By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report: Feb 17-19, 2012
Hayes Days
The President’s holiday weekend saw a trio of new national releases but it was holdover titles that composed the majority business including Safe House and The Vow that topped the charts with respective box office of $23.9 million and $23.3 million (all figures reflect 3-day grosses).
Best of the newcomers figuratively was Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance that fell considerably below expectation with a third place finish of $22.1 million. Also soft was the action-romance This Means War in position five with $17.5 million and the anime Secret of Arrietty bowed to $6.3 million.
The session was choc-a-bloc with incoming limited and exclusive titles including the indie thriller Thin Ice that grossed $197,000 at 59 venues and a 62 screen Texas blitz for the drama Deep in the Heart that was held to a disappointing $47,100. Imported fare included Oscar short-listed Bullhead from Belgium that bowed to $18,400 at five locations and an impressive $86,500 tally for Love from China.
New titles from India included Telegu, Punjabi and Hindi fare but general response was tepid for the freshmen entries.
Weekend box office pushed to about $160 million and a 12% slippage for the three-day portion of the holiday frame. It was however 9% improved from the comparable 2011 session when newcomers Unknown and I Am Number Four ranked one and three in the lineup with $21.8 million and $19.4 million.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance had been tipped to top the charts by pundits with estimates in the low to mid $30 million range. While hardly a review driven title, the picture received withering response and diminished the crowd composed 61% male and 52% aged 25 years older plus. According to studio sources just 352 playdates were 3D engagements and accounted for 72% of box office … but those details seem highly questionable.
This Means War wisely moved off its initial date that would have pitted it against the opening of The Vow. It nonetheless opened to soft if anticipated box office response with viewers skewing female and older.
The Secret of Arrietty from Japan’s Studio Ghibli once again was wildly embraced by critics and received modest patronage. The yarn is based upon Mary Norton’s kid lit favorite The Borrowers that failed to click in this country when it was adapted as a live-action movie back in 1997.
With the clock ticking down to next weekend’s Oscar broadcast there’s little indication of frenzy for the anticipated winners let alone other titles on the ballot. Certainly none of the leaders are seeing significant theater expansion and only The Artist experienced a slight bump in its box office. Should it emerge the major winner one can expect a national blitz but, based on recent experience, no more than fleeting popularity.
| Weekend (estimates) February 17 – 19, 2012 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Safe House | Uni | 23.9 (7,650) | -41% | 3121 | 78.2 |
| The Vow | Sony | 23.3 (7,870) | -43% | 2958 | 85.2 |
| Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Sony | 22.1 (6,950) | NEW | 3174 | 22.1 |
| Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | 20.0 (5,700) | -27% | 3500 | 53.1 |
| This Means War | Fox | 17.5 (5,490) | NEW | 3189 | 17.5 |
| Star Wars, Episode 1 – 3D | Fox | 7.8 (2,950) | -65% | 2655 | 33.7 |
| Chronicle | Fox | 7.4 (2,910) | -38% | 2556 | 50.9 |
| The Woman in Black | CBS | 6.6 (2,570) | -35% | 2559 | 45.2 |
| The Secret of Arrietty | BV | 6.3 (4,160) | NEW | 1522 | 6.3 |
| The Grey | Open Road/eOne | 3.1 (1,470) | -39% | 2107 | 48 |
| The Descendants | Fox Searchlight | 2.8 (2,280) | -18% | 1243 | 74.9 |
| The Artist | Weinstein Co. | 2.3 (2,890) | 4% | 808 | 27.4 |
| Big Miracle | Uni | 2.1 (1,290) | -47% | 1634 | 16.6 |
| Hugo | Par | 1.6 (2,830) | -11% | 558 | 66.7 |
| Red Tails | Fox | 1.4 (1,410) | -41% | 1009 | 47.5 |
| Underworld: Awakening | Sony | 1.1 (1,310) | -56% | 826 | 61.3 |
| The Iron Lady | Weinstein Co. | 1.0 (1,670) | -10% | 623 | 24.4 |
| One For the Money | Lions Gate | .75 (800) | -67% | 933 | 25.4 |
| Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | WB | .62 (1,070) | -58% | 577 | 30.6 |
| Contraband | Uni | .52 (1,240) | -55% | 420 | 65.7 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked | Fox | .51 (1,270) | -5% | 400 | 129.7 |
| Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol | Par | .47 (1,710) | -34% | 275 | 207.3 |
| Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | Focus | .47 (2,560) | -14% | 184 | 22.7 |
| A Separation | Sony Classics | .32 (5,960) | 21% | 54 | 2 |
| Man on a Ledge | Summit | .31 (780) | -76% | 401 | 18.4 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $152.60 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 9% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -12% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Thin Ice | IDP | .20 (3,340) | 59 | 0.2 | |
| Albert Nobbs | Roadside/eOne | .17 (1,450) | -37% | 119 | 2.3 |
| A Dangerous Method | Sony Class/eOne | .16 (1,710) | -20% | 96 | 5.2 |
| Rampart | Millennium | .13 (4,620) | 114% | 28 | 0.21 |
| Love | China Lion | 86,500 (12,210) | 7 | 0.09 | |
| In Darkness | Sony Classics | 75,200 (5,370) | 174% | 14 | 0.13 |
| Love Failure | Blue Sky | 65,800 (4,110) | 16 | 0.07 | |
| We Need to Talk About Kevin | Oscilloscope | 62,700 (3,920) | -25% | 16 | 0.6 |
| W.E. | Weinstein Co, | 48,600 (2,430) | -19% | 20 | 0.2 |
| Deep in My Heart | Twenty 8 | 47,100 (760) | 62 | 0.05 | |
| Undefeated | Weinstein Co. | 31,300 (6,260) | 5 | 0.03 | |
| Pata Nahi Rabb Kehdeyan Rangan | JR | 29,800 (4,260) | 7 | 0.03 | |
| Nippu | Praneeth | 19,100 (1,120) | 17 | 0.02 | |
| Ek Deewana Tha | Fox Star | 18,700 (530) | 35 | 0.02 | |
| Bullhead | Drafthouse | 18,400 (3,680) | 5 | 0.02 | |
| On Ice | Tree Head | 16,200 (4,050) | 4 | 0.02 | |
| Unbowed | CJ Entertainment | 12,300 (12,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Deadline | Transcendent | 10,100 (840) | 12 | 0.01 | |
| Unofficially Yours | ABS | 4,200 (4,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Doonby | FreeStyle | 3,000 (1,000) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Feb. 16, 2012) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
| 20th Century Fox (7) | 198.4 | 15.70% | |||
| Paramount (8) | 195.2 | 15.50% | |||
| Warner Bros. (10) | 177.5 | 14.10% | |||
| Sony (8) | 169.4 | 13.40% | |||
| Universal (4) | 135.4 | 10.70% | |||
| Buena Vista (5) | 96.1 | 7.60% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (5) | 48.9 | 3.90% | |||
| Open Road (1) | 41.1 | 3.20% | |||
| CBS (1) | 38.6 | 3.10% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (3) | 35.2 | 2.80% | |||
| Summit (3) | 33.9 | 2.70% | |||
| Lions Gate (1) | 24.7 | 2.00% | |||
| Relativity (2) | 19.6 | 1.50% | |||
| Focus (2) | 19.2 | 1.50% | |||
| Sony Classics (6) | 6.5 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (44) | 22.6 | 1.80% | |||
| 1262.3 | 100.00% |
