By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

The spine-tingling Mama scared up an estimated $27.9 million (all figures reflect 3-day period) during the MLK-Inauguration holiday frame to take top honors in the weekend movie sweepstakes. Two other new national releases bowed to less auspicious results. The gritty politics of Broken City struggled to $8.9 million and the return of the Governator in The Last Stand provided a less-than-affirmative $6.3 million.

In the niches the urban romance Luv failed to embrace with an $87,600 tally at 45 locations.

Revenues for the three-day portion of the extended weekend nudged to $150 million and a 2% push from the immediate past session. It was also a 9% improvement from 2012 when new openings of Contraband and Beauty and the Beast 3D led with respective openings of $24.4 million and $17.8 million.

Mama, an oddball tale of a young couple raising their feral nieces, was expected to challenge Zero Dark Thirty for top spot during the holiday session. But a potent $10 million opening-day gross put the modest production in the driver’s seat and gave actress Jessica Chastain the rare distinction of starring in the top two films in the marketplace.

Pundits expected the film to open with roughly $25 million for the four-day span and the added spur to its success was a PG-13 rating. Exit polls revealed an opening weekend crowd that was 63% aged 25-years old and younger and 61% female.

The murky world of city politics proved too obscure for Broken City. It swung 58% male with 78% of the audience aged 25 years and older.

But the highest focus vote rested on the big-screen return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The critics generally felt that The Last Stand was a not-too-subtle parody of the actor’s former muscular vehicles and audiences clearly weren’t interested in a low-speed version of past glories. The faithful profile amounted to 60% male and 78% aged 25 years and beyond.

On the awards front Silver Linings Playbook expanded to a full national release to good effect and Amour continued to add playdates and capitalize on its many accolades. But if box office is any gauge of Oscar success (it isn’t) there’s no top dog in this dogfight. And there’s precious little time left to politick via the multiplex.

 

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2 Responses to “The Weekend Report”

  1. ramakrishna says:

    Can u please inform the figures for the film
    Seethamma Vakitio Sirimalle Chettu ?

  2. ramakrishna says:

    Mr.Leonard Klady,

    Hello! Still waiting for your updates on the

    collections of movie ‘ Seethamma Vakitio Sirimalle Chettu.’

    I hope you will include this on next updates 27th Jan.

    Thank you .

Leonard Klady's Friday Estimates
Friday Screens % Chg Cume
Title Gross Thtr % Chgn Cume
Venom 33 4250 NEW 33
A Star is Born 15.7 3686 NEW 15.7
Smallfoot 3.5 4131 -46% 31.3
Night School 3.5 3019 -63% 37.9
The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls 1.8 3463 -43% 49.5
A Simple Favor 1 2408 -50% 46.6
The Nun 0.75 2264 -52% 111.5
Hell Fest 0.6 2297 -70% 7.4
Crazy Rich Asians 0.6 1466 -51% 167.6
The Predator 0.25 1643 -77% 49.3
Also Debuting
The Hate U Give 0.17 36
Shine 85,600 609
Exes Baggage 75,900 62
NOTA 71,300 138
96 61,600 62
Andhadhun 55,000 54
Afsar 45,400 33
Project Gutenberg 36,000 17
Love Yatri 22,300 41
Hello, Mrs. Money 22,200 37
Studio 54 5,300 1
Loving Pablo 4,200 15
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Chg Cume
No Good Dead 24.4 (11,230) NEW 24.4
Dolphin Tale 2 16.6 (4,540) NEW 16.6
Guardians of the Galaxy 7.9 (2,550) -23% 305.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4.8 (1,630) -26% 181.1
The Drop 4.4 (5,480) NEW 4.4
Let's Be Cops 4.3 (1,570) -22% 73
If I Stay 4.0 (1,320) -28% 44.9
The November Man 2.8 (1,030) -36% 22.5
The Giver 2.5 (1,120) -26% 41.2
The Hundred-Foot Journey 2.5 (1,270) -21% 49.4