By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The New ParaNormal
The debut of Paranormal Activity 4 led weekend movie sales with an estimated $29.9 million. The session’s other national deb, a re-boot of James Patterson’s popular detective Alex Cross, struggled to $11.7 million to rank fifth overall.
Considerably more buoyant were newcomers in the niches including a pair of Indian imports. Telugu Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu grossed a solid $503,000 at 79 locations while Hindi Student of the Year opened to $342,000 at 106 venues. Even more dynamic was This Guy’s in Love with U Mare from the Philippines with $182,000 at a mere 15 screens.
Exclusive newcomers were mostly dull apart from the $120,000 generated from the controversial Sessions at four theaters and a $43,100 tally for the non-fiction profile Hating Breibart on the muckraking journalist that also opened with a quartet of engagements.
Overall box office perked up slightly despite opening disappointments to almost $135 million and a 2% uptick from last weekend. It was 9% better than 2011 when Paranormal Activity 3 bowed to $52.6 million.
The eerie Paranormal franchise was tracking well ahead of the pack with predictions that ranged from $35-40 million. Nonetheless, relatively low production cost bodes well for several more installments a la such past seasonal staples as Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. Opening frame demos tracked as audience roughly split between the sexes and 60% aged 25-years and younger. It also launched in 33 international territories with a studio estimate of $26.5 million.
Tyler Perry and Lionsgate took another crack at emulating Alex Cross’s print popularity but despite best efforts it too disappointed commercially. It skewed even more heavily African American than the earlier effort with Morgan Freeman with exits of 74%. The audience was 60% female and 78% aged 25-years and older. No word yet whether the homicide detective will team up with Madea for his next case.
Despite soft incoming product, holdovers performed with a lot of resilience. Argo slipped just 14% and barring floods and fires appears headed for considerable Oscar attention. Hotel Transylvania also continued strong and Here Comes the Boom maintained after a very slow start.
| Weekend (estimates) October 19 – 21, 2012 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Paranormal Activity 4 | Par | 29.9 (8,750) | NEW | 3412 | 29.9 |
| Argo | WB | 16.7 (5,140) | -14% | 3247 | 43.2 |
| Hotel Transylvania | Sony | 13.4 (3,960) | -22% | 3384 | 118.9 |
| Taken 2 | Fox | 13.3 (3,820) | -39% | 3489 | 105.9 |
| Alex Cross | Lionsgate | 11.7 (4,620) | NEW | 2539 | 11.7 |
| Sinister | Lionsgate | 8.9 (3,510) | -51% | 2542 | 31.8 |
| Here Comes the Boom | Sony | 8.6 (2,850) | -27% | 3014 | 23.3 |
| Pitch Perfect | Uni | 7.0 (2,630) | -25% | 2660 | 45.8 |
| Frankenweenie | BV | 4.4 (1,870) | -37% | 2362 | 28.3 |
| Looper | Sony/Alliance | 4.2 (1,900) | -32% | 2223 | 57.9 |
| Seven Psychopaths | CBS | 3.2 (2,180) | -23% | 1480 | 9.1 |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Lionsgate | 2.1 (2,870) | 0% | 745 | 9.1 |
| End of Watch | Open Road/Alliance | .81 (1,090) | -52% | 744 | 37.9 |
| Trouble with the Curve | WB | .76 (820) | -51% | 925 | 34.1 |
| Atlas Shrugged, Part 2 | Atlas | .59 (620) | -64% | 945 | 2.8 |
| The Master | Weinstein Co. | .54 (1,310) | -34% | 412 | 14.8 |
| Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu | Universal Media | .50 (6,230) | NEW | 79 | 0.7 |
| House at the End of the Street | Relativity | .49 (660) | -62% | 746 | 30.8 |
| Brave | BV | .39 (1,420) | 144% | 277 | 235 |
| Student of the Year | Eros | .34 (3,230) | NEW | 106 | 0.34 |
| The Dark Knight Rises | WB | .33 (960) | -35% | 345 | 446.7 |
| Arbitrage | Roadside Attractions | .31 (1,860) | -9% | 168 | 7.1 |
| Searching for Sugar Man | Sony Classics | .21 (1,540) | 11% | 137 | 2 |
| Ice Age: Continental Shift | Fox | .19 (880) | -16% | 218 | 160.1 |
| This Guy’s in Love with U Mare | ABS | .18 (12,130) | NEW | 15 | 0.18 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $127.10 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 9% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 2% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Thieves | Well Go | .13 (8,190) | -4% | 16 | 0.34 |
| The Sessions | Searchlight | .12 (29,900) | 4 | 0.12 | |
| The Paperboy | Millennium | .11 (1,550) | 19% | 74 | 0.4 |
| Samsara | Oscilloscope | .11 (1,620) | 8% | 70 | 2 |
| Tai Chi 0 | Variance | 72,500 (2,340) | 31 | 0.07 | |
| Middle of Nowhere | AFFRM | 53,200 (2,530) | -26% | 21 | 0.14 |
| Smashed | Sony Classics | 46,200 (2,310) | 66% | 20 | 0.08 |
| Haiting Breitbart | Rocky Mtn | 43,100 (10,780) | 4 | 0.04 | |
| The Flat | IFC | 22,800 (7,600) | 3 | 0.02 | |
| Brooklyn Castle | PDA | 18,900 (9,450) | 2 | 0.02 | |
| The First Time | IDP | 17,400 (920) | 19 | 0.02 | |
| Le Magasin des suicides | Seville | 7,300 (2,430) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Nobody Walks | Magnolia | 7,100 (3,550) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| A Measure of Faith | FreeStyle | 6,700 (730) | 9 | 0.01 | |
| Bad 25 | ABC | 6,500 (6,500) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Delhi Safari | Applied Art | 5,600 (280) | 20 | 0.01 | |
| Deep Dark Canyon | Colorfast | 5,500 (2,750) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Vous n’avez encore rien vu | Metropole | 4,700 (1,570) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Yogawoman | Shadow | 2,900 (2,900) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Oct. 18, 2012) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
| Sony (23) | 1407.9 | 16.50% | |||
| Warner Bros. (24) | 1307.9 | 15.30% | |||
| Buena Vista (14) | 1205.7 | 14.10% | |||
| Universal (14) | 1171.1 | 13.70% | |||
| Lionsgate (17) | 859.9 | 10.10% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (16) | 850.7 | 10.00% | |||
| Paramount (16) | 598.9 | 7.00% | |||
| Relativity (6) | 201.1 | 2.40% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (16) | 143.1 | 1.70% | |||
| Focus (7) | 130.6 | 1.50% | |||
| Open Road (5) | 119.6 | 1.40% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (8) | 106.3 | 1.30% | |||
| CBS (4) | 81.1 | 0.90% | |||
| Summit (4) | 47.1 | 0.60% | |||
| Sony Classics (18) | 45.1 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (293) | 252.9 | 3.00% | |||
| 8529 | 100.00% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% | |||||
| Top Global Grossers (Jan. 1 – Oct. 18, 2012) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| The Avengers | BV | 1,515,637,910 | |||
| The Dark Knight Rises | WB | 1,100,903,685 | |||
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | Fox | 865,328,607 | |||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Sony | 753,678,156 | |||
| The Hunger Games | Lions Gate | 694,731,457 | |||
| Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted | Par | 688,805,884 | |||
| Men in Black III | Sony | 665,268,874 | |||
| Brave | BV | 529,726,243 | |||
| Ted | Uni | 473,639,611 | |||
| Prometheus | Fox | 402,654,521 | |||
| Snow White and the Huntsman | Uni | 378,116,850 | |||
| Titanic 3D (reissue) | Fox/Par | 349,995,427 | |||
| Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 345,874,466 | |||
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol * | Par | 344,943,081 | |||
| Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | WB | 329,080,786 | |||
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows * | WB | 316,944,418 | |||
| The Expendables 2 | Lions Gate/NuImage | 307,796,553 | |||
| Wrath of the Titans | WB | 305,139,409 | |||
| Battleship | Uni | 304,373,756 | |||
| John Carter | BV | 281,891,994 | |||
| Intouchables * | Gaumont/Alliance | 258,360,419 | |||
| Dark Shadows | WB | 244,570,149 | |||
| Taken 2 | Fox/Europa | 243,056,874 | |||
| The Bourne Legacy | Uni | 237,676,262 | |||
| American Reunion | Uni | 235,067,142 | |||
| * does not include 2011 box office | |||||
