By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report: January 8, 2011
Ooooh, the Horror
The Devil Inside made industry insiders believers as it bowed to a near January opening gross record estimated at $35.1 million. It was the sole national newcomer among post-holiday fare.
Also new to the scene was Bollywood’s Players that bowed to no better than OK returns of $218,000 from 85 venues. Exclusive debuts were generally uninspired with the exception of Turkish Oscar submission Once Upon a Time in Anatolia that grossed $10,400 at a single Manhattan screen.
The frame was also light on expansions of award contenders with only Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy making the move with an additional 754 sites and a $5.7 million tally that maintained sturdy per screens.
Overall weekend revenues topped $145 million that represented a 9% decline from the three-day portion of last weekend’s New Year holiday session. It was an exhilarating 27% jump from 2011 when the debuting Season of the Witch ranked third with $10.6 million and holdovers True Grit and Little Fockers sat at the top of the charts respectively with $14.6 million and $13.5 million.
No one anticipated the wrath of The Devil Inside with pundits putting its prospects at between $16 million and $20 million. Following a year when pictures targeted at young males failed to get close to that bullseye, the chiller hit dead center with an audience that was 54% men and 59% aged 25 years old and younger.
Already industry cheerleaders are proclaiming a reversal of fortunes but it could be as easily an anomaly. It could all change (or not) with next weekend’s bow of Contraband. Regardless the general mood among insiders is tetchy.
Beyond the multiplex the focus was the apparent acquisition of Summit by Lions Gate that’s been bruited and not quite happened intermittently for three years. The union of the two largest American independents isn’t likely to seriously change the topography of domestic film going. However, it has far greater implications internationally and the logical step forward would see LGF handling North American strategies while the more experienced and successful Summit principles in the international arena riding herd in foreign climes.
On the awards front, the weekend – apart from Tinker, Tailor – provided no new clues to the shape or composition of the Oscar ballot. The 2011 contenders are absent a film that is strong in both technical and artistic areas and therefore the sense of a crowning achievement is rather remote. The slate is apt to reflect an awful lot of niche favorites … and head scratching.
| Weekend (estimates) January 6 – 8, 2012 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Devil Inside | Par Insurge | 35.1 (15,370) | NEW | 2285 | 35.1 |
| Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol | Par | 20.3 (5,710) | -31% | 3555 | 170 |
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | WB | 13.9 (3,870) | -33% | 3603 | 157.3 |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Sony | 11.3 (3,840) | -24% | 2950 | 76.9 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked | Fox | 9.5 (2,780) | -42% | 3425 | 111.6 |
| War Horse | BV | 8.6 (3,100) | -40% | 2783 | 56.8 |
| We Bought a Zoo | Fox | 8.4 (2,660) | -36% | 3170 | 56.5 |
| The Adventures of Tintin | Par | 6.6 (2,210) | -42% | 3006 | 61.9 |
| Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | Focus | 5.7 (7,070) | 427% | 809 | 10.4 |
| New Year’s Eve | WB | 3.2 (1,740) | -49% | 1864 | 52 |
| The Darkest Hour | Summit | 3.1 (1,450) | -25% | 2163 | 18.7 |
| The Descendants | Fox Searchlight | 2.6 (3,500) | -24% | 737 | 44 |
| Hugo | Par | 1.6 (1,860) | -36% | 843 | 52.6 |
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn | Summit | 1.5 (1,400) | -28% | 1058 | 278.4 |
| Young Adult | Par | 1.3 (1,530) | -39% | 830 | 14.7 |
| The Muppets | BV | 1.2 (990) | -54% | 1236 | 85.4 |
| The Sitter | Fox | 1.2 (1,540) | -30% | 758 | 28.7 |
| The Artist | Weinstein Co. | 1.1 (6,450) | -15% | 172 | 7.1 |
| My Week with Marilyn | Weinstein Co. | .82 (1,400) | -11% | 584 | 10.4 |
| Puss in Boots | Par | .58 (1,650) | -23% | 351 | 146.6 |
| A Dangerous Method | Sony Classics | .30 (4,730) | 1% | 64 | 2.1 |
| Tower Heist | Uni | .30 (1,020) | 19% | 295 | 77.2 |
| Players | Viva | .22 (2,560) | NEW | 85 | 0.22 |
| Happy Feet Two | WB | .21 (750) | -46% | 285 | 61.3 |
| Shame | Searchlight/Alliance | .21 (4,610) | 4% | 45 | 2.4 |
| The Iron Lady | Weinstein Co. | .17 (34,600) | -21% | 5 | 0.52 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $137.60 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 27% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -9% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Pariah | Focus | .11 (10,320) | 134% | 11 | 0.24 |
| Carnage | Sony Classics | .11 (7,420) | 19% | 15 | 0.53 |
| Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | WB | .10 (16,120) | -13% | 6 | 0.49 |
| A Separation | Sony Classics | 92,400 (15,400) | 55% | 6 | 0.2 |
| In the Land of Blood and Honey | Film District | 30,900 (4,410) | 262% | 7 | 0.09 |
| Norwegian Wood | Red Flag | 11,550 (3,850) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | Cinema Guild | 10,400 (10,400) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Beneath the Darkness | Image Ent. | 9,300 (1,030) | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Roadie | Magnolia | 2,750 (2,750) | 1 | 0.01 |
