By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report: April 8, 2012
Sink or Swim
The appetite for The Hunger Games continued with the hearty survivalists adding an estimated $33.7 million to take the weekend box office crown and push its cache to more than $300 million domestically.
The frame’s newcomers (so to speak) trailed in second and third positions. The belated Pie story American Reunion bowed to $21.4 million while the reconstituted Titanic buoyed to $17.4 million with the addition of 3D lifeboats.
On the Indian circuit the Hindi Houseful 2 cracked the top 10 with $722,000 at 121 venues while Telugu Racha displayed comparable strength with $273,000 at 41 locations. Niche release We the Party garnered a less than festive $34,500 at 59 sites.
On the exclusive front there was ample encouragement for the danceable Damsels in Distress with a $61,300 box office at four bandstands and the sly Italian import We Have a Pope grossed $30,600 at three vestries. Also strong was the Turkish spectacle Fetih 1453 (Conquest 1453) with a $31,200 box office from four screens. Conversely the non-fiction Comic-Con Episode IV didn’t get much geek love with a $7,100 gross at a trio of locations.
Weekend revenues added up to roughly $125 million to slip back 17% from seven days earlier and was 10% off of last year’s Easter weekend. However, it bumped up 6% from its calendar equivalent when the second weekend of Hop led the session with $21.2 million and newcomers Hanna and Arthur bowed respectively with $12.4 million and $12.2 million.
It’s been nine years since the American Pie franchise hit the big screen (there have been subsequent direct to disc editions). And rather like the Fast and Furious series getting the original cast back for American Reunion seemed like a potent re-boot at the brain storming sessions. Pundits pegged its opening potential in the low to mid $20 million range and the picture came in at the low end of prognostications.
Exit demos showed the film skewing slightly male with 51% and decidedly older 61% of the audience aged 25 years and older. International openings appeared more upbeat with an estimated $19.3 million in 28 territories including $5 million plus bows in Australia and Russia. Regardless, don’t expect the merry pranksters to be quickly renewed.
Reissues long ago ceased to be a significant part of the release schedule but with the added carrot of stereoscopic perspective and (secondarily) the centennial of its historic demise Titanic was primed for a new assault. About half of the domestic crowd was younger than 25 years old and while North American response was solid, international returns floated the boat to $35.5 million from an aggressive push in 53 nations.
The marquee continued to shrink with just seven pictures grossing in excess of $1 million and only Salmon Fishing in the Yemen demonstrating the slightest bit of crossover appeal. Bully added a screen but experienced a 37% decline. Even with its recent lowed classification it appears that strong armed tactics won’t get crowds into the multiplex for this worthy effort.
Weekend (estimates) April 6 – 8, 2012 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
The Hunger Games | Lions Gate | 33.7 (8,150) | -42% | 4137 | 303.1 |
American Reunion | Uni | 21.4 (6,710) | NEW | 3192 | 21.4 |
Titanic 3D (reissue) | Par | 17.4 (6,520) | NEW | 2674 | 25.8 |
Wrath of the Titans | WB | 15.1 (4,250) | -55% | 3545 | 59 |
Mirror Mirror | Relativity | 11.0 (3,050) | -39% | 3618 | 36.5 |
21 Jump Street | Sony | 10.2 (3,380) | -31% | 3009 | 109.6 |
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 5.0 (1,660) | -36% | 3003 | 198.2 |
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | CBS | 1.0 (1,880) | 2% | 524 | 4.6 |
John Carter | BV | .81 (800) | -60% | 1015 | 68 |
Houseful 2 | Eros | .72 (5,930) | NEW | 121 | 0.73 |
Safe House | Uni | .57 (1,180) | -27% | 482 | 124.7 |
The Raid: Redemption | Sony Class/Alliance | .56 (3,169) | 106% | 176 | 1.3 |
Act of Valor | Relativity | .53 (750) | -47% | 708 | 68.8 |
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | .51 (780) | -37% | 651 | 99.4 |
A Thousand Words | Par | .46 (910) | -49% | 507 | 17.4 |
Jeff Who Lives at Home | Par Vantage | .40 (890) | -41% | 447 | 3.4 |
October Baby | IDP | .36 (1,070) | -53% | 339 | 3.6 |
Project X | WB | .31 (700) | -62% | 444 | 54 |
The Vow | Sony | .28 (580) | -15% | 479 | 123.9 |
Racha | Hari | .27 (6,660) | NEW | 41 | 0.27 |
Casa de mi Padre | Lions Gate | .26 (900) | -57% | 283 | 5.5 |
This Means War | Fox | .21 (660) | -50% | 321 | 53.4 |
Friends with Kids | Roadside Attractions | .20 (970) | -57% | 206 | 6.7 |
The Artist | Weinstein Co. | .18 (820) | -35% | 222 | 43.9 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $118.50 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | -10% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | -17% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
A Separation | Sony Classics | .14 (980) | -37% | 141 | 6.7 |
Footnote | Sony Classics | .12 (1,870) | -49% | 65 | 0.8 |
The Deep Blue Sea | Music Box | .10 (1,910) | -41% | 51 | 0.49 |
We Need to Talk About Kevin | Oscilloscope | 75,800 (1,170) | 12% | 65 | 1.6 |
Bully | Weinstein Co. | 73,100 (12,190) | -37% | 6 | 0.23 |
Damsels in Distress | Sony Classics | 61,300 (15,320) | 4 | 0.06 | |
We the Party | Arc Entertain. | 34,500 (580) | 59 | 0.03 | |
Fetih 1453 | Neo Classics | 31,200 (7,800) | 4 | 0.03 | |
We Have a Pope | IFC | 30,600 (10,200) | 3 | 0.03 | |
The Hunter | Magnolia | 18,800 (4,700) | 4 | 0.02 | |
Comic-Con Episode IV | Wrekin Hill | 7,100 (2,370) | 3 | 0.01 | |
Surviving Progress | First Run | 5,200 (2,600) | 2 | 0.01 | |
Keyhole | Monterey | 3,350 (3,350) | 1 | 0.01 | |
The Moth Diaries | Alliance | 3,150 (1,050) | 1 | 0.01 | |
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – April 5, 2012) | |||||
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
Universal (6) | 423.1 | 15.60% | |||
Sony (10) | 394.3 | 14.60% | |||
Warner Bros. (12) | 339.5 | 12.50% | |||
Lions Gate (4) | 335.5 | 12.40% | |||
20th Century Fox (8) | 298.4 | 11.00% | |||
Paramount (11) | 237.2 | 8.80% | |||
Buena Vista (7) | 184.7 | 6.80% | |||
Relativity (4) | 113.5 | 4.20% | |||
Weinstein Co. (7) | 76.1 | 2.80% | |||
Open Road (2) | 58.5 | 2.20% | |||
CBS (2) | 57.7 | 2.10% | |||
Summit (4) | 46.9 | 1.70% | |||
Fox Searchlight (3) | 45.9 | 1.70% | |||
Focus (3) | 21.9 | 0.80% | |||
Sony Classics (9) | 14.5 | 0.50% | |||
Other * (94) | 59.3 | 2.20% | |||
2707 | 100.00% | ||||
* none greater than 0.04% | |||||
Top Domestic Grossers (Jan. 1 – April 5, 2012) * | |||||
Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
The Hunger Games | Lions Gate | 269,339,165 | |||
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 193,174,350 | |||
Safe House | Uni | 124,170,160 | |||
The Vow | Sony | 123,638,760 | |||
21 Jump Street | Sony | 99,377,305 | |||
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | 98,845,000 | |||
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol * | Par | 86,947,437 | |||
Act of Valor | Relativity | 68,218,000 | |||
John Carter | BV | 67,153,347 | |||
Contraband | Uni | 66,648,834 | |||
Chronicle | Fox | 63,830,636 | |||
Underworld: Awakening | Sony | 62,821,862 | |||
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows * | WB | 62,796,108 | |||
The Woman in Black | CBS | 54,005,603 | |||
Project X | WB | 53,735,000 | |||
The Devil Inside | Par | 53,291,928 | |||
This Means War | Fox | 53,241,000 | |||
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo * | Sony | 52,301,310 | |||
The Grey | Open Road/eOne | 51,507,039 | |||
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Sony | 50,880,997 | |||
* does include 2011 box office |