An overtly predictable weekend at the box office with no new meat available. What surprised me was that meat from a week ago was a bit more stale than expected. Flubber took the top spot, dropping a massive 56 percent from the previous three-day total, adding another $11.8 million to its formula. Alien: Resurrection took the acid bath, dropping 62 percent to $8.2 million. The Rainmaker lost 42 percent, leaving an award of $5.2 million for third. Anastasia continued to fade; this week by 61 percent to take $4.6 million for a total of just over $37 million. And in fifth, it’s The Jackal added $4 million to the Swiss bank account.
The bottom five was also pretty much according to Hoyle. Midnight in the Garden ff Good and Evil lost 44 percent of its party friends, leaving $3 million in favors for sixth. Mortal Kombat was annihilated, dropping to $2.5 million. The only surprise on the list is the ongoing staying power of I Know What You Did Last Summer, which took the softest fall — only 29 percent — to add $1.4 million to its push for the $70 million mark. And Bean tied with Starship Troopers for ninth/tenth with $1.3 million each.
We had strong prediction efforts this week from Rob Strong (no pun intended) and Marc Andreyko, though none of us saw the top of the list being smacked around like a weatherman waiting for El Nino. Try it out. E-mail me your Top Ten this week.
Posts Tagged ‘Mortal Kombat’
An Overtly Predictable Weekend
Monday, December 8th, 1997Tags: Alien Resurrection, Anastasia, Flubber, Marc Andreyko, Mortal Kombat, The Rainmaker
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on An Overtly Predictable Weekend
The March Of The Superhero Movie Continues
Thursday, December 4th, 1997This time, it’s Will Smith starring as The Mark, the hero of an original script from comic book superstar Rob Liefeld, which he created specifically for Smith. Liefeld’s comic characters, Avengelyne and Badrock, are both on the New Line schedule, but guess which of his three projects will likely make it to the soundstage first? Hint: It’s the one with the superstar attached. In other comic book news, Harry Knowles is reporting that Nicolas Cage confirmed to a fan he met in a video store that Superman Reborn is still a firm “go” project. Apparently, Cage has one of the biggest comic book collections around, so this is more than an acting job. The latest rumored meeting for the role of Lois Lane? Sandra Bullock.
Turnabout’s fair play. After recommending a read of a good Variety feature, here’s a really stupid one about the “demise of sequels.” Variety writer Andrew Hinde engages in the kind of simple-minded clich�-building that has made entertainment journalism such a weird profession. As evidence of the end of sequels, Hinde sights Speed 2, Batman & Robin and Alien 3. Problem is, all three of his examples were terrible movies! He sights the failure of Alien: Resurrection by comparing its first weekend to sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. But, though Alien 4 was soft, MK:A will be a big profit center for New Line, probably prompting a third sequel that will again drop the budget and the overall quality. And it will probably make money as well. When Scream 2 opens to massive business, look for the articles about the success of the horror genre and the return of the pulp sequel, using MK:A as a positive example. Don’t y’all love show business?
After pushing the boundries of political correctness with Half-Baked, a comic romp through the life of a pothead, comic-turned-actor, Dave Chappelle (Men In Tights/The Nutty Professor), is playing the race card with a comic flair in Rufus. The project from DreamWorks is, I believe, the first slavery comedy. The laughs, of course, come from the fact that the slave gets the better of the master. Ever the trend-setter and flush with the success of its TV-to-screen hits such as McHale’s Navy, Universal is prepping the comedy version of their Schindler’s List, called Schindler’s Grocery List, about a wacky, cannabalistic Nazi who gets sick from undercooked … no. Not really.
Matt Bailey, from Ohio State University, offered up “Alien Dog Craps on Box Office” as a reaction to a wacky movie headline idea. Yes, your e-mail can make you a star too.
Tags: Andrew Hinde, Batman & Robin, Mortal Kombat, Nicolas Cage, Rob Liefeld, Sandra Bullock, Will Smith
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on The March Of The Superhero Movie Continues
Thanksgiving Weekend Results
Monday, December 1st, 1997Interesting, somewhat disappointing results at the box office this Thanksgiving weekend. Flubber did pretty much what I expected, though it took first place, not second. An impressive $36.4 million five-day weekend is well short of 101 Dalmatians‘ $45 million take last Thanksgiving ($137 million total). Flubber, with $27 million over the Friday-Sunday period, looks to be more in the range of My Best Friend’s Wedding or Face/Off, hitting the $100 million mark domestically, but not passing $120 million. Alien: Resurrection snagged $27.2 million for second place, actually winning the Wednesday-Thursday battle with $10.1 million over Flubber’s $8.7 million, but losing the war as the weekend wore on. Look for a final tally in the high 60s (comparable to Dante’s Peak or Anaconda), placing it third in the quad-ology’s box office hierarchy.
Anastasia took third place with $16.7 million, but the breakdown shows that even though the film dropped minimally over the three-day weekend ($14.1 million last weekend versus $13.9 this one), its Wed-Thurs performance stunk the place up, averaging only $1.4 million each of those days, the weakest of the Top Five. To me, that says younger kids are going (with mom and dad) and those of Flubber age are passing. Pretty fine line, huh? If Anastasia hits $60-70 million, did they win the war against Disney? I say “yup.” The surprise of the weekend was The Rainmaker’s strong performance in fourth, performing well all week and adding another $14.5 million to Francis’ judgment. And The Jackal held on for fifth, shooting $10.3 million into its Swiss bank account.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation fell like a stone, about 60 percent in a three-day weekend comparison, kicking up $9.5 million with a truly awful movie. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil is more the latter than the former, on-screen and at the box office, taking seventh with $7.3 million. Now, y’all say bye-bye to them Oscahs. The Little Mermaid got her fin kicked, adding just $2.7 million to her $25 million three-week total, a little more than her P & A costs. Bean slinks towards the $50 million domestic finish line, adding $4.2 million to its total for ninth. And, “The Troopers Are Going! The Troopers Are Going!” passing $50 million with $4 million for 10th.
Thanks for all of your weekend predictions. You’re all getting better every week. Way to use that e-mail.
Tags: 101 Dalmatians, Alien Resurrection, Anaconda, Anastasia, Flubber, Mortal Kombat, My Best Friend's Wedding
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on Thanksgiving Weekend Results
Anastasia at the Box Office
Monday, November 24th, 1997While Fox was busy worrying about big, bad Disney blowing down their Anastasia, they got kicked in the side of the head by Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, easily the worst film in the Top Ten, but powerful enough to drag in $17.5 million in business to take first place (Brady Rainey was the only reader to have MK:A on top, but he missed most of the rest). Anastasia opened nicely, with $15 million for second, but next week the big guns come out and hell hath no fury like a Flubber scorned. Francis Ford Coppola’s name was probably at least as important as John Grisham’s in opening The Rainmaker to the tune of $11 million for third.
The Jackal held up almost exactly as expected ($9 million for fourth), but was upstaged by the new product, as was The Little Mermaid, who got her tail kicked, dropping 34 percent to $5.8 million to swim into fifth place. Midnight in the Garden of Good And Evil did well considering the small release Warner Bros gave it, averaging over $6,300 on each of its 824 screens for a $5.2 million total and sixth place. Starship Droopers fell 50 percent again, bugging out with just $5 million and a seventh place finish. The Man Who Knew Too Little was a little smarter than expected, dropping just 33 percent in a strongly competitive marketplace, adding $3 million to the pot. Finally, IKWYDLS knows box office, making its last appearance in the Top Ten with $2.8 million for tenth after a glorious $60 million-plus run.
Want to see how my predictions faired?
This week, Box Office Preview will run on Wednesday due to the long weekend. So e-mail your predictions to me early so I can have some crow to go with my turkey on Thanksgiving night.
Tags: Anastasia, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Mortal Kombat, Starship Troopers
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on Anastasia at the Box Office
