By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report, October 23, 2011
The New Paranormal
If there was ever a whiff of doubt about spooks or horror franchises, the bow of Paranormal Activity 3 exorcised skeptics with an estimated $53.5 million that dominated weekend ticket sales. The session also featured two other national newcomers. The umpteenth The Three Musketeers (in 3D!) got fenced into fourth spot with $8.7 million while Johnny English Reborn bowed to an Oh Oh $3.8 million. The latter two films have fared considerably better overseas where they’ve respectively grossed $55 million and $90 million.
Also in wide release was the athletic, inspirational The Mighty Macs that failed to replicate hoops glory cinematically with $802,000 at 975 multicourts. Considerably more upbeat was the limited opening of too big to fail Margin Call with $550,000 at 56 trading posts and the exclusive bow of the chilling Martha Marcy May Marlene scared up $136,000 at four sites. Also of note was the non-fiction Being Elmo that pulled the strings to a tuneful $22,700 from a Manhattan solo.
Overall weekend revenues ballooned 42% to roughly $125 million but remained 5% below last year’s pace. In 2010 the debut of Paranormal Activity 2 ascended to $40.7 million followed by holdovers Jackass 3D and Red with respective box office of $21.3 million and $15 million.
Paranormal Activity 3 _ the sequel spawned by a film that almost went direct to disc _ got off to a fast start with Thursday sneaks that spawned $8 million. Industry tracking had predicted an opening slightly better than PA2 in the low to mid-$40 million range. The audience (as with virtually all 2011 movies) got older with 47% aged 25 and older as compared 40% for the prior incarnation and women held a slight majority with a 54% total. With so many horror franchises fading out, Paranormal may be the last stand for a crowd that appears to be evaporating from the movie going scene.
Despite the addition of epees in your eyeball the response to the latest The Three Musketeers was blasé. Pundits expected North American box office in the $11 million to $13 million range but its audience appeared to prefer things that went bump in the night to rapiers.
Also registering below expectation was Johnny English Reborn that was tracking albeit low in the $4 million to $6 million vicinity. Star Rowan Atkinson remains a major international star largely due to the success of Mr. Bean and its offspring. However, he recently told an interviewer that he was now too old to play his signature character to much outcry from fans.
The audience shift of 2011 has certainly improved the commercial prospects of the likes of The Way and Take Shelter, not to mention The Help. Add to that list Margin Call that arrived virtually out of left field. Despite positive (though less than enthusiastic) response from screenings at Sundance and Berlin, the expectations were modest for yet another tale of Wall Street greed and amorality. However, the picture may have benefited from recent global sit ins against the traders and reviews that rightfully accentuated its positives.
Weekend (estimates) October 21 – 23, 2011 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Paranormal Activity 3 | Par | 53.5 (16,100) | NEW | 3321 | 53.5 |
Real Steel | BV | 11.1 (3,250) | -32% | 3412 | 67 |
Footloose | Par | 10.8 (3,030) | -31% | 3555 | 30.8 |
The Three Musketeers | Summit | 8.7 (2,880) | NEW | 3017 | 8.7 |
The Ides of March | Sony/Alliance | 4.9 (2,390) | -31% | 2042 | 29.2 |
Dolphin Tale | WB | 4.2 (1,490) | -32% | 2828 | 64.4 |
Moneyball | Sony | 4.1 (1,730) | -25% | 2353 | 63.7 |
Johnny English Reborn | Uni | 3.8 (2,430) | NEW | 1552 | 3.8 |
The Thing | Uni | 3.1 (1,040) | -63% | 2995 | 14.1 |
50/50 | Summit | 2,8 (1,460 | -34% | 1932 | 28.8 |
Courageous | Sony/Tricord | 2.5 (2,120) | -23% | 1195 | 25 |
The Big Year | Fox | 1.7 (780) | -49% | 2150 | 6 |
The Lion King 3D | BV | 1.2 (1,140) | -55% | 1091 | 92.6 |
Dream House | Uni/eOne | 1.2 (990) | -51% | 1224 | 20.3 |
Contagion | WB | .87 (960) | -52% | 901 | 73.5 |
The Mighty Macs | Quaker | .80 (820) | NEW | 975 | 0.8 |
The Help | BV | .72 (930) | -39% | 776 | 166.2 |
Abduction | Lions Gate | .62 (820) | -57% | 753 | 26.8 |
Drive | FilmDistrict | .59 (1,610) | -47% | 367 | 33.2 |
Margin Call | Roadside Attractions | .55 (9,880) | NEW | 56 | 0.55 |
The Way | PDA | .47 (1,650) | 86% | 283 | 1 |
Killer Elite | Open Road | .39 (520) | -62% | 751 | 24.6 |
What’s Your Number | Fox | .27 (790) | -76% | 343 | 13.7 |
The Skin I Live In | Sony Classics | .25 (12,050) | 13% | 21 | 0.56 |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Fox | .22 (900) | -6% | 249 | 176.5 |
Apes | |||||
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $117.75 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | -5% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | 42% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Take Shelter | Sony Classics | .20 (3,590) | 70% | 55 | 0.52 |
Martha Marcy May Marlene | Fox Searchlight | .14 (34,080) | 4 | 0.14 | |
Snowmen | Cinedigm | 73,300 (3,860) | 19 | 0.07 | |
Decharge | Remster | 32,500 (1,630) | 20 | 0.03 | |
Le Havre | Janus | 26,600 (4,430) | 6 | 0.03 | |
Being Elmo | Submarine | 22,700 (22,700) | 1 | 0.02 | |
Oranges and Sunshine | Cohen Media | 18,400 (4,600) | 4 | 0.02 | |
Revenge of the Electric Car | Area 23a | 18,100 (6,030) | 3 | 0.02 | |
The Last Ride | Category One | 15,700 (2,240) | 7 | 0.02 | |
Joy Road | Blazar Media | 14,900 (1,850) | 8 | 0.01 | |
Norman | Camelot | 10,600 (1,060) | 10 | 0.01 | |
L’Assaut | Seville | 8.800 (1,100) | 8 | 0.01 | |
Down the Road Again | Triptych | 7,200 (1,800) | 4 | 0.01 | |
Paul Goodman Changed My Life | Zeitgeist | 5,600 (5,600) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Elevate | Variance | 4,100 (4,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Balls to the Wall | Rocky Mountain | 3,200 (320) | 10 | 0.01 | |
Klitschko | Corinth | 2,800 (700) | 4 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Oct. 20, 2011) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
Warner Bros. (24) | 1499.4 | 18.20% | |||
Paramount (16) | 1452.9 | 17.70% | |||
Buena Vista (15) | 1076.6 | 13.10% | |||
Sony (25) | 1056.1 | 12.80% | |||
Universal (16) | 946.2 | 11.50% | |||
20th Century Fox (15) | 785.4 | 9.60% | |||
Weinstein Co. (12) | 281.3 | 3.40% | |||
Lions Gate (15) | 182.7 | 2.20% | |||
Relativity (7) | 144.6 | 1.80% | |||
Focus (7) | 123.3 | 1.50% | |||
Film District (3) | 110.5 | 1.30% | |||
Fox Searchlight (10) | 107.7 | 1.30% | |||
Summit (7) | 95.9 | 1.20% | |||
Sony Classics (16) | 80.5 | 1.00% | |||
CBS (3) | 57.5 | 0.70% | |||
Other * (287) | 222.1 | 2.70% | |||
8222.7 | 100.00% | ||||
* none greater than 0.35% | |||||
Top Domestic Grossers (Jan. 1 – Oct. 20, 2011) * | |||||
Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2 | WB | 380,350,637 | |||
Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Par | 352,424,682 | |||
The Hangover 2 | WB | 254,464,305 | |||
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | BV | 241,071,802 | |||
Fast Five | Uni | 209,999,424 | |||
Cars 2 | BV | 190,858,696 | |||
Thor | Par | 181,066,624 | |||
Captain America: The First Avenger | Par | 176,262,652 | |||
Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Fox | 175,394,199 | |||
Bridesmaids | Uni | 169,185,860 | |||
The Help | BV | 165,476,836 | |||
Kung Fu Panda 2 | Par | 165,347,740 | |||
X-Men: First Class | Fox | 146,408,305 | |||
Rio | Fox | 143,619,809 | |||
The Smurfs | Sony | 140,156,041 | |||
Super 8 | Par | 127,021,426 | |||
Rango | Par | 123,481,694 | |||
The King’s Speech * | Weinstein Co. | 121,123,415 | |||
Horrible Bosses | WB | 117,506,259 | |||
Green Lantern | WB | 116,601,172 | |||
* does not include 2010 box office |