Weekend Estimates

There Goes the Boom

The second weekend of Taken 2 usurped new pictures in the marketplace with an estimated box office of $22.4 million. The most highly anticipated of five new national releases finished right behind. Argo, based on a declassified chapter of the Iran hostages incident , bowed to $19.3 million while spine-tingler Sinister opened with $18.4 million.

Further down the chart the Kevin James comedy Here Comes the Boom generated $12.1 million and the quirky caper Seven Psychopaths grossed $4.2 million. And it was bad news for Ayn Rand (not even Paul Ryan went) as the reported second-of-three installments of Atlas Shrugged arrived with $1.7 million.

In the niches the top grossing Indian import, Tamil-language Maattrraan, had box office of $309,000 at 63 venues. Limited and exclusives again saw a flood of new titles with just a couple demonstrating commercial prospects. Korean import The Thieves looked solid with just shy of $110,000 at 10 locations and the urban drama Middle of Nowhere grossed $77,400 from six screens.

Overall frame revenues topped $130 million that translated into an 8% decline from seven days earlier. It was however 53% improved from 2011 when the second weekend of Real Steel edged out the debut of the re-boot Footloose with respective weekends of $16.3 million and $15.5 million.

Both Argo and Sinister bowed on the low end of expectations and it’s fair to say that there are too many options and an insufficient audience to sustain the sort of momentum films with core strength need to expand. Argo received four-star reviews and great audience response but exit polls revealed its viewership was 93% aged 25-years and older. Younger audiences appear unconvinced that the truly bizarre saga isn’t an arid history lesson. It has a very short window to change that perspective.

Sinister continues the long, bloody march to Halloween with an audience that was 54% male and 53% aged 25-years and senior. Next week’s addition is the sequel to Silent House and it’s hard to work up a head of steam for its arrival.

Kevin James’ fortunes continued to diminish as Here Comes the Boom pushed him further into the family-friendly comedy field that seems incapable of producing anything more demanding than the inane. As a performer he desperately needs a game change.

The decision to launch Seven Psychopaths in broad national release was unquestionably bold. Its ultimate box office is likely no better (or worse) than had it done a more traditional platform a la Perks of Being a Wallflower. However, its commercial trajectory is also apt to peg it as a disappointment that disadvantages it post-theatrical life.

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