By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Thor: The Dark World lightened up an estimated $86.2 million to lead weekend moviegoing both here and abroad. The potential wrath of the gods kept competitors at bay, although several films expanded to a level that provided them national exposure.
Even niche entries largely steered clear of the Thor playdate. The few intrepid exceptions—a new adaptation of Great Expectations and the near-future teen romance How I Live Now—failed to gain a marketplace foothold. And among the week’s exclusive launches only the historic drama The Book Thief turned the page with a solid $105,000 bow at four venues.
With the looming Veteran Day holiday weekend revenues approached $175 million for a tidy 35% climb from seven days back. It was still 3% off the 2012 pace when 007’s Skyfall clobbered the competition with a best-ever $88.4 million launch.
The sequel to the classic Norse Marvel superhero had the industry salivating for a $100 million opening. But the current reality that under 25-year olds are decidedly less avid than in days of yore made it a dim prospect. The sheer fact that the film had an opening salvo about 33% better than its initial outing ought to provide sufficient solace.
Thor: The Dark World had already set its international footprint last weekend with a $111 million blast from 36 nations. Thirty additional territories were launched this weekend and generated an estimated $94 million. On the homefront the audience drew a 62% male audience and overall 61% of the crowd were aged 25-years old and more senior.
The session also featured the expansion of 12 Years a Slave and the drama remained steadfast in its march to award season glory. Less assured was the national bow of About Time following last weekend’s limited debut.
Other platforms included Dallas Buyers Club that’s benefiting from strong word-of-mouth and All is Lost that continues to lose traction in a season that promises to be brutal and unforgiving (remember The Fifth Estate?). Theoretically, it should be a torrid period at the box office with the landscape now tilted toward older and discerning viewers.
| Weekend (estimates) November 8 – 10, 2013 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Thor: The Dark World | BV | 86.2 (22,450) | NEW | 3841 | 86.2 |
| Bad Grandpa | Par | 11.3 (3,550) | -43% | 3187 | 78.8 |
| Free Birds | Relativity | 11.1 (2,970) | -30% | 3736 | 30.1 |
| Last Vegas | CBS | 11.0 (3,570) | -33% | 3082 | 33.4 |
| Ender’s Game | Lionsgate | 10.3 (3,020) | -62% | 3407 | 44 |
| Gravity | WB | 8.5 (3,110) | -34% | 2720 | 231.2 |
| 12 Years a Slave | Fox Searchlight | 6.6 (5,790) | 38% | 1144 | 17.4 |
| Captain Phillips | Sony | 5.8 (2,200) | -31% | 2646 | 91 |
| About Time | Uni | 5.2 (4,320) | 381% | 1200 | 6.7 |
| Cloudy with a Sense of Meatballs 2 | Sony | 2.7 (1,490) | -34% | 1836 | 109.9 |
| Carrie | Sony | 1.3 (850) | -60% | 1512 | 34.1 |
| All is Lost | Roadside | 1.2 (2,920) | 105% | 401 | 2.8 |
| Escape Plan | Lionsgate | .79 (750) | -65% | 1049 | 23.2 |
| The Counselor | Fox | .77 (750) | -77% | 1022 | 15.8 |
| Dallas Buyers Club | Focus/Remstar | .62 (17,710) | 138% | 35 | 1 |
| Enough Said | Fox Searchlight | .61 (1,420) | -44% | 429 | 15.8 |
| Krrish 3 | Eros | .51 (2,850) | -51% | 179 | 1.9 |
| Despicable Me 2 | Uni | .44 (1,420) | 4% | 310 | 365.3 |
| We’re the Millers | WB | .36 (1,000) | -14% | 358 | 149.8 |
| Blue is the Warmest Color (Adele) | Metropole/IFC | .31 (4,010) | 28% | 78 | 1.1 |
| Planes | BV | .23 (880) | -14% | 261 | 89.6 |
| Prisoners | WB | .18 (800) | -55% | 225 | 60.3 |
| Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | Fox | .17 (770) | -20% | 216 | 67.7 |
| Elysium | Sony | .15 (760) | 202 | 92.7 | |
| Insidious: Chapter 2 | FilmDistrict/eOne | .14 (590) | -67% | 229 | 83.1 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $164.50 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -3% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 35% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Book Thief | Fox | .10 (26,120) | 4 | 0.1 | |
| The Saratov Approach | Three Coin | .10 (2,580) | -32% | 38 | 1.1 |
| Great Expectations | Main Street | 85,200 (990) | 86 | 0.09 | |
| Diana | eOne | 83,700 (840) | 23% | 99 | 0.19 |
| Kill Your Darlings | Sony Classics | 82,400 (2,580) | 23% | 32 | 0.33 |
| Blue Jasmine | Sony Classics | 76,900 (1,280) | -31% | 60 | 32.5 |
| I’m in Love with a Church Girl | High Top | 55,300 (750) | -71% | 74 | 2.7 |
| She’s the One | ABS | 51,600 (1,980) | -69% | 26 | 0.91 |
| Wadjda | Sony Classics | 49,600 (840) | -48% | 59 | 1.4 |
| The Armstrong Lie | Sony Classics | 28,600 (5,720) | 5 | 0.03 | |
| How I Live Now | Magnolia | 26,800 (3,830) | 70 | 0.03 | |
| Reaching for the Moon | Wolfe | 14,800 (7,400) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| The Motel Life | Front Row | 11,200 (1,020) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| The Ghosts in Our Machine | Films Transit | 10,700 (10,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Moroccan Gigolos | Filmoption | 10,300 (540) | 19 | 0.01 | |
| Go for Sisters | Variance | 8,300 (2,770) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| The Starving Games | Ketchup | 7,400 (740) | 10 | 0.01 | |
| At Berkeley | Zipporah | 4,900 (2,450) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Approved for Adoption | Gkids | 4,300 (4,300) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Finding Mr. Right | China Lion | 2,900 (970) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Nov. 7, 2013) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Warner Bros. (21) | 1599.5 | 17.70% | |||
| Universal (16) | 1306.1 | 14.50% | |||
| Buena Vista (11) | 1170.4 | 13.00% | |||
| Sony (18) | 1034.1 | 11.50% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (15) | 985.1 | 10.90% | |||
| Paramount (13) | 795.9 | 8.80% | |||
| Lionsgate (25) | 599.2 | 6.60% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (23) | 475.1 | 5.30% | |||
| FilmDistrict (8) | 200.9 | 2.20% | |||
| Relativity (8) | 191.2 | 2.10% | |||
| Open Road (6) | 115.6 | 1.30% | |||
| Focus (9) | 85.8 | 0.95% | |||
| Sony Classics (16) | 77.9 | 0.85% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (10) | 67.8 | 0.75% | |||
| eOne/Seville (25) | 58.7 | 0.65% | |||
| Other * (300) | 260.7 | 2.90% | |||
| 9024 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.45% |
