By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
It was anticipated as a close race between debuting movies No Good Deed and Dolphin Tale 2 with the former given the edge. In the end Deed exceeded expectations with an estimated debut of $24.4 million and the sea tail opening to $16.6 million in what’s being viewed as a depressed market in need of a pick me up. The crime meller The Drop opened to fair results of $4.4 million that ranked fifth overall.
In the niches several Indian imports bowed including OK starts of $511,000 for the Hindi Finding Fanny and $345,000 for the Telugu Power. Also bowing was the final Rand chapter Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt that sputtered to a $509,000 conclusion.
There was torrid activity among incoming exclusives with a few weathering the storm. The oddball drama My Old Lady grossed $129,000 from 11 screens while the uncoupling saga The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby tallied $74,300 at four venues. And strongest was the unhinged sibling yarn The Skeleton Twins with $360,000 from 15 playdates.
Session revenues topped $90 million for a 45% upturn from last weekend’s dismal record. However it once again trailed 2013 b.o. by 13%. Twelve months back the bows of Insidious 2 and The Family led the pack with respective openings of $40.3 million and $14 million.
No Good Deed’s narrative of criminal on the run and family in thrall echoes myriad films including most recently Labor Day and was given top end prospects of $20 million. Its extra utz appeared to come from an urban setting and real chemistry from its leads. Studio exit demos identified the audience as 60% female with 59% aged 25-years and older.
The sequel to the family friendly eco story Dolphin Tale 2 was tracking in the $16 million to $18 million range; slightly less than its inspiration that got the stereoscopic treatment. It also skewed female with 63% of the opening audience and was a bit more youth oriented with 56% of the crowd aged 25-years and older.
The past month has been gloomy for the industry with distribs and exhibs waiting for the picture to affect a switcheroo. The fall suggests plenty of prospects and ultimately a reversal of fortunes could turn simply on volume … but it would be so much better if enthusiasm took hold.
| Weekend (estimates) September 12 – 14, 2014 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| No Good Dead | Sony | 24.4 (11,230) | NEW | 2175 | 24.4 |
| Dolphin Tale 2 | WB | 16.6 (4,540) | NEW | 3656 | 16.6 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | BV | 7.9 (2,550) | -23% | 3104 | 305.8 |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Par | 4.8 (1,630) | -26% | 2957 | 181.1 |
| The Drop | Fox Searchlight | 4.4 (5,480) | NEW | 809 | 4.4 |
| Let’s Be Cops | Fox | 4.3 (1,570) | -22% | 2755 | 73 |
| If I Stay | WB | 4.0 (1,320) | -28% | 3040 | 44.9 |
| The November Man | Relativity/VVS | 2.8 (1,030) | -36% | 2702 | 22.5 |
| The Giver | Weinstein Co. | 2.5 (1,120) | -26% | 2253 | 41.2 |
| The Hundred-Foot Journey | BV | 2.5 (1,270) | -21% | 1943 | 49.4 |
| When the Game Stands Tall | Sony | 2.4 (990) | -29% | 2435 | 26.6 |
| As Above/So Below | Uni | 2.1 (920) | -46% | 2283 | 19.1 |
| Lucy | Uni | 1.5 (1,440) | -21% | 1068 | 123.5 |
| The Expendables 3 | Lionsgate | .92 (710) | -49% | 1302 | 38.3 |
| Into the Storm | WB | .88 (840) | -40% | 1040 | 45.8 |
| Boyhood | IFC/Mongrel | .87 (1,320) | -25% | 659 | 21.8 |
| Cantinflas | Lionsgate | .54 (1,270) | -49% | 424 | 5.6 |
| The Trip to Italy | IFC/eOne | .52 (3,050) | 31% | 171 | 2.2 |
| Finding Fanny | Fox Intl | .51 (4,220) | NEW | 121 | 0.51 |
| Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? | Atlas | .51 (2,100) | NEW | 242 | 0.51 |
| A Most Wanted Man | Roadside Attractions | .44 (1,120) | -23% | 393 | 16.6 |
| Magic in the Moonlight | Sony Classics | .44 (1,110) | -30% | 399 | 9.9 |
| The Identical | FreeStyle | .41 (320) | -74% | 1274 | 2.6 |
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Fox | .37 (1,040) | -28% | 361 | 206.8 |
| The Skeleton Twins | Roadside Attractions | .36 (23,870) | NEW | 15 | 0.36 |
| Love is Strange | Sony Classics | .36 (3,500) | 40% | 102 | 1.25 |
| Power | CineGalaxy | .34 (3,910) | NEW | 88 | 0.34 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $84.95 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -13% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 45% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| The Captive | eOne | .26 (2,000) | -34% | 131 | 0.83 |
| Calvary | Fox Searchlight | .18 (890) | -47% | 206 | 3.3 |
| My Old Lady | Cohen Media | .13 (11,740) | 11 | 0.13 | |
| Goreyan Nu Daffa Karo | Speed | .13 (4,700) | 27 | 0.13 | |
| The Pirates | Well Go | .11 (4,480) | 25 | 0.11 | |
| But Always | China Lion | 92,400 (4,620) | -36% | 20 | 0.31 |
| The Remaining | Sony | 84,700 (1,260) | -47% | 67 | 0.3 |
| The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby | Weinstein Co, | 74,300 (18,570) | 4 | 0.07 | |
| The Gifted | ABS | 40,600 (2,030) | 20 | 0.04 | |
| The Green Prince | Music Box | 33,500 (8,370) | 4 | 0.03 | |
| Believe | Excel | 22,100 (600) | 37 | 0.02 | |
| Take Me to the River | Abramorama | 20,300 (1,690) | 12 | 0.02 | |
| Anukshanam | Vega | 10,800 (675) | 16 | 0.01 | |
| Born to Fly | Aubin | 9,700 (9,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Bird People | IFC | 8,100 (8,100) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| The Quitter | Goodface | 5,500 (5,500) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| I Am Eleven | Intl Film Circuit | 4,900 (2,450) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Honeymoon | Magnolia | 4,100 (2,050) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| 108 Stitches | FreeStyle | 3,600 (300) | 12 | 0.01 | |
| Smiling Through the Apocalypse | First Run | 2,700 (2,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| The Man on Her Mind | Paladin | 2,450 (350) | 7 | 0.01 | |
| Top Domestic Grossers * (Jan. 1 – Sept. 11, 2014) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| Guardians of the Galaxy | BV | 297,884,832 | |||
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | BV | 259,788,645 | |||
| The Lego Movie | WB | 257,760,692 | |||
| Transformers: Age of Extinction | Par | 244,803,687 | |||
| Maleficent | BV | 239,368,784 | |||
| X-Men: Days of Future Past | Fox | 233,713,155 | |||
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Fox | 206,435,479 | |||
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | Sony | 202,870,044 | |||
| Godzilla | WB | 200,710,493 | |||
| 22 Jump Street | Sony | 190,864,693 | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Par | 176,241,491 | |||
| How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Fox | 174,864,272 | |||
| Divergent | Lionsgate | 151,341,699 | |||
| Neighbors | Uni | 150,203,932 | |||
| Frozen * | BV | 137,645,361 | |||
| Ride Along | Uni | 134,986,540 | |||
| Rio 2 | Fox | 131,538,435 | |||
| Lone Survivor | Uni/eOne | 125,026,404 | |||
| The Fault in Our Stars | Fox | 124,749,171 | |||
| Lucy | Uni | 121,950,375 | |||
| * does not include 2013 box office | |||||
