By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Memory Lapse
The Dark Knight Rises scored a hat trick at the top of the box office charts with a weekend estimate of $36.2 million. New national releases took place and show positions. The re-imagined Total Recall bowed to $25.9 million and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days opened with $14.6 million.
In the niches there wasn’t much love for Bollywood newcomer Jism 2 as it struggled to $29,500 at 20 locations and Quebec production Liverpool was comparable moribund with a $33,900 tally at 26 sites. There was a more dire response for the 47 screen launch of Soldiers of Fortune that grossed $20,400.
Exclusive openers saw OK results for the omnibus drama 360 of $22,300 on two screens and an encouraging $125,000 total for the rom-com Celeste and Jesse Forever from six playdates.
Overall weekend revenues generated roughly $125 million for a 10% decline from seven days earlier. There was additionally a 27% decline from 2011 when the debut of Rise of the Planet of the Apes led the charge with box office of $54.8 million.
Sunday box office pushed Universal domestic box office past $1 billion, a mark set four days earlier by Warner Bros. Sony and Buena Vista had already hit that benchmark with three more companies pushing to hit that level by Thanksgiving.
Science-fiction actioner Total Recall_a hit for Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1990_had tracking that pundits translated into an opening between $28 million and $32 million. But viewer malaise for another high tech adventure set in and that has to be worrisome news for the upcoming release of The Bourne Legacy. Exit demos indicated a 58% male audience with 53% of viewers aged 30-years old and beyond. Response was mixed which doesn’t bode well for the picture’s longevity.
While never a box office phenom the Wimpy Kid franchise has been a rock solid earner in ancillaries and the third installment, Dog Days, shows no signs of reversing that trend. Its opening weekend skewed 58% female and 62% 25 years-old and younger.
With a couple of exceptions the upcoming pre-Labor Day releases will again provide the majors with an opportunity to do some significant house cleaning. That should benefit holdover titles and alternative fare in summer’s remaining weeks.
| Weekend (estimates) August 3 – 5, 2012 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Dark Knight Rises | WB | 36.2 (8,530) | -42% | 4242 | 354.4 |
| Total Recall | Sony | 25.9 (7,180) | NEW | 3601 | 25.9 |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days | Fox | 14.6 (4,320) | NEW | 3391 | 14,6 |
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | Fox | 8.3 (2,350) | -38% | 3542 | 131.8 |
| The Watch | Fox | 6.3 (2,000) | -50% | 3168 | 25.3 |
| Ted | Uni | 5.4 (1,970) | -26% | 2767 | 203.4 |
| Step-Up Revolution | Lions Gate | 5.2 (2,010) | -55% | 2606 | 23 |
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Sony | 4.2 (1,740) | -37% | 2425 | 250.6 |
| Brave | BV | 2.9 (1,380) | -32% | 2110 | 223.3 |
| Magic Mike | WB | 1.4 (1,160) | -47% | 1202 | 110.9 |
| Moonrise Kingdom | Focus | 1.2 (1,800) | -14% | 687 | 40.8 |
| Beasts of the Southern Wild | Srchlight/eOne | 1.2 (3,710) | 27% | 318 | 5.9 |
| Savages | Uni | 1.0 (1,380) | -47% | 704 | 46.1 |
| To Rome with Love | Sony Classics | .82 (2,150) | -18% | 382 | 14.3 |
| Medea’s Witness Protection | Lions Gate | .78 (1,060) | -40% | 737 | 64.2 |
| Men in Black III | Sony | .63 (1,900) | 242% | 331 | 176.6 |
| Intouchables | Alliance/TWC | .54 (2,780) | 5% | 194 | 8.9 |
| Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted | Par | .53 (1,050) | -43% | 504 | 210.8 |
| The Hunger Games | Lions Gate | .42 (1,440) | -19% | 291 | 406.7 |
| The Avengers | BV | .39 (1,310) | -23% | 300 | 616.7 |
| Ruby Sparks | Searchlight | .39 (6,110) | 177% | 64 | 0.63 |
| Snow White and the Huntsman | Uni | .31 (1,010) | -22% | 309 | 153.8 |
| The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Fx Srchlight | .30 (1,490) | -11% | 200 | 45 |
| The Queen of Versailles | Magnolia | .27 (3,980) | 99% | 68 | 0.56 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $117.10 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -27% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -10% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Killer Joe | LD | .16 (11,410) | 321% | 14 | 0.22 |
| Celeste and Jesse Forever | Sony Classics | .12 (20,900) | 6 | 0.12 | |
| Searching for Sugar Man | Sony Classics | 37,800 (5,400) | 38% | 3 | 0.08 |
| Liverpool | Remstar | 33,900 (1,300) | 26 | 0.03 | |
| Jism 2 | Viva | 29,500 (1,470) | 20 | 0.03 | |
| Girlfriend Boyfriend | China Lion | 25,600 (1,600) | 16 | 0.03 | |
| 360 | Magnolia | 22,300 (11,150) | 2 | 0.02 | |
| Soldier of Fortune | Roadside | 20,400 (430) | 47 | 0.02 | |
| Craig’s List Joe | CLJ | 6,800 (6,800) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Zarafa | Seville | 6,100 (610) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| Babymakers | Millennium | 5,700 (520) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| Mosquita y Mari | Wolfe | 4,800 (4,800) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| The Healing | ABS | 4,700 (4,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| You’ve Been Trumped | Montrose | 4,100 (4,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – August 2, 2012) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
| Buena Vista (11) | 1069.4 | 15.80% | |||
| Warner Bros. (19) | 1019.1 | 15.00% | |||
| Sony (15) | 1018.7 | 15.00% | |||
| Universal (12) | 994.5 | 14.70% | |||
| Lions Gate (11) | 658.1 | 9.70% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (13) | 651.1 | 9.60% | |||
| Paramount (14) | 584.5 | 8.70% | |||
| Relativity (5) | 170.8 | 2.50% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (8) | 96.2 | 1.40% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (9) | 86.8 | 1.30% | |||
| Open Road (3) | 72.2 | 1.10% | |||
| Focus (5) | 68.9 | 1.00% | |||
| CBS (2) | 63.6 | 0.95% | |||
| Summit (4) | 47.1 | 0.70% | |||
| Sony Classics (15) | 36.7 | 0.55% | |||
| Other * (202) | 136.3 | 2.00% | |||
| 6774 | 100.00% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% |
