By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report, August 14, 2011

A Hard Day’s Weekend

The chimps beat off the competition as the second weekend of Rise of the Planet of the Apes earned bragging rights with an estimated $27.1 million to rank at the top of the ticket buying list. It was close but no cigar for the debut of the 60s-set race comedy-drama The Help that bowed to $25.2 million.

Three additional films made national debuts during the frame. Final Destination 5 ranked third with $18.1 million while the irreverent 30 Minutes or Less slotted fifth with $13.1 million. And it wasn’t a gleeful moment as Glee: The 3D Concert Movie suffered stage fright with $5.8 million.

In the niches Indian cinema provided a good launch for Hindi Aarakshan of $357,000 at 90 venues and a strong start for Telugu Kandireega of $153,000 from 13 engagements. In Quebec the “let’s put on a show” Sur le rythme jumped the gun with a Wednesday bow that provided $140,000 pre-weekend and proceeded to falter with the addition of $112,000 in the subsequent three days.

Exclusives included a solid single screen $10,400 for urban comedy CornerStore and a fast paced $69,100 for Senna, a gripping doc on the bygone Formula One racer at two pit stops.

Overall box office revenues approached $155 million that amounted to a 10% decline from last weekend. It was a slim 4% improvement from 2010 when the charts were topped by newcomers The Expendables and Eat Pray Love that launched respectively with $34.8 million and $23.1 million.

The Help, the adaptation of the Kathryn Stockett novel about the class/race divide in Jackson, Mississippi of the 1960s, was pure counter-programming inspiration. Released Wednesday, it entered the weekend with $9.9 million and per Disney played strong across the spectrum exceeding expectations that it was limited to urban and upscale crowds. Industry tracking had projected an opening weekend in the $18 million to $20 million range.

Exit demos pegged the film attracting 74% female but listing more male as the weekend proceeded. It was also not unexpectedly 60% over the age of 35 years old but a studio spokesman said ethnic breakdown was still being collected and would be available Monday. Regardless the picture is shaping up as this generation’s Driving Miss Daisy equivalent.

The session’s anticipated bridesmaid Final Destination 5 was expected to gross between $22 million and $25 million. Its demos were close to predictable with 54% male and an audience 50% aged less than 25 years old. Underlying the growing belief that 3D is strongest among 18-25ers, the horror franchise generated 76% of its box office from stereoscopic playdates.

Both 30 Minutes or Less and Glee 3D opened below tracking projections. The two films were dominated by younger tickets buys with the latter listing 78% female. Glee experienced a surprising 37% box office Friday to Saturday that provided the weekend head scratcher.

With the season three weeks away from a wrap the August surge will be critical in closing the box office gap that consumed the early part of summer.

Weekend (estimates) August 12 – 14, 2011

Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Fox 27.1 (7,350) -51% 3691 104.5
The Help BV 25.2 (9,950) NEW 2534 35.1
Final Destination 5 WB 18.1 (5,750) NEW 3155 18.1
The Smurfs Sony 13.4 (3,920) -35% 3427 101.5
30 Minutes or Less Sony 13.1 (4,550) NEW 2888 13.1
Cowboys & Aliens Uni 7.6 (2,290) -52% 3310 81.4
Captain America: The First Avenger Par 7.1 (2,500) -46% 2835 156.8
Harry Potter & the Deadly Hollows, Part 2 WB 6.9 (2,870) -44% 2414 357
Crazy, Stupid, Love WB 6.9 (2,620) -43% 2635 55.4
The Change-Up Uni 6.2 (2,120) -54% 2913 25.7
Glee: The 3D Concert Movie Fox 5.8 (2,820) NEW 2040 5.8
Horrible Bosses WB 2.4 (1,810) -47% 1338 110
Friends with Benefits Sony 1.8 (1,380) -62% 1294 53
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Par 1.3 (1,500) -57% 886 347.2
The Zookeeper Sony 1.0 (1,300) -55% 748 75.8
Midnight in Paris Sony Classics .66 (2,010) -33% 328 49.6
Cars 2 BV .64 (1,300) -48% 494 186.2
Sarah’s Key Weinstein/A-Z .47 (4,490) -16% 105 2.1
Green Lantern WB .37 (1,530) 234% 242 115
Bridesmaids Uni .36 (1,270) -35% 285 167.2
Aarakshan Big Pictures .36 (3,970) NEW 90 0.36
Mr. Popper’s Penguins Fox .34 (1,170) -16% 294 66
Kung Fu Panda 2 Par .34 (1,350) -32% 252 164.4
Winnie the Pooh BVI .33 (810) -59% 409 25.2
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV .30 (1,180) -33% 254 239.6
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $145.20
% Change (Last Year) 5%
% Change (Last Week) -10%
Also debuting/expanding
The Guard Sony Classics .27 (5,780) 41% 47 0.67
Devil’s Double Lions Gate .24 (2,720) 22% 89 0.68
Kandireega Supreme .15 (11,780) 13 0.15
Another Earth Fox Searchlight .15 (1,800) -13% 82 0.7
Sur le rhythme Seville .11 (2,030) 55 0.25
The Whistleblower IDP .11 (5,070) 82% 22 0.2
Attack the Block Sony .10 (2,530) 30% 40 0.45
Senna PDA 69,100 (34,550) 2 0.07
CornerStore Shotown 10,400 (10,400) 1 0.01
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow Lorber 6,200 (6,200) 1 0.01
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Aug. 11, 2011)
Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Paramount (14) 1387.9 20.70%
Warner Bros. (21) 1242.4 18.50%
Universal (14) 870.8 13.00%
Sony (18) 800.6 11.90%
Buena Vista (12) 746.8 11.10%
Fox (12) 653.6 9.70%
Weinstein Co. (8) 185.9 2.80%
Relativity (5) 125.4 1.90%
Lions Gate (10) 119.1 1.80%
Fox Searchlight (9) 105.7 1.60%
Focus (5) 78.1 1.10%
Summit (6) 69.8 1.00%
Sony Classics (12) 68.2 1.00%
CBS (3) 57.5 0.90%
Film District (1) 54 0.80%
Other * (218) 148 2.20%
6713.8 100%
* none greater than 0.4%
Top Domestic Grossers * (Jan. 1 – Aug. 11, 2011)
Title Distributor Gross
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2 WB 350,085,941
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Par 345,884,168
The Hangover 2 WB 253,759,628
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV 239,349,842
Fast Five Uni 209,837,675
Cars 2 BV 185,536,656
Thor Par 180,897,792
Bridesmaids Uni 166,809,375
Kung Fu Panda 2 Par 163,082,531
Captain America: The First Avenger Par 149,760,206
X-Men: First Class Fox 145,500,737
Rio Fox 143,408,673
Super 8 Par 125,411,785
Rango Par 123,481,694
The King’s Speech * Weinstein Co. 121,123,415
Green Lantern WB 114,631,201
Hop Uni 108,426,065
Horrible Bosses WB 107,564,646
Just Go With It Sony 103,127,146
True Grit * Par 100,866,002
* does not include 2010 box office
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2 Responses to “The Weekend Report, August 14, 2011”

  1. Cole Moore Odell says:

    Once again, it’s *Deathly Hallows*, not Deadly Hollows. Hallows as in relics of the saints. Hallowed ground.

    http://pinoytutorial.com/lifebytes/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Harry-Potter.jpg

  2. Roy Batty says:

    “Close but no cigar” Really? The film vast exceeded all projections, some by as much as $9M.

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