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Please Give | Sony Classics | .23 (9,320) | 97% | 25 | 0.39 |
Millennium III | Alliance | .18 (4,070) | -20% | 45 | 0.53 |
Harry Brown | IDP | .14 (3,280) | -19% | 43 | 0.38 |
Badmaash Company | Yash Raj | .11 (2,110) | New | 50 | 0.11 |
Mother and Child | Sony Classics | 59,700 (9,950) | New | 6 | 0.06 |
The Human Centipede | IFC | 33,400 (2,390) | 169% | 2 | 0.05 |
Casino Jack and the United States of Money | Magnolia | 24,800 (2,910) | New | 9 | 0.02 |
Metropolis (reissue) | Kino | 20,400 (10,200) | New | 2 | 0.02 |
Multiple Sarcasms | MAC | 17,100 (1,140 | New | 15 | 0.02 |
Trash Humpers | Drag City | 3,700 (3,700) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
Happiness Runs | Strand | 1,950 (1,950) | New | 1 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – May 6, 2010
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share |
Fox (7) | 849.5 | 24.10% |
Warner Bros. (14) | 694.2 | 19.70% |
Buena Vista (8) | 468.9 | 13.30% |
Paramount (6) | 446.1 | 12.70% |
Sony (12) | 235.3 | 6.70% |
Universal (7) | 210.9 | 6.00% |
Lionsgate (7) | 190.6 | 5.40% |
Overture (4) | 67.1 | 1.90% |
Fox Searchlight (3) | 62.8 | 1.80% |
Summit (6) | 58.1 | 1.70% |
MGM (1) | 48.1 | 1.40% |
CBS (2) | 37.6 | 1.10% |
Weinstein Co. (4) | 34.7 | 1.00% |
Sony Classics (10) | 28.4 | 0.80% |
Other * (130) | 85.2 | 2.40% |
* none greater than 0.4% | 3517.5 | 100.00% |
Top 2010 Limited Releases: To April 29, 2010
Title | Distributor | Gross |
The Ghost Writer | Summit | 14,162,462 |
The Young Victoria * | Apparition/Alliance | 11,130,143 |
A Single Man * | Weinstein Co. | 7,935,872 |
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | E1/Sony Classics | 7,382,072 |
The Last Station | Sony Classics | 6,517,037 |
An Education * | Sony Classics | 4,962,771 |
The Hurt Locker * | Summit | 4,531,548 |
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Music Box/Alliance | 4,516,395 |
Hubble 3D | WB | 4,196,117 |
My Name is Khan | Fox Searchlight | 4,018,204 |
Greenberg | Focus | 3,784,695 |
To Save a Life | IDP | 3,777,210 |
The Runaways | Apparition/E1 | 3,332,424 |
Broken Embraces * | Sony Classics | 3,316,910 |
3 Idiots * | Big Pictures | 2,279,902 |
Chloe | Sony Classics/E1 | 2,800,621 |
Under the Sea 3D * | WB | 2,316,463 |
The White Ribbon | Sony Classics | 2,197,888 |
A Prophet | Sony Classics | 1,926,344 |
Celine: Through the Eyes of the World | Sony | 1,897,831 |
* does not include 2009 box office |