June 13, 2010

Industry trackers were virtually unanimous that The A-Team would be top dog among weekend movie goers with the re-imagined The Karate Kid a competitive but distinct runner up. However, whether it was a poor sampler or respondents were too embarrassed to divulge their honest sentiments, ticket sales provided a radically different conclusion.

The Karate Kid 2010 replicated its underdog persona with an estimated $56.2 million while The A-Team underperformed in the place position with $25.9 million. Debuting niche fare was relatively buoyant including the non-fiction profile Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work that generated $153,500 from seven venues. Comparably potent was the independent drama Winter’s Bone with an $81,300 box office from three screens and the Danish import Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky generating a $46,600 gross at another trio in its U.S. launch. There were also good returns of $89,700 for Les Amours Imaginaires in Quebec.

Ultimately the current session’s pluses and minuses tilted positive with revenues expanding 19% from last weekend. It was also 10% improved from 2009 when the second weekend of The Hangover prevailed on a $32.8 million tally and the top newcomer The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 ranked third with a $23.4 million gross.

The considerably better than anticipated result for The Karate Kid is undeniable. Pundits generally translated advance data into a $25 million to $30 million outcome. Studio exit polls provide some clues even if information appears to be contradictory. Exits show a slight tilt toward female ticket buyers with a 53%/47% gender split as opposed to a perceived dominant male appeal for the picture.

It was also reported that 56% of the audience was under the age of 25 and that presumably means 44% of the audience was 25 years old and above. But further data noted that 45% of the crowd was parents accompanying children. Presumably the latter detail was supposed to mean 45% of ticket buyers were comprised of parents and children and taking it one step further that mothers out-numbered fathers as chaperons.

Meanwhile back at The A-Team screens, the male dominated viewers were expected to generate between $30 million and $35 million in ticket sales. It likely didn’t help business that critical and twitter response was close to universally downbeat. The 1980s television refugees (unlike The Karate Kid) stepped out in a few international territories where World Cup fever was perceived as less competitive by dint of either the lack of a team or a favorable time delay broadcast. Regardless its $2.8 million box office in Australia, $500,000 in Mexico and $400 in Brazil were not chart toppers.

One can readily see the impact of World Cup telecasts on movie going in Europe with Saturday’s U.K.-U.S. match taking a big bite out of business in Great Britain for instance. Not surprisingly the preponderance of debuting titles on that continent swings decidedly toward female viewers and Monday reporting will have data crunchers furiously comparing current stats with the 2006 edition held in Germany (coincidentally in the same time zone as present host South Africa).

-by Leonard Klady

Weekend Estimates: June 11-13, 2010

Domestic Market Share: January 1 – June 10, 2010

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