By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Super Bowl Sunday is one of those events that puts the pin in the box office balloon. So if it’s momentum you’re looking for head to New Jersey and take a gander at those guys from Denver and Seattle.
Ride Along led the pack again with an estimated $12.3 million. And there was good news for the debuting American indie rom-com That Awkward Moment that took the second spot with $9 million. The sessions only other debuting title was the under-the-radar drama Labor Day that ranked seventh, cutting a thin slice of $5.3 million.
Exclusive newcomers largely shaped up as commercial casualties with a sole exception. Teller’s nonfiction Tim’s Vermeer entered the marketplace and talked up $54,600 tally from four engagements.
In the niches a pair of Telugu movies—Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda and Heart Attack _ opened to disappointing results. Conversely. the Philippine comedy Bride for Rent that’s breaking box office records in Manila and environs, had a potent domestic launch of $433,000 at 47 venues.
Weekend revenues generated a little bit better than $85 million and fell 28% from seven days back. It was also pretty much on par with 2013 results with a 2% dip. A year ago, offbeat horror yarn Warm Bodies led with a $20.3 million launch.
Top critics gave withering reviews to That Awkward Moment but the film proved to have sufficient interest to generate respectable results at the box office. The acquisition combined an intriguing title and marketing campaign to bring in a crowd that according to exit polls was 61% aged 25-years and more junior. It also tilted female with 64% of opening weekend viewers.
The knives were also out for Labor Day despite its pedigree cast. The film had originally been positioned as an Oscar contender but its studio became disheartened by early previews and switched loyalties to Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street. The saga of an escaped convict with a talent for baking also proved to be femme-centric with 59% of first sighters who were 71% aged 25-years and older.
On the Oscar front, contenders were experiencing erosion as award fatigue starts to kick in with the event a distant month away. Apart from a couple of tech guild award shows in the offing it’s might quiet out there, Kemo Sabe.
Weekend (estimates) January 31 – February 2, 2014 | |||||
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
Ride Along | Uni | 12.3 (4,280) | -42% | 2867 | 92.9 |
That Awkward Moment | Focus/VVS | 9.0 (3,210) | NEW | 2809 | 9 |
Frozen | BV | 8.8 (3,200) | -3% | 2754 | 359.5 |
The Nut Job | Open Road/eOne | 7.5 (2,150) | -38% | 3472 | 50.1 |
Lone Survivor | Uni/eOne | 7.1 (2,170) | -45% | 3285 | 104.8 |
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Par | 5.4 (1,850) | -41% | 2907 | 38.9 |
Labor Day | Par | 5.3 (2,040) | NEW | 2584 | 5.3 |
American Hustle | Sony/eOne | 4.3 (1,940) | -39% | 2216 | 133.6 |
I, Frankenstein | Lionsgate | 3.5 (1,260) | -60% | 2753 | 14.4 |
The Wolf of Wall Street | Par | 3.5 (2,170) | -36% | 1607 | 104 |
August Osage County | Weinstein Co. | 2.9 (1,240) | -43% | 2319 | 31.5 |
Gravity | WB | 2.0 (1,800) | 1% | 1132 | 264 |
Dallas Buyers Club | Focus/Mongrel | 1.4 (1,320) | -31% | 1052 | 22.6 |
12 Years a Slave | Fox Searchlight | 1.4 (1,180) | -32% | 1172 | 45.8 |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | WB | 1.2 (1,330) | -42% | 933 | 254.3 |
Her | WB | 1.2 (1,480) | -48% | 803 | 21.2 |
Nebraska | Par | 1.1 (1,290) | -27% | 875 | 13.7 |
Saving Mr. Banks | BV | 1.1 (1,010) | -48% | 1075 | 81.1 |
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Lionsgate | 1.0 (1,190) | -36% | 822 | 421.5 |
Devil’s Due | Fox | .93 (720) | -67% | 1290 | 14.7 |
Philomena | Weinstein Co, | .91 (1,600) | -15% | 567 | 27.3 |
The Legend of Hercules | Lionsgate | .51 (850) | -59% | 598 | 17.9 |
Bride for Rent | ABS | .43 (9,210) | NEW | 47 | 0.45 |
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Fox | .36 (940) | -40% | 387 | 56.9 |
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues | Par | .32 (750) | -61% | 420 | 124.4 |
Gimme Shelter | Roadside Attractions | .31 (880) | -56% | 347 | 1.2 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $82.35 | ||||
% Change (Last Year) | -2% | ||||
% Change (Last Week) | -28% | ||||
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
The Great Beauty | Janus | .17 (2,550) | -2% | 66 | 1.7 |
The Invisible Woman | Sony Classics | .16 (1,160) | -40% | 136 | 0.86 |
Gloria | Roadside Attract. | .15 (5,330) | 174% | 29 | 0.23 |
The Past | Sony Classics | .11 (2,220) | 5% | 49 | 0.67 |
Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda | CineGalaxy | 81,200 (1,690) | 48 | 0.08 | |
Tim’s Vermeer | Sony Classics | 54,600 (13,650) | 4 | 0.05 | |
Heart Attack | Blue Sky | 53,100 (1,210) | 44 | 0.05 | |
At Middleton | Anchor Bay | 33,400 (1,860) | 18 | 0.03 | |
12 O’Clock Boys | Oscilloscope | 33,200 (2,770) | 12 | 0.03 | |
Rummy | Sri Valli | 4,500 (560) | 8 | 0.01 | |
Brightest Star | Gravitas | 4,300 (860) | 5 | 0.01 | |
Love is in the Air | Focus World | 3,300 (1,100) | 3 | 0.01 | |
Rhymes for Young Ghouls | eOne | 2,900 (2,900) | 1 | 0.01 |