By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Jingle All the Way
It was a gift exchange as Americans rose from Thanksgiving tables to make the turkey trot to Four Christmases, which topped holiday viewing with an estimated $46.6 million for the five-day span. Though shy of a record breaker, business was brisk; experiencing a slight boost from 2007 but falling short of earlier sessions in 2005 and 2000.
The frame was otherwise dominated by holdover titles. The much ballyhooed bow of Australiasqueaked into fifth position with $19.8 million since its Wednesday opening, and genre favoriteTransporter 3 was not far behind with an $18.1 million gross.
The other big noise was the limited start for the highly applauded biopic Milk, which had an enthusiastic $1.9 million box office from just 36 theaters. There was also a strong initial salvo of $380,000 for the family comedy Babine in Quebec, while the latest Bollywood entry Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was a commercial fizzle with a dull theater average of $1,000 from 45 locations.
Leading up to the holiday break tracking indicated a close race between the low-brow comedy Four Christmases and the second weekend of Twilight. But the Friday results saw the seasonal shenanigans pulling ahead and the teen vampires duking it out with the animated family fare of Boltfor the consolation prize.
Further down the list, Australia was in tight contest with the other animated bestseller Madagascar: Escape to Africa. The epic historic melodrama performed to expectations, but in light of its cost it has considerable ground to maintain. Australia also opened on its native turf where it was a clear winner with a $5 million debut that galloped to top slot.
Business over the five-day period exceeded $232 million, though the three-day component was flat compared with last weekend when the debuts of Twilight and Bolt proved staggeringly expansive. It was also 2% improved from Thanksgiving 2007 when openings of Enchanted and This Christmasbowed to $49.1 million and $26.3 million respectively.
Filmmakers have struggled for more than two decades to bring the inspirational and tragic life of slain San Francisco activist-politician Harvey Milk to the screen as a drama. Critical response has been largely upbeat and initial box office certainly indicates no reticence toward its gay subject matter. In another year with no clear Oscar favorites, Milk’s awards profile shoots way up with its $38,610 theater box office average.
Another strong contender is Slumdog Millionaire, which added 17 theaters to bring its penetration to 49 locations. Its third weekend average remained sturdy at just shy of $28,000. More problematic will be the fate of Changeling, which may have peaked too soon and could face competition fromGran Torino, also directed by Clint Eastwood.
Weekend Estimates – November 24- November 30, 2008
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change | Theaters | Cume |
Four Christmases | WB | 31.5 (9,530) | – | 3310 | 46.6 |
Bolt | BV | 26.6 (7,280) | -2% | 3654 | 66.8 |
Twilight | Summit | 26.4 (7,730) | –62% | 3419 | 119.9 |
Quantum of Solace | Sony | 19.6 (5,590) | –27% | 3501 | 142.2 |
Australia | Fox | 14.6 (5,530) | — | 2642 | 19.8 |
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Par | 14.5 (3,900) | —8% | 3709 | 159.5 |
Transporter 3 | Lionsgate | 11.8 (4,500) | — | 2626 | 18.1 |
Role Models | Uni | 5.2 (2,370) | –29% | 2195 | 57.8 |
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | Miramax | 1.6 (2,780) | -2% | 582 | 5.1 |
Milk | Focus | 1.4 (38,610) | – | 36 | 1.9 |
Slumdog Millionaire | Fox Searchlight | 1.4 (27,960) | 44%– | 49 | 3.6 |
Changeling | Uni | 1.2 (1,180) | -56% | 1010 | 33.8 |
High School Musical 3 | BV | 1.1 (770) | –48% | 1385 | 88.8 |
The Secret Life of Bees | Fox Searchlight | .57 (1,160) | –45% | 490 | 36.7 |
Zack and Miri Make a Porno | Weinstein Co. | .55 (1,240) | –66% | 445 | 30.5 |
Rachel Getting Married | Sony Classics | .53 (2,350) | -30% | 225 | 8.8 |
Soul Men | MGM | .51 (1,520) | –44% | 335 | 11.7 |
Fireproof | IDP | .44 (910) | -52% | 486 | 32.3 |
Babine | Alliance | .38 (8,650) | – | 44 | 0.38 |
The Dark Knight | WB | .33 (1,080) | -14% | 305 | 530.2 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $159.06 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | – | 2% | – | – | – |
% Change (Last Week) | – | 0% | – | – | – |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
Synecdoche, NY | Sony Classics | .32 (2,670) | 0%- | 120 | 2 |
Happy-Go-Lucky | Miramax | .31 (1,550) | -7% | 202 | 2.7 |
Oyee Lucky! Lucky Oye! | UTV | 46,040 (1,020) | – | 45 | 0.08 |
The Secrets | Monterey | 12,800 (3,200) | – | 4 | 0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – To November 23, 2008
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Mrkt Share |
Warner Bros. (26) | 1583.7 | 18.40% |
Paramount (16) | 1485.9 | 17.30% |
Sony (24) | 1164 | 13.50% |
Universal (20) | 1054.8 | 12.20% |
Buena Vista (17) | 871,2 | 10.10% |
Fox (21) | 828.9 | 9.60% |
Lions Gate (18) | 385.7 | 4.50% |
Fox Searchlight (8) | 191.1 | 2.20% |
Summit (5) | 125.1 | 1.50% |
Focus (6) | 124.9 | 1.50% |
MGM (16) | 117.9 | 1.40% |
Overture (6) | 95.4 | 1.10% |
Paramount Vantage (11) | 86.6 | 1.00% |
Picturehouse (7) | 63.3 | 0.70% |
Miramax (9) | 62.8 | 0.70% |
New Line (4) | 61.8 | 0.70% |
Other * (303) | 313.9 | 3.60% |
* none greater than 0.4% | 8617 | 100.00% |
Top Global Grossers – To November 27, 2008
Title | Distributor | Gross |
The Dark Knight | WB | 991,478,574 |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Par | 786,001,411 |
Kung Fu Panda | Par | 631,948,533 |
Hancock | Sony | 625,872,147 |
Iron Man | Par | 581,055,399 |
Mamma Mia! | Uni | 568,636,619 |
WALL-E | BV | 488.198,517 |
Quantum of Solace | Sony | 430,414,293 |
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | BV | 420,055,729 |
Sex and the City | WB | 410,684,724 |
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Uni | 393,277,768 |
Wanted | Uni | 343,011,467 |
Horton Hears a Who | Fox | 296,186,426 |
I Am Legend* | WB | 270,507,723 |
10,000 B.C. | WB | 269,309,372 |
National Treasures: Book of Secrets | BV | 263,704,304 |
The Incredible Hulk | Uni | 262,356,154 |
Get Smart | WB | 228,662,183 |
Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis | Pathe | 227,000,406 |
Jumper | Fox | 220,287,702 |
What Happens in Vegas | Fox | 218,207,559 |
High School Musical 3: Senior Year | BV | 217,606,165 |
Journey to the Center of the Earth | WB | 216,805,388 |
Juno | Fox/Mandate | 202,277,218 |
You Don’t Mess With the Zohan | Sony | 201,859,863 |
*Does not include 2007 box office