By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report: March 11, 2012
Plan Carter in Outer Space
Like a hideous car accident all eyes were on John Carter. Or, at the very least there was the prospect of the anticipated catastrophe that a calculated franchise title would come crashing down to earth (or Mars).
The film proved to be somewhat of a split decision. Its opening estimated gross of $30.1 million ranked it second to Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’s second weekend of $39 million. So, while the hero of the pulps and pecs was not a flame out neither did he flex the sort of commercial heft that would anticipate sequels.
There were two additional new releases in the current frame. The eerie going ons of Silent House charted fifth in the lineup with $6.8 million and a notch down it was not a pretty picture for Eddie Murphy’s antics in A Thousand Words with a box office bow of $6.2 million.
Prospects were slightly better for the limited wide opening of Friends with Kids that grossed $2 million at 374 locations. And in the niches Bollywood entry Kahaani had a decent $241,000 debut at 48 venues.
There were also a number of encouraging exclusive bows beginning with the Brit light drama Salmon Fishing in the Yeman that grossed $223,000 from 18 screens. Israeli Oscar submission Footnote posted $47,300 at two theaters and non-fiction Jiro Dreams of Sushi showed similar potency with $42,500 in another twosome.
Overall weekend revenues generated close to $140 million in e-tickets sales for a 19% decline from the prior frame. It was 7% improve from 2011 when the opening of Battle: Los Angeles led the field with $35.6 million and other newcomers Red Riding Hood and Mars Needs Moms trailed respectively with $14 million and $6.9 million.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ bygone pulp favorite John Carter of Mars has enticed myriad filmmakers over the decades and seemed a natural to join his Tarzan as a movie staple. But matters appeared to unravel at early previews and from a confused marketing campaign in which reference to the Red Planet was excised. Critical response was extreme and variegated but not surprising considering the scrutiny awarded the costly production.
Domestically John Carter came up short of its targeted young male audience that was 63% composed of that gender but 59% aged 25 and older. International results were considerably more upbeat with an estimated $70 million salvo that included most major territories save for Japan and China. The prospects of an eventual $350 million global gross are good … but not enough to revisit the character on the big screen.
That comeback picture for Eddie Murphy remained on the horizon following the opening of A Thousand Pictures. It skewed 55% female with 61% of viewers aged 25 and older. It seems an eternity since the comic connected with the hip and the young.
Memories of Oscar are also fading fast with The Artist falling significantly short of the $60 million gross predicted by its distributor. The film received a considerable boost internationally last weekend with a current international cume of $70 million. A Separation was another beneficiary of Academy largesse with its international gross now approaching $20 million.
Weekend (estimates) March 9 – 11, 2012 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 39.0 (10,420) | -44% | 3746 | 121.9 |
John Carter | BV | 30.1 (8,040) | NEW | 3749 | 30.1 |
Project X | WB | 11.4 (3,730) | -46% | 3065 | 40 |
Act of Valor | Relativity | 7.0 (2,380) | -48% | 2951 | 56.1 |
Silent House | Open Road/eOne | 6.8 (3,210) | NEW | 2124 | 6.8 |
A Thousand Words | Par | 6.2 (3,290) | NEW | 1890 | 6.2 |
Safe House | Uni | 4.9 (2,300) | -33% | 2144 | 115.7 |
The Vow | Sony | 4.0 (1,600) | -34% | 2478 | 117.6 |
This Means War | Fox | 3.7 (1,910) | -33% | 1949 | 46.9 |
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | 3.6 (1,440) | -44% | 2525 | 90.7 |
Good Deeds | Lions Gate | 3.0 (2,000) | -57% | 1516 | 30.6 |
The Artist | Weinstein Co. | 2.1 (1,420) | -41% | 1505 | 40.3 |
Friends with Kids | Roadside Attractions | 2.0 (5,400) | NEW | 374 | 2 |
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Sony | 2.0 (1,090) | -58% | 1804 | 48.1 |
Wanderlust | Uni | 1.7 (1,400) | -56% | 1220 | 15.6 |
Gone | Summit | ,93 (810) | -69% | 1144 | 10.8 |
Chronicle | Fox | .91 (1,530) | -53% | 595 | 62.3 |
A Separation | Sony Classics | .78 (2,770) | -18% | 281 | 4.8 |
The Descendants | Fox Searchlight | .69 (1,330) | -47% | 517 | 81.5 |
Hugo | Par | .62 (1,980) | -50% | 313 | 72.3 |
The Iron Lady | Weinstein Co. | .57 (1,280) | -33% | 447 | 27.9 |
The Woman in Black | CBS | .46 (1,060) | -60% | 433 | 53 |
The Secret of Arrietty | BV | .39 (780) | -74% | 501 | 17.5 |
Star Wars, Episode 1 – 3D | Fox | .32 (1,240) | -71% | 258 | 42.8 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $132.00 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | 7% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | -19% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Kahaani | Viva | .24 (5,020) | 48 | 0.24 | |
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | CBS | .22 (12,390) | 18 | 0.22 | |
We Need to Talk About Kevin | Oscilloscope | .15 (2,540) | 15% | 60 | 1 |
In Darkness | Sony Classics | .11 (2,260) | 6% | 50 | 0.57 |
Rampart | Millennium | 68,200 (1,180) | -43% | 58 | 0.66 |
Undefeated | Weinstein Co. | 55,700 (4,280) | -32% | 13 | 0.25 |
Footnote | Sony Classics | 47,300 (23,650) | 2 | 0.05 | |
Being Flynn | Focus | 43,400 (3,620) | -1% | 12 | 0.1 |
Jiro Dreams of Sushi | Magnolia | 42,500 (21,250) | 2 | 0.04 | |
Mr. Nookaya | Bahrat | 20,600 (1,580) | 13 | 0.02 | |
Boy | Paladin | 28,400 (14,200) | -17% | 4 | 0.04 |
Romeo Onze | Metropole | 9,100 (2,280) | 4 | 0.01 | |
Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jay | Adopt | 6,300 (2,100) | 3 | 0.01 | |
Howling | CJ Entertainment | 5,700 (5,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Attenberg | Strand | 4,300 (4,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Bending the Rules | IDP | 4,100 (410) | 10 | 0.01 | |
Sound of Noise | Magnolia | 3,200 (1,600) | 2 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – March 8, 2012) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
Universal (6) | 295.1 | 15.70% | |||
20th Century Fox (8) | 282.1 | 15.00% | |||
Sony (9) | 279.2 | 14.90% | |||
Warner Bros. (11) | 256.8 | 13.70% | |||
Paramount (8) | 204.9 | 10.90% | |||
Buena Vista (6) | 115.3 | 6.10% | |||
Relativity (3) | 68.8 | 3.70% | |||
Weinstein Co. (6) | 67.5 | 3.60% | |||
Lions Gate (2) | 53.6 | 2.80% | |||
CBS (1) | 52.5 | 2.80% | |||
Open Road (1) | 46.4 | 2.50% | |||
Summit (4) | 44.7 | 2.40% | |||
Fox Searchlight (3) | 44.1 | 2.40% | |||
Focus (2) | 20.9 | 1.10% | |||
Sony Classics (7) | 10 | 0.50% | |||
Other * (66) | 35.3 | 1.90% | |||
1877.2 | 100.00% | ||||
* none greater than 0.04% | |||||
Top Domestic Grossers (Jan. 1 – March 8, 2012) | * | ||||
Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
The Vow | Sony | 113,613,746 | |||
Safe House | Uni | 110,803,815 | |||
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | 87,030,611 | |||
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol * | Par | 85,736,441 | |||
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 82,878,830 | |||
Contraband | Uni | 66,410,885 | |||
Underworld: Awakening | Sony | 62,342,483 | |||
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows * | WB | 62,313,544 | |||
Chronicle | Fox | 61,362,872 | |||
The Devil Inside | Par | 53,203,521 | |||
The Woman in Black | CBS | 52,540,246 | |||
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo * | Sony | 51,845,543 | |||
The Grey | Open Road/eOne | 50,836,301 | |||
Red Tails | Fox | 49,227,987 | |||
Act of Valor | Relativity | 49,100,597 | |||
Beauty and the Beast 3D (reissue | BV | 47,265,159 | |||
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Sony | 46,100,147 | |||
This Means War | Fox | 43,139,350 | |||
War Horse * | BV | 42,929,021 | |||
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked | Fox | 42,749,145 | |||
* does not include 2011 box office |