By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

Kong: Skull Island, the only nationwide opener, sounded the right chord with an estimated $61.1 million debut.

Exclusive newcomers were led by Cannes’ Personal Shopper with a $80,700 credit line at four boutiques, and Brit import The Sense of an Ending, which grossed $42,400 from four sites.

International day-and-date releases included Hindi Badrinath Ki Dulhania, with an excellent $844,000 while Telugu Nagaram sputtered with $21,500.

Also solid was Japanese anime Sword Art Online with a $247,000 tally following a weekday screening via Fathom. Less special was the $157,000 bow of the Turkish-Armenian war romance The Ottoman Lieutenant. In Canada, Inuit tale Iqaluit saw tepid response of $25,600 from 12 sites.

Revenues for the frame were about $165 million, a 13% dip from last weekend. It was 23% from 2016 when the second weekend of Zootopia led with $51.3 million followed by the $24.7 million debut of 10 Cloverfield Lane.

The original King Kong was just three feet six inches as the late Peter O’Toole’s character claimed in 1980’s The Stunt Man. Ahhh the magic of the movies. Subsequent revivals in 1976 and 2005 were hardly as magical. Time will determine whether this reboot lasts but it unquestionably exceeded industry expectations.

Industry tracking last week anticipated the monster at a hefty $42-$45 million range. But the drum beat grew into the $50 million level as opening day approached and EWOM provided an extra boost as the weekend progressed. Studio exit demos identified the domestic audience as 56% male with 65% of viewers 25 and older.

Internationally, Kong opened in 65 markets to an estimated $81 million. Top markets included a $7.6 million stomp in the UK, South Korea crushing $7.3 million and Russia at $6 million.

Weekend (estimates) March 10 – 12, 2017
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Kong: Skull Island WB 61.1 (15,880) NEW 3846 61.1
Logan Fox 38.0 (9,340) -57% 4071 152.8
Get Out Uni 21.1 (6,700) -25% 3143 111
The Shack Lionsgate 9.8 (3,400) -39% 2888 32
The Lego Batman Movie WB 7.7 (2,340) -34% 3303 158.9
Before I Fall Open Road 3.0 (1,270) -36% 2346 8.9
Hidden Figures Fox 2.7 (1,930) -28% 1421 162.5
John Wick: Chapter 2 Lionsgate 2.7 (1,320) -44% 2031 87
La La Land Lionsgate 1.8 (1,120) -41% 1578 148.3
Fifty Shades Darker Uni 1.6 (1,070) -55% 1498 112.9
Lion Weinstein Co. 1.3 (1,370) -38% 960 48.5
Fist Fight WB 1.3 (1,010) -55% 1285 30.5
The Great Wall Uni 1.2 (770) -41% 1592 43.8
Split Uni 2.1 (1,860) -42% 981 135.8
A Dog’s Purpose Uni 1.1 (1,030) -40% 1022 61.8
Rock Dog Lionsgate 1.0 (750) -44% 1376 8.1
Moonlight A24/Elevation .93 (940) -60% 987 26.9
Table 19 Searchlight .86 (990) -46% 868 2.9
Badrinath Ki Dulhania Fox Intl .84 (5,550) NEW 152 0.84
Ballerina Seville .56 (2,370) -4% 237 2
A United Kingdom Searchlight .51 (1,600) -20% 317 2.5
Moana BV .43 (1,570) -32% 276 247.5
Sing Uni .41 (1,030) 6% 400 268.7
Kedi Oscilloscope .30 (2,900) 26% 103 1
I Am Not Your Negro Magnolia .28 (1,590) -41% 175 6.1
Sword Art Online Eleven Arts .25 (4,840) NEW 51 1.3
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $160.10
% Change (Last Year) 23%
% Change (Last Week) -13%
Also debuting/expanding
The Salesman Cohen/Elevation .16 (1,560) -35% 105 2
The Ottoman Lieutenant Paladin .16 (730) 216 0.16
Personal Shopper IFC 80,700 (20,180) 4 0.08
The Last Word Bleecker Street 74,200 (2,970) 134% 25 0.11
Manchester By the Sea Roadside/ Mongrel 61,800 (550) -76% 113 47.5
Land of Mine Sony Classics 58,400 (1,460) 56% 40 0.18
My Life as a Zucchini Gkids 56,700 (1,090) 33% 52 0.18
The Sense of an Ending CBS 42,400 (10,600) 4 0.04
Toni Erdmann Sony Classics 40,300 (1,010) -31% 40 1.4
Iqaluit eOne 25,600 (2,130) 12 0.03
Raw Focus 25,200 (12,600) 2 0.03
Nagaram CineGalaxy 21,500 (1,430) 15 0.02
Heal the Living Cohen Media 12,300 (3,080) 4 0.01
My Scientology Movie Magnolia 10,100 (5,050) 2 0.01
Aby Central 7,600 (950) 8 0.01
Uncertain Lucid 6,400 (3,200) 2 0.01
Window Horses Mongrel 4,800 (2,400) 2 0.01
Domestic Market Share (January 2 – March 9, 2017)
Distributor (releases) Box Office Market Share
Universal (8) 541.4 27.50%
20th Century Fox (9) 326.5 16.60%
Lionsgate (8) 233.1 11.80%
Warner Bros. (9) 210.4 10.70%
Paramount (9) 152.6 7.70%
Buena Vista (3) 145.8 7.40%
Sony (5) 96.1 4.90%
Weinstein Co. (3) 58.4 3.00%
CBS (1) 31.2 1.60%
STX (3) 29 1.50%
Open Road (3) 28.3 1.40%
A24 (2) 17.3 0.90%
Roadside Attractions (2) 17.2 0.90%
Fox Searchlight (3) 10.9 0.55%
Other * (69) 70.5 3.55%
1968.7 100%
* none greater than 0.45%
Top Domestic Grossers (January 2 – March 9, 2017)
Title Distributor Box Office
Hidden Figures * Fox 157,775,561
The Lego Batman Movie WB 151,203,660
Split Uni 134,612,135
Logan Fox 114,866,229
La La Land * Lionsgate 112,406,976
Fifty Shades Darker Uni 111,293,235
Rogue One * BV 105,410,580
Sing * Uni 101,803,880
Get Out Uni 89,981,845
John Wick: Chapter 2 Lionsgate 84,723,211
A Dog’s Purpose Uni 60,700,015
xXx: Return of Xander Cage Par 44,754,113
The Great Wall Uni 42,571,085
Lion * Weinstein Co. 41,217,772
* does not include 2016 box office
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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