By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report: June 5, 2011

X-Cellent
By Leonard Klady

The opening of X-Men: First Class provided the franchise with a strong re-boot and the new chapter easily led weekend ticket sales with an estimated $56.1 million.

X-M:FC was the sole national debut but freshmen in the niches and specialized arenas were rife. Ready on the Bollywood circuit provided a rebound in that sector with a solid $510,000 gross. There were a couple of inspirational entries with the Mormon-produced 17 Miracles off to a good start of $53,200 at 11 venues but the 3-D animated The Lion of Judah went into the tank with a $22,900 tally from 81 playdates.

Beginners, the unusual father-son relationship saga, was at the forefront of the exclusive bows with box office of $134,000 from five outings. The Brit coming-of-age yarn Submarine also had good response of $39,500 at four locations as was the non-fiction The Last Mountain with $16,700 on a pair of screens. On the flip side audiences were cool to the intense drama of Beautiful Boy that struggled to $15,600 at four sites and iced the chills of YellowBrickRoad with a $5,400 tally from 24 engagements.

Overall revenues inched toward $165 million for a 27% decline from the 3-day portion of last weekend’s Memorial holiday frame. It was however a 28% boost from 2010 when the $25.5 million third weekend of Shrek Forever After trumped newcomers Get Him to the Greek and Killers that bowed respectively with $17.6 million and $15.8 million. The box office upturns of the past few weeks have provided the industry with some encouragement but box office still remains 8% behind last year’s pace.

The re-imagineering of X-Men with an origins tale set in the Cold War climate of 1962 generally received critical thumbs up. Tracking reports pegged its bow around $60 million and the difference this time couldn’t be attributed to 3-D engagements. Exit polls identified the crowd as 58% male to no great surprise while the plus 25s dominated with 54% and the industry continues to scratch its head about the seeming erosion of young, avid filmgoers.

Initial international results were first class for X-Men with an estimated $64 million including a UK country best of $9 million in the 74 nation lineup. Japan, China and Italy were the only major territories not in the first wave.

One current positive is that all those folk that fell in love with the movies in the 1970s and 1980s have found the likes of Midnight in Paris and The Tree of Life and have provided Beginners with a good start. These shifts in movie going trends are receiving close scrutiny in the industry and one can expect release patterns to see at least nominal change from rather entrenched patterns dating back to 1989 including a few high profile debuts in March and October.

Weekend (estimates) June 3 – 5, 2011
Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
X-Men: First Class Fox 56.1 (15,410) NEW 3641 56.1
The Hangover Part II WB 32.6 (9,010) -62% 3615 187
Kung Fu Panda 2 Par 24.5 (6,190) -49% 3952 100.6
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV 18.0 (4,530) -55% 3966 190.2
Bridesmaids Uni 12.1 (4,140) -27% 2919 107.2
Thor Par Intl 4.2 (1,500) -56% 2780 169
Fast Five Uni 3.2 (1,440) -49% 2237 202
Midnight in Paris Sony Classics 2.8 (18,840) 43% 147 6.8
Jumping the Broom Sony .85 (1,440) -53% 589 35.9
Something Borrowed WB .83 (1,210) -55% 688 36.6
Rio Fox .73 (1,060) -60% 687 136.7
Water for Elephants Fox .67 (1,170) -38% 572 55.7
The Tree of Life Fox Searchlight .61 (30,650) 64% 20 1.2
Ready Eros .51 (5,220) NEW 98 0.51
Priest Sony .35 (600) -80% 583 28.7
The Cave of Forgotten Dreams IFC .32 (2,620) -35% 123 3.2
Rango Par .23 (910) -35% 254 122.1
Source Code Summit .22 (770) -31% 288 53.8
Soul Surfer Sony .20 (810) -49% 251 41.7
Born to Be Wild WB .19 (4,100) -22% 47 6.3
Hop Uni .19 (770) -13% 245 107.8
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $157.70
% Change (Last Year) 28%
% Change (Last Week) -27%
Also debuting/expanding
Beginners Focus .13 (26,860) 5 0.13
17 Miracles Excel 53,200 (4,840) 11 0.05
The Beaver Summit 47,300 (700) -55% 68 0.88
The First Grader National Geo 42,700 (1,190) -25% 36 0.22
Submarine Weinstein Co. 39,500 (9,880) 4 0.04
Empire of Silver Neo Classics 34,800 (1,930) 18 0.03
Lion of Judah Rocky Mtn 22,900 (280) 81 0.02
The Last Mountain Dada 16,700 (8,350) 2 0.02
Beautiful Boy Anchor Bay 15,600 (3,900) 4 0.02
Good Neighbors Alliance 6,350 (1,590) 4 0.01
Rejoice and Shout Magnolia 6,200 (6,200) 1 0.01
Women, Art, Revolution Zeitgeist 5,700 (2,850) 2 0.01
YellowBrickRoad Bloody Disgusting 5,400 (225) 24 0.01
Film Socialisme Lorber 3,600 (3,600) 1 0.01
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – June 2, 2011)
Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Paramount (11) 662.4 16.60%
Universal (11) 660.6 16.60%
Warner Bros. (17) 511.7 12.90%
Sony (13) 481.6 12.10%
Buena Vista (9) 458.1 11.50%
Fox (8) 330.8 8.30%
Weinstein Co. (6) 182.9 4.60%
Lions Gate (9) 116.6 2.90%
Relativity (4) 110.4 2.80%
Fox Searchlight (6) 92.1 2.30%
Focus (4) 71.5 1.80%
Summit (5) 66.9 1.70%
CBS (3) 57.6 1.40%
Film District (10) 52.8 1.30%
Roadside Attractions (7) 20.4 0.50%
Sony Classics (9) 20.4 0.50%
Other * (152) 84.2 2.10%
3981 100%
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Leonard Klady's Friday Estimates
Friday Screens % Chg Cume
Title Gross Thtr % Chgn Cume
Venom 33 4250 NEW 33
A Star is Born 15.7 3686 NEW 15.7
Smallfoot 3.5 4131 -46% 31.3
Night School 3.5 3019 -63% 37.9
The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls 1.8 3463 -43% 49.5
A Simple Favor 1 2408 -50% 46.6
The Nun 0.75 2264 -52% 111.5
Hell Fest 0.6 2297 -70% 7.4
Crazy Rich Asians 0.6 1466 -51% 167.6
The Predator 0.25 1643 -77% 49.3
Also Debuting
The Hate U Give 0.17 36
Shine 85,600 609
Exes Baggage 75,900 62
NOTA 71,300 138
96 61,600 62
Andhadhun 55,000 54
Afsar 45,400 33
Project Gutenberg 36,000 17
Love Yatri 22,300 41
Hello, Mrs. Money 22,200 37
Studio 54 5,300 1
Loving Pablo 4,200 15
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Chg Cume
No Good Dead 24.4 (11,230) NEW 24.4
Dolphin Tale 2 16.6 (4,540) NEW 16.6
Guardians of the Galaxy 7.9 (2,550) -23% 305.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4.8 (1,630) -26% 181.1
The Drop 4.4 (5,480) NEW 4.4
Let's Be Cops 4.3 (1,570) -22% 73
If I Stay 4.0 (1,320) -28% 44.9
The November Man 2.8 (1,030) -36% 22.5
The Giver 2.5 (1,120) -26% 41.2
The Hundred-Foot Journey 2.5 (1,270) -21% 49.4