By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Domestic box office hit $10 billion and the week after Thanksgiving—traditionally one of the lowest grossing weekends of the year—posted the best-ever revenues for the period in recorded history. However, that was hardly the result of new blood.
The top grossing movies were all holdovers. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 held top spot for the third consecutive frame with an estimated $17.2 million. It was followed again by Skyfall with $16.9 million and Lincoln with $13.5 million.
It’s been decades since a major release has opened in early December as movie goers cannot be deterred from flood the malls for early holiday shopping. So it’s not surprising that new national releases were targeted to genrephiles. The freshmen class ranked further down the list with the offbeat hitman saga Killing Me Softly slotting seventh with $7 million and the grisly shocker The Connection just out of the top 10 with $3.1 million.
The results in the niches were markedly better. On the Indian circuit the Hindi Talaash bowed to a potent $1.6 million at 171 venues and the Telugu Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum was also strong with a $244,000 tally from 31 screens. Good results were due the Pinoy 24/7 in Love with $130,000 at 25 theaters but Quebec’s Esimesac proved disappointing with a $146,000 gross at 65 sites.
Imports also fared well in the exclusive openings. The Chinese Back to 1942 ringing up $103,000 from 20 engagements; Mexico’s Hecho en Mexico attracted $71,400 from a dozen playdates; and Korea’s A Werewolf Boy’s initial quartet generated $26,600.
Weekend revenues fell slightly shy of $120 million for a not unexpected post-turkey 45% decline. However, it was a significant 46% improvement from 2011 when the $27.8 million second weekend box office of Rise of the Planet of the Apes edged out the $26 million opening of The Help. Going into the home stretch box office revenues are 6% improved year-to-year at this moment.
The waning days of 2012 will be stuffed with a slew of award contenders vying to take the spotlight away from the likes of Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. Additionally the late year entries suggest strong appeal across the quadrants with an eclectic mix that includes Les Miserables, Django Unchained and Guilt Trip. Light the Yule log and bring on the egg nog.
| Weekend (estimates) November 30 – December 2, 2012 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change * | Theaters | Cume |
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Lionsgate | 17.2 (4,290) | -61% | 4008 | 254.4 |
| Skyfall | Sony | 16.9 (4,890) | -52% | 3463 | 246 |
| Lincoln | BV | 13.5 (6,700) | -47% | 2018 | 83.7 |
| Rise of the Guardians | Par | 13.4 (3,660) | -44% | 3672 | 48.8 |
| Life of Pi | Fox | 12.1 (4,130) | -46% | 2928 | 48.5 |
| Wreck-It Ralph | BV | 7.1 (2,170) | -57% | 3259 | 158.3 |
| Killing Them Softly | Weinstein Co. | 7.0 (2,900) | NEW | 2424 | 7 |
| Red Dawn | Film District | 6.6 (2,410) | -54% | 2725 | 31.4 |
| Flight | Par | 4.5 (1,720) | -46% | 2638 | 81.5 |
| Silver Linings Playbook | Weinstein Co. | 3.3 (8,840) | -25% | 371 | 10.9 |
| The Collection | LD Entertainment | 3.1 (2,200) | NEW | 1403 | 3.1 |
| Anna Karenina | Focus | 2.2 (5,750) | 147% | 384 | 4.1 |
| Argo | WB | 2.0 (1,930) | -48% | 1043 | 101 |
| Talaash | Big Pictures | 1.6 (9,240) | NEW | 171 | 1.6 |
| Taken 2 | Fox | .46 (930) | -52% | 496 | 137.2 |
| Pitch Perfect | Uni | .41 (1,010) | -43% | 403 | 63.1 |
| Hitchcock | Fox Searchlight | .40 (7,960) | 38% | 50 | 0.78 |
| The Sessions | Fox Searchlight | .32 (1,430) | -55% | 226 | 4.6 |
| Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum | 7 Seas | .24 (7,870) | NEW | 31 | 0.24 |
| Here Comes the Boom | Sony | .23 (670) | -54% | 344 | 42.4 |
| Cloud Atlas | WB | .22 (1,150) | -47% | 194 | 26.2 |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Lions Gate | .20 (1,070) | -49% | 189 | 16.6 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $110.50 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 45% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -46% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Esimesac | Alliance | .15 (2,250) | 65 | 0.15 | |
| 24/7 in Love | ABS | .13 (5,200) | 25 | 0.13 | |
| Back to 1942 | China Lion | .10 (5,160) | 20 | 0.1 | |
| Chasing Ice | National Geo | 88,200 (1,110) | -2% | 40 | 0.36 |
| A Late Quartet | eOne | 84,300 (1,140) | -37% | 74 | 0.87 |
| Hecho en Mexico | LionsGate | 71,400 (5,950) | 12 | 0.07 | |
| The Other Son | Cohen Media | 58,700 (1,400) | -26% | 42 | 0.88 |
| A Royal Affair | Magnolia | 55,900 (1,400) | -39% | 40 | 0.37 |
| The Central Park Five | IFC | 31,500 (5,250) | 3% | 6 | 0.07 |
| A Werewolf Boy | CJ Entertainment | 26,600 (6,650) | 4 | 0.03 | |
| Therese Desqueyroux | Metropole | 26,500 (1,660) | 16 | 0.03 | |
| Rust and Bone | Sony Classics | 23,700 (11,850) | -13% | 2 | 0.06 |
| Beware of Mr. Baker | SnagFilms | 11,800 (5,900) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Dragon | Weinstein Co. | 10,200 (730) | 14 | 0.01 | |
| Silent Night | Anchor Bay | 9,600 (870) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| King Kelly | GoDigital | 6,100 (6,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| California Solo | Strand | 4,400 (4,400) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Young and Wild | IFC | 3,700 (1,850) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning | Magnolia | 2,900 (970) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Nov. 28, 2012) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Gross | Market Share | |||
| Sony (24) | 1713.4 | 17.40% | |||
| Buena Vista (16) | 1441.3 | 14.60% | |||
| Warner Bros. (26) | 1411.2 | 14.30% | |||
| Universal (15) | 1211.4 | 12.30% | |||
| Lions Gate (19) | 1157.9 | 11.70% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (18) | 937.4 | 9.50% | |||
| Paramount (20) | 770.9 | 7.80% | |||
| Relativity (6) | 202.3 | 2.10% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (17) | 153 | 1.50% | |||
| Open Road (6) | 137.1 | 1.40% | |||
| Focus (8) | 133.8 | 1.40% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (10) | 111 | 1.10% | |||
| CBS (4) | 89.9 | 0.90% | |||
| Summit (4) | 47.1 | 0.50% | |||
| Sony Classics (19) | 46.5 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (328) | 302.8 | 3.00% | |||
| 9867 | 100.00% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% | |||||
| Top Domestic Grossers (Jan. 1 – Nov. 28, 2012) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| The Avengers | BV | 623,444,910 | |||
| The Dark Knight Rises | WB | 448,052,931 | |||
| The Hunger Games | Lions Gate | 408,043,896 | |||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Sony | 262,083,357 | |||
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Lions Gate | 237,182,504 | |||
| Brave | BV | 236,974,220 | |||
| Skyfall | Sony | 229,029,189 | |||
| Ted | Uni | 218,795,265 | |||
| Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted | Par | 216,509,794 | |||
| Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax | Uni | 214,571,106 | |||
| Men in Black III | Sony | 179,199,159 | |||
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | Fox | 160,832,229 | |||
| Snow White and the Huntsman | Uni | 155,326,249 | |||
| Wreck-It Ralph | BV | 151,236,263 | |||
| Hotel Transylvania | Sony | 143,555,525 | |||
| 21 Jump Street | Sony | 138,591,227 | |||
| Taken 2 | Fox | 136,695,579 | |||
| Prometheus | Fox | 126,477,084 | |||
| Safe House | Uni | 126,367,263 | |||
| The Vow | Sony | 125,074,813 | |||
Once again, someone talks about the big films of the year still to come “an eclectic mix that includes Les Miserables, Django Unchained and Guilt Trip” and doesn’t say a word about “The Hobbit”. Do I smell a bomb (or at least a vastly underperforming film)? What would the precursor for that be? It seems like I vaguely remember a “long awaited” sequel/prequel, or reboot finally coming out only to have everyone go “meh,” but I can’t remember what it was.
Just saw a screening of The Guilt Trip today. This will be a big hit. Sweet and funny and perfect for the holidays. Streisand gives a terrific performance.