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WILMINGTON ON DVDS: Tangled, Fair Game, Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Casino Jack, Little Fockers, Skyline, Helena from the Wedding, Safe…Not Sorry

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

CURRENT AND RECENT DVD RELEASES

Tangled (Three Stars)
U.S.: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard, 2010 (Walt Disney)

These days, very often, the kids’ movies coming out of the big studios (and I mean mostly the cartoon features) look so much brighter, funnier, more entertaining — hell, so much more adult — than the supposedly adult comedies, concocted and targeted for supposed adults that…Well, don’t get me started. That goes for DreamWorks, for Warners. and it also goes for for Pixar ad the once and future American animation king, Walt Disney Studios, this week scoring again with their 3D fairytale feature Tangled.

A big hit in theatres, it‘s the latest movie for part of the team from Bolt, writer Dan Fogleman, director Byron Howard and Howard’s new co-director Nathan Greno. Bolt was a funny-animal road comedy that was brassy and sassy in a Looney-Tunesish way. This one, the Disney Studio’s 50th cartoon feature, tries to bend the best of the old classic Disney with the three-dimensional, digital, computerized new age, and it’s commercial too, but far more ambitious.

Tangled has a ripe, rounded, ultra-colorful look — like the Pixar movies, it’s both playful and expert — and it’s all about that sturdy Grimm Brothers lass, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). It‘s about her 70 flabbergasting, glorious feet of golden hair and the huge imprisoning tower in which she‘s spent 18 claustrophobic years, with her witch of a “mother” Gothel (Donna Murphy). And it hauls on stage an Errol Flynnish handsome rogue of a dashing rascal named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), and all the funny animals and grotesque but lovable thugs and daffy creatures of the enchanted forest whom Rap and Flynn meet on her magical quest to reach and revel in the beautiful lights and castle of the kingdom‘s distant and beautiful city.

Unbeknownst to Rap is the fact that she’s a princess, kidnapped as a babe by the woman who now masquerades as her mother: evil, glamorous Gothel, a second cousin to the evil, glamorous witch-turned crone of Disney’s 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Bolt’s Gothel becomes a show-stopping villainess, with Broadway pipes (Murphy has won two Tonys), and she covets the restorative powers in Rapunzel’s magic hair, a secret ingredient that has kept Gothel young for ages.

That’s the Grimm/Disney setup. There are also a brace of snappy, poppy, semi-showstopping songs, composed by Alan Menken (a perfect Disney composer), with words by Glenn Slater (Home on the Range), who proves a reasonable substitute for Menken’s late, great lyricist-partner, Howard Ashman, a master of wordplay and Menken’s collaborator on the kiddie Rodgers-and-Hart-ish song scores for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

I was grateful for the songs, even though they‘re not as memorable a bunch as some Disney scores of the past. But that’s why the seemingly against-the-trend casting of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and Donna Murphy in the three leads works so well here. Instead of the movie actor superstars that have lately been popping up in cartoons, they’re all singers here (Murphy is a fantastic singer), and they all put across their numbers with style, pizzazz and lots of show biz verve.

Tangled — for all its jokes about its cutie-pie heroine’s multi-purpose hair (used variously in the movie as manacles, whip, lash, escape-rope, mop, blanket, hideaway and erotic come-on), is cleverly written and visualized, inventive, well-acted, and mercifully devoid of cute little bunnies, and tricksy little pixies. This movie — which was produced by Roy Conli and executive produced by Mr. Pixar himself, John Lasseter and Glen Keane — tries to live up to its landmark position as Disney cartoon Feature Number Fifty, by being a culminating work, a fusion of Disney‘s lucrative digital present with its glorious classic-animation, line-drawing past.

There’s 3D in Tangled, but it doesn’t slam you in the eyes. Some of the effects, like the glowing lights Rapunzel yearns for, hovering dreamily above the water by the castle, have an almost impressionistic, Monetesque, Debussyesque lyricism and softness. There’s digital stuff, but it melds seamlessly with the old style Disney character gallery of princess/hero/witch/funny-animals/villains/boobs-and-buffoons. The dialogue has a storybook lilt, but it also sports a wise-acre Tonight Show edge — courtesy of the Warner Looney Tunes’ trademark anti-Disney bite and sarcasm that the studio gradually assimilated.

I liked almost everything about Tangled. Except the title. Don’t get me started.

Extras: Deleted and extended scenes; Featurette; Storybook; 50th Anniversary countdown; Teasers.

Fair Game (Three Stars)
U.S.; Doug Liman, 2010 (Summit Entertainment)

Fair Game is an almost formulaic political bio-drama, but the formula isn’t a bad one.

Basically, this is a good-hearted, well-done show, crisply and knowledgably written, sympathetically directed and extremely well-acted — by Naomi Watts as Valerie, Sean Penn as Joe, and a strong supporting cast that includes Bruce McGill, Noah Emmerich, Anand Tiwari, Adam Lefebvre as Karl Rove), David Andrews as Lewis “Scooter” Libby, and, as themselves, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice. (Some of the names in the cast list are partly redacted and I hasten to add that almost none of the three real-life cameo stars would have had anything to do with this movie if they could help it — though it’s their best work.)

But the Plame-Wilson-Libby-Rove affair is no laughing matter.

The real-life Plame was a longtime C. I. A. operative, with a lot of agents in the field. Wilson was an ex-ambassador and adviser/consultant who had investigated for and briefed the U. S. government on the so-called “Yellowcake from Niger” rumor, and concluded it was almost certainly a crock. Wilson, a feisty guy, then sat through Bush’s tense speech recounting the road to doomsday and the “mushroom cloud” awaiting us all unless we did what he wanted us to: invade Iraq and uncover the supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction hidden under every sand dune, or secreted there, someplace, somewhere. Wilson became angry and wrote a New York Times op-ed piece saying it was all a load of baloney. And it was.

SPOILER ALERT

Truth has consequences, of course. What followed was the famous Robert Novak column, outing Valerie as a C. I. A. officer, ending her career, damaging her marriage and her and Joe’s lives and spewing heavy negative implications, mainly that Valerie pulled strings to get Joe the W. M. D. gig, and that they were a couple of rogue liberals anyway, and wasn’t she really just a secretary? (And Joe really a soda jerk?) Karl Rove allegedly told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Valerie was “fair` game,” a frightening thought in the era of sportsman/citizen Cheney. Soon both Valerie and Joe were twisting in the wind. The rest of the movie shows how they survived, and how the truth came out.

END OF ALERT
Watts and Penn, both excellent, capture the professional savvy of the Wilson’s, and the drama of their disrupted patrician comfort zone and their marital battles, as well as Valerie‘s accelerating unease and Joe‘s increasing anger. Watts never suggests an actress stepping into or out of a role; nor does she seem overdressed and over-styled for the part.  Instead, she suggests, with great economy and a mastery of undercurrents and subtext, the look and feel of a woman used to power and privilege, trying to do a hellishly difficult job while her world explodes around her.

As for Penn, he has Joe‘s brainy manner, quietly combative mood and wavy, gray-streaked hairdo, and a hint of much of what lies beneath it. It’s crucial for Penn to seem both stubborn and absolutely straight-arrow in this role, and he does, he is.

The movie is oddly constructed and frankly, it spends too much time on the domestic drama.  I just wanted more legal thrills, more comeuppance.  But it’s good — though a good documentary on the Wilsons might have been more effective.

By the way the WMD‘s are still missing. But I’ve heard unconfirmed reports from unnamed British spies and unidentified, unreliable journalistic sources — soon to be leaked to the world by Glenn Beck — that they were moved from the dunes of Iraq to Lebanon to Iceland to somewhere in Antarctica, and are now probably hidden in the White House attic, next to the shredded U. S. Constitution, Barack Obama’s Cuban birth certificate and an autographed copy of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, with the WMDs awaiting use in a full scale assault on the Ladies’ Gun Club of Bent Barrel, Texas and then every God-fearing soul West of Maine. We may be safe though. Nobody can figure out how the damned things work.
Extras: Commentary with Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Two and a Half Stars)
U. S.-U.K.: Michael Apted, 2010 (2oth Century Fox)


The movie series based C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia — which was one of the great children‘s book cycles in the English language — nearly crashes on the cliffs the sea-storms of modern big special effects 3D moviemaking in the third Narnia movie, tongue-twistingly entitled Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Nearly. But not quite. The movie’s not bad, even if it’s initially a little flat and unwelcoming. I had a devil of a time getting into it though, despite Lewis, despite the director here (Michael Apted), and despite the fact that Dawn Treader begins with very nearly its best scene: a bang-up fantasy sequence of a seascape painting that magically floods a staid British room and sends the three child protagonists off  into a new round of Narnian adventures.

But, as the story unwinds, the characters seem flat or obvious, the castles and ship and the world itself look a bit unused, the “real-life” World War II scenes seem too short and shallow, and the monsters and magical animals often have more personality than the humans, especially the kids. The swashbuckling rat, Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg this time, instead of Eddie Izzard) has a lot of the best lines — and, in many ways, he steals the movie, which is a bit big for his britches.

If Dawn Treader doesn’t quite succeed, it’s not for want of effort and some talent, and even a determination to stir things up. Oddly, director Michael Apted (of the “Up” series), or the second unit, handles some of the big action-fantasy sequences more enticingly than they do the more intimate dramatic and character scenes that you’d have thought would have been Apted’s metier.

Narnia is cast, like the Potters, with three fetching young British actors at the center (Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes as the continuing young Narnia adventurers and conquerors Lucy and Edmund Pevensie, and Will Poulter as their pain-in-the-ass cousin Eustace Scrubb), surrounded by classy adult support (in this case, Pegg as the rat, Liam Neeson as the lion, Tilda Swinton as the white witch, and Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian). It‘s a movie full of love for the printed word and for archetypal fancy and fantasy, jam-packed with swords and sorcery, ships and storms, and dragons and sea serpents. And it ends spectacularly at the edge of the world.

It’s just a little humorless, humanless, sparkless. The movie begins superlatively well, with that oceanic rouser of a fantasy sequence. But soon the effects take over and the show’s rowdily thrilling games of rat and dragon (starring Reepicheep and the unspeakable Eustace, transmogrified into the fire-breathing monster) can’t totally save things. They should have trusted C. S. Lewis more.

Extras: Commentary with Apted; Featurettes, Deleted scenes.

Casino Jack (Two and a Half Stars)
U.S.: George Hickenlooper, 2010 (20th Century Fox)

Casino Jack is Jack Abramoff, a tasteless and inept phony of a movie producer (Dolph Lundren’s boss on the imbecilic Red Scorpion), as well as a long time Republican Party super-lobbyist — who wound up where most of these money-mad creeps swindlers and bribe artists belong: in the slammer.

The well-connected ex-richboy Jack, a fitness fanatic who tells us here that he “works out every day,” was some character. He parleyed his long history of G.O.P. activism (with a list of buddies that included baby-faced Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist and overweight imp Karl Rove) and his good relationships with President George W. Bush and Congressional Majority Whip Tom (“The Hammer”) DeLay, Congressman Bob Ney and others (from both parties but mostly Republicans) into a lobbying empire that basically robbed his customers blind (including several native American tribes, in search of gambling franchises). Tough shit, clients. Jack and his right hand, Mike Scanlon (Barry Pepper), bilked them of millions, while insulting and ridiculing them and spending all their money. They also got some of his lawmaker chums indicted, convicted and sometimes imprisoned — where they all belong.

This story was told brilliantly in Alex Gibney’s Casino Jack and the United States of Money, one of the best documentaries of the year, and one political movie everyone should try to see. It’s told somewhat less well in George Hickenlooper’s gutsy but disappointing docu-drama Casino Jack, which casts Kevin Spacey as Jack (a very good pick), and includes characters based on all of the others above, called by their right names (including John McCain), plus pretty Kelly Preston, as Jack‘s wife Pam, Graham Greene as skeptical Native American Bernie, Pepper as Jack‘s crooked G. O. P. crony and foul-mouthed operative Scanlon (a character less honorable than the same actor‘s Western bandit Lucky Ned Pepper in “True Grit“), and Jon Lovitz as sleaze-ball Adam Kidan, and Maury Chaykin as hit man Big Tony, two other typical Abramoff associates.

What goes wrong with George’s movie is that he and writer Norman Snyder (Dead Ringers) try too much to make it a dark comedy, even though Snyder isn’t really that good at jokes. The film doesn’t analyze either Jack or the lobbying world enough. It just keeps raking up muck, without explaining well enough that this muck is systemic, the creeps eternal.

Spacey is great at playing smug phonies and bemused exploiters, but he doesn’t have enough material here, enough juice. Neither does George. (Hickenlooper, not Bush.) The movie looks slick and well-tooled — but maybe it’s too slick. It isn’t as informative or as convincing as Gibney’s laser-eyed documentary. Still, it’s a good, brave film, in many ways. I wasn’t at all happy writing this review. George Hickenlooper (Hearts of Darkness), who died two months before this movie was released (and whose Colorado politician cousin John Hickenlooper is in the cast), was an old co-worker and friend of mine and someone I‘ve known for years.  Ad it takes a lot of guts to make a movie like Casino Jack, even when it doesn’t quite work.

Extras: George Hickenlooper’s photo journal; Deleted scenes; Gag reel.

Little Fockers (One and a Half Stars)
U. S.: Paul Weitz (2010) (Universal)

I wonder if there’s any real need to say anything at all about Little Fockers — the latest sequel to the Robert De Niro-Ben Stiller, Meet the Parent-Meet the Fockers comedy franchise — except just this: This movie is not funny.

This movie is not even vaguely funny. This whole movie deserves a SPOILER ALERT. And I don’t say this as anyone hostile to the whole idea of the Meet the Parents-Meet the Fockers saga. I missed Meet the Fockers, but I laughed all the way through Meet the Parents. Now, that’s a funny movie.

Little Fockers has most of the same cast as Parents-Fockers — including Stiller as Greg Focker, beleaguered male nurse, once engaged and now married to Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), daughter of gruff C.I.A. operative Jack Byrnes (De Niro) — who thought Greg was an idiot or a traitor– and Jack’s nice wife Dina (Blythe Danner). There’s also Pam’s rich, persistent New-Agey ex-boyfriend Kevin (Owen Wilson), plus (introduced in Fockers), Greg’s one-time counter-culture Jewish parents, Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) and Roz (Barbra Streisand).

Quite a cast. But Little Fockers not only didn’t make me laugh. It didn’t even make me fantasize about laughing.

Here’s an example of an alleged Little Focker joke. (Or a “fock-yock“ maybe).  Hard-ass Jack Byrnes, played by that  great actor De Niro, has decided to put his affairs in order. So he calls in accident-prone son-in-law Greg — whose five-year-old twins are the Little Fockers of the title, and whose impending twin double birthday is the plot hook.

Jack tells Greg that he will now anoint his longtime butt/target, non-macho Greg — who has been pratfalling, wreaking unintentional havoc, damaging heirlooms and pets and otherwise fouling up since the series began. Greg will now be, as Jack puts it, The Godfocker. (An actual joke from the movie). Amother heir, Bob had his chance; he could have been the Bobfather. (Another actual joke.) But now erstwhile schmo Greg will be the Godfocker, or maybe the Fockfather, or the Motherfocker. (My jokes, and just as awful)

What kind of baloney is all this? The actor Robert De Niro won an Oscar for The Godfather II, but the character Jack Byrnes, isn’t even Italian, and he‘s certainly no fan of the Mafia, or lawbreakers in general. Wouldn’t he want Greg to be the Big Shillelagh? Or the Big Duke? Or another Jack Kennedy? Or at least the Irish Godfocker?  (What about  Greg as Don Corneone, the Oddfather?)

De Niro doesn’t crack a smile during his Godfocker scene — that‘s obviously the way he‘s been directed — and yet the only way the joke could have worked is if Jack had smiled, as if he thought it was funny.

Nor will you chuckle, I’m betting, when Barbara Streisand as Greg’s mom Roz, cavorts on her sex education TV show. (“People who need people…“) Or when Hoffman as Bernie ambles around trying to promote flamenco orgies. Or when Wilson as Kevin reveals the tattoo of Pam he’s got just above his ass. (By mistake, he insists.) Or when Jessica Alba (as a gal called “Andi Garcia”) comes bopping in, determined to hire young male nurse Greg as a celebrity spokes-rep for her product/client, Sustendo (a sort of Godfocker’s Viagra).

And I doubt you’ll laugh, unless you suffer from terminal Farrellyitis, when Jack pops some Sustendo, and gets a huge hard-on, and Greg has to jab Jack’s schlong with a hypo and young twin Henry wanders in and sees everything.

That last scene is the nadir of Little Fockers and maybe of Farrellyism in general. But, like I said, this movie is just not funny. Horny, maybe, but not funny.

Anyway, I lied. I did smile at something in Little Fockers. I smiled at Jessica Alba — who was maybe a little too bouncy and silly, but oh so cute. I didn’t even need any Sustendo. The movie probably does though. Hey, listen, what about Streisand and Bette Midler as the Goodyentas? Or Dustin Hoffman as the Gonif-father? Or Ben as Martin Sheen in A-Fock-alypse Now?  Ah, fockedaboutit!

___________________________________________________

Skyline (One Star)
U.S.: The Brothers Strause, 2010 (Universal)
Alien monsters invade Los Angeles, and they do it  even more unbelievably (if you can believe it) than the ones in Battle: Los Angeles. Here, in this sub-Cloverfield fiasco, the flying robot monsters not only lay waste to L. A., but — demonstrating the same perverse puritanism that afflicts the fiends of Halloween and Friday the 13th, they zero in on a group of fornicating L. A. glam-yuppies, and a couple being lured from New York, some of whom seem to be working in visual affects in the movies.

Irony, maybe? These yuppies are so stone-stupid they have lover’s quarrels in the middle of monster attacks, and repreatedly run around rooftops and lock themselves out of their apartment building. Anyway, this movie, directed by the Brothers Strause (no relation to the Brothers Strauss of Vienna) has good visual affects and a lousy script, so maybe the monsters should have gone after some fornicating screenwriters. Awful stuff. The best acting is by the monsters, who at least try to get the movie over with faster. Extras: Commentaries with the Brothers Strause and screenwriters Joshua Cordes and Liam O’Donnell; Deleted, extended and alternate scenes; Pre-Visualization; D-Box enabled.

Helena from the Wedding (Three Stars)
U.S.: Joseph Infantolino, 2010 (Film Movement)
The average romantic comedy from the major studios may be pretty mediocre these days, but this little low budget indie does what a romantic comedy should, and then does what a romantic drama should as well. It’s about a party in a snow-covered lodge among some 30something friends, whose couplings and friendships and sense of entitlement may all be getting frayed at the edges. Lee Tergesen and Melanie Lynskey play the married hosts, Alex and Alice, and they’re both excellent. And so, despite relatively short screen time, is Gillian Jacobs as Helena, the younger knockout from the wedding, who walks into the room and immediately raises the male temperature. (She does it just right.)

As for the rest of the ensemble — Dagmara Dominczyk, Paul Fitzgerald, Dominic Fumusa, and Corey Stoll — well, they’re all good. So is the dialogue, a sore spot in many of the new movies they call “romcoms.”  This one is something better: a real romantic comedy, with real-seeming characters. Extras: Short “Awaiting Examination” (Sweden: Elisabet Gustafsson, 2010) (Two and a Half Stars) A fable about nonconformity that suggests John Hughes doing Franz Kafka.  Note: Film Movement is a film-of-the-month club that offers excellent new festival fare. Link www.filmmovement.com.

Safe…Not Sorry (Two Stars)
U.S.: Various directors, 1951-1982 (Kino)

How many of you remember those often awful 16mm educational films we had to sit and suffer through in junior high and high school? Make you shudder? Now they’dl probably make you laugh, maybe even feel some half-dopey nostalgia, as in Safe…Not Sorry, a collection of vintage, if hardly classic, films on safety.

Some of the most fascinatingly bad films you’ll see anywhere have been gathered by Skip Elsheimer, founder of the A. V. Geeks and collector/owner of thousands of these cinematic oddball curios, into a collection of 14 preachy, often terrible, but usually amusing little movies that evoke the half-obnoxious, half- delightful sense of once again sitting at your school desk while the lights go down and an over-enthusiastic voice, accompanied by corny dramatics, warns you about the dangers of everything from school fires to broken ladders to loaded rifles to perverts in the park.

These movies are truly bad. But they’ve also become entertainingly bad, and some of them are actually less awful than others. The best of the bunch here include the supernatural romance and ode to schoolbus safety Ghost Rider, the suspenseful tale of a dad trying to guess what happened to his absent family Ten Long Minutes, the genuinely disturbing recreation of an elementary school fire, Our Obligation, and (largely because of its narrator, that matchless movie fussbudget Edward Everett Horton), the bike safety marathon farce One Got Fat.  Retaining camp interest are two memorable little pictures by the undisputed top dog in the safety film sub-sub-genre, Sid Davis, a.k.a. “The King of Calamity.” Sid’s legendary career in cautionary cinema was started with help from the movie actor for whom he once doubled, Duke Wayne and the King’s contributions here include the chillingly everyday study of pedophilia Dangerous Stranger, and the ghastly compendium of household perils, Live and Learn.

As for the worst of the worst, it would hard to make a movie any badder than Safety: Harm Hides at Home (even the title is horrible), the utterly inept tale of the adventures of a sexy superheroine named Guardiana or Safety Woman, whose insignia is three torches (shouldn’t it be three fire-extinguishers?) and who keeps materializing in the homes of unsafe children, just when something has gone terribly wrong. There’s also the stupefyingly banal Say No to Strangers, another warning against candy-bearing deviants, created by Irvmar Productions, a company that usually made “sleazy exploitation,” and the clownishly bad Trigger Happy Harry: a ridiculous comedy about gun saftey sponsored by the National Rifle Association.

All these movies, even the total turkeys, have at least some interest, and you could argue that, in hammering home their lessons, they may even have accomplished some good.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but sometimes hell, or at least purgatory (as in the set’s vomitous chronicle of an Army camp epidemic caused by unsafe food, An Outbreak of Salmonella Infection), can be entertaining. This is a collection you won’t soon forget, however much you may want to.

Extras: Introduction by Skip Elsheimer; Notes on each film.

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The Weekend Report — March 13

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

Los Angeles Doesn’t Believe in Tears … Mars Does

The fears that a depressed marketplace would take its toll on Battle: Los Angeles proved unfounded as the sci-fi extravaganza easily took weekend honors with an estimated $36.2 million. However, the frame’s other two national releases seriously underperformed. The visual flamboyant fairy tale Red Riding Hood trudged through the woods with $14 million in its basket to rank third and the family targeted Mars Needs Moms received a resounding audience “no” with $6.8 million.

Regionally a pair of pics bowed in Quebec to undistinguished results. Local production French Kiss generated $91,200 at 54 stalls while French family fave Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes provided $68,400 from 35 venues.

The action among limited/exclusive debuts was considerably more encouraging with the latest Jane Eyre earning a $45,120 average from four screens. The indie Kill the Irishman was unexpectedly potent with a $142,000 tally in five exposures and French award winner Certified Copy grossed $66,300 from a comparable quintet.

Overall the pluses and minuses canceled out and weekend revenues slipped 4% from the immediate prior session. It was a steeper 13% decline from 2010 when the second weekend of Alice in Wonderland reigned with $62.7 million followed by bows of Green Zone and She’s Out of My League with respective openers of $14.3 million and $9.8 million.

Industry anxiety ran high for Battle: Los Angeles with pundits invoking the likes of Independence Day, District 9 and Skyline on the down side as past barometers. Initial tracking pegged its opening between $25 million and $30 million with it pushing slightly higher as opening day approached.

Exit polls pegged the audience unsurprisingly at 62% male. However, it also showed that the ticket buyers were 55% over the age of 25; continuing the 2011 industry question of where the younger, previously more avid crowds have migrated (and whether is possible to park product at that location).

Audience composition for both Red Riding Hood and Mars Needs Moms were also as anticipated. The cowl clad lass was 54% distaff and 56% under the age of 25 while the folk from the red planet were 85% family with 68% buying stereoscopic ducats. But though not particularly family friendly, Rango was the audience magnet even with a 40% hit off of its opening weekend.

Though the two films hit their target, neither hit it with quite the anticipated force. Red Riding Hood was tracking between $16 million and $20 million while Mars Needs Moms was supposed to be in the range of $10 million to $14 million.

Expect some hard questions to be asked at CinemaCon in two weeks beginning with the evaporation of the under 25s. Distribution is likely to be pushing for shorter theatrical windows and theater owners will just be … freaking out.

Weekend (estimates) March 11 – 13, 2011
Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume
Battle: Los Angeles Sony 36.2 (10,590) NEW 3417 36.2
Rango Par 22.8 (5,820) -40% 3923 68.4
Red Riding Hood WB 14.0 (4,630) NEW 3030 14
The Adjustment Bureau Uni 11.4 (4,010) -46% 2847 38.4
Mars Needs Moms BV 6.8 (2,190) NEW 3117 6.8
Beastly CBS 5.0 (2,570) -49% 1959 16.9
Hall Pass WB 5.0 (1,970) -43% 2555 34.9
Just Go With It Sony 4.0 (1,660) -38% 2398 93.9
The King’s Speech TWC 3.6 (2,030) -42% 1768 129
Gnomeo and Juliet BV/eOne 3.5 (1,360) -52% 2585 89
Unknown WB 3.3 (1,440) -49% 2303 58.4
I Am Number 4 BV 2.2 (1,110) -61% 2005 50.3
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Par 1.3 (1,050) -69% 1247 70.9
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Fox 1.2 (1,330) -62% 931 35.1
Take Me Home Tonight Relativity 1.2 (610) -65% 2003 5.8
Cedar Rapids FoxSearch .93 (2,360) 13% 394 4.6
Tangled BV .62 (1,710) -22% 363 196.6
The Fighter Par/Alliance .55 (1,210) -51% 453 92.9
Black Swan FoxSearch .44 (1,310) -56% 337 105.9
True Grit Par .43 (1,070) -56% 401 169.4
Barney’s Version eOne/SPC .34 (1,760) -13% 192 6.2
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $123.60
% Change (Last Year) -13%
% Change (Last Week) -4%
Also debuting/expanding
Of Gods and Men Sony Classics .25 (4,500) -2% 56 1.2
Jane Eyre Focus .18 (45,120) 4 0.18
Kill the Irishman Anchor Bay .14 (28,260) 5 0.14
French Kiss TVA 91,200 (1,690) 54 0.09
Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes Alliance 68,400 (1,950) 35 0.07
Certified Copy IFC 66,300 (13,260) 5 0.07
HappyThankYouMorePlease Anchor Bay 59,700 (3,140) 70% 19 0.09
I Will Follow Film Movement 44,100 (11,020) 4 0.04
3 Backyards Screen Media 11,400 (11,400) 1 0.01
Making th Boys First Run 6,800 (6,800) 1 0.01
Elektra Luxx IDP 5,700 (1,420) 4 0.01
Black Death Magnolia 3,700 (3,700) 1 0.01
Monogamy Oscilloscope 3,600 (3,600) 1 0.01
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – March 10, 2011)
Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Paramount (9) 337.1 20.90%
Sony (9) 277.4 17.20%
Buena Vista (5) 215.2 13.30%
Warner Bros. (12) 179.1 11.10%
Universal (6) 163.3 10.10%
Weinstein Co. (3) 121.2 7.50%
Fox (5) 82.9 5.10%
Fox Searchlight (3) 76.3 4.70%
CBS (3) 41.3 2.60%
Relativity (3) 29.5 1.80%
Focus (2) 20.7 1.30%
eOne/Seville (7) 12.2 0.80%
Summit (3) 11.7 0.70%
Sony Classics (5) 9.6 0.60%
Other * (73) 37.6 2.30%
1615.1 100.00%
* none greater than 0.4%
Top Limited Releases (Jan. 1 – March 10, 2011)
Title Distributor Gross*
Blue Valentine * TWC 9,313,215
Barney’s Version * eOne/SPC 5,661,527
Biutiful Roadside Att 4,337,480
The Company Men TWC 4,102,660
Cedar Rapids rch 3,676,294
From Nada to Prada LGF 2,946,275
Another Year * SPC 2,854,313
The Way Back Newmarket/All 2,806,469
Hubble 3D * WB 2,321,675
The Grace Card IDP 1,842,199
The Illusionist * SPC 1,811,964
Rabbit Hole * LGF 1,810,546
Somewhere * Focus 1,502,550
Incendies * Seville/eOne 1,348,780
2011 Oscar Shorts Magnolia 1,266,790

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The Weekend Report — March 6

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Gold Star … Silver Star

The lizards of Rango slithered easily into audience hearts with an estimated $38.7 million that topped weekend viewing charts. Three other new wide releases entered the marketplace with the “what if” antics of The Adjustment Bureau ranking second with $20.9 million and the modern fairy tale Beastly following with $9.7 million. The romantic Take Me Home Tonight captured few hearts with a $3.4 million gross.

Limited and exclusive debuts were largely uninspired with the coming of age HappyThankYouMorePlease generating $29,700 on two screens and Thai award winner Uncle Bonmee grossing $25,400 from four venues. Box office for the 3D presentation of opera favorite Carmen from England’s Royal Opera weren’t reported.

The infusion of new titles expanded sales by 24% from the prior weekend but couldn’t compete with last years $116.1 million bow for Alice in Wonderland. Revenues slumped by 34% from 2010 and the year to date is lagging behind the prior year’s pace by 16%.

The enthusiastic reviews for the 3D animated gunslinger yarn Rango did little to bolster interest for the film’s non-family audience and the film bowed on the low end of industry estimates. Generally positive reviews for the sci-fi romance The Adjustment Bureau place that film on the high side of tacking predictions.

Conversely tracking for both Beastly and Take Me Home Tonight veered radically from expectations with the latter expected to out perform in its debut. With the former predicted to do no better than $6 million, you can guess the rest.

With the exhibition sector’s convention just three weeks away (now re-named CinemaCon) one can expect some hard questions being bruited. It’s decidedly not a period of warmth between theater owners and the studios and waning audiences; particular among the key under 25s will certainly heat up the issue of making new releases available on other platforms including home screens.

Oscar sheen (a distant relative of Charlie) appeared to dim rapidly for all save The King’s Speech. Though it’s hardly a new phenomenon, the shorter award season (and threat of an even shorter one in the near future) is likely to create the employ of new strategies to exploit films reliant on statuettes and the like this year.

Weekend (estimates) March 4 – 6, 2011
Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume
Rango Par 37.8 (9,660) NEW 3917 37.8
The Adjustment Bureau Uni 20.9 (7,350) NEW 2840 20.9
Beastly CBS 9.7 (4,980) NEW 1952 9.7
Hall Pass WB 8.8 (2,990) -35% 2950 26.8
Gnomeo and Juliet BV/eOne 7.0 (2,350) -48% 2984 83.8
The King’s Speech TWC 6.5 (2,890) -12% 2240 123.8
Just Go With It Sony 6.4 (2,200) -39% 2920 88.1
Unknown WB 6.4 (2,210) -49% 2913 52.9
I Am Number 4 BV 5.7 (1,970) -48% 2903 46.5
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Par 4.2 (1,880) -55% 2254 68.8
Take Me Home Tonight Relativity 3.4 (1,710) NEW 2003 3.4
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Fox 3.2 (1,950) -58% 1642 33.2
Drive Angry Summit 2.1 (930) -59% 2290 9
The Fighter Par/Alliance 1.1 (1,840) -33% 575 92
Black Swan FxSrch 1.0 (1,440) -26% 681 105.1
True Grit Par .94 (1,300) -52% 725 168.6
Cedar Rapids FxSrch .77 (3,280) 16% 235 3.3
Tangled BV .74 (1,760) 76% 421 195.7
The Roommate Sony .59 (970) -70% 606 36.8
The Grace Card IDP .51 (1,450) -50% 352 1.7
Barney’s Version eOne/SPC .40 (1,900) -27% 211 5.7
No Strings Attached Par .36 (850) -75% 425 69.6
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $127.75
% Change (Last Year) -33%
% Change (Last Week) 24%
Also debuting/expanding
Of Gods and Men SPC .26 (7,420) -16% 42 0.73
The Illusionist SPC 77,500 (1,020) -48% 76 1.9
HappyThankYouMorePlease Anchor Bay 29,700 (14,850) 2 0.03
Uncle Bonmee Strand 25,400 (6,350) 4 0.03
Bereavement Paradigm 22,300 (1,120) 20 0.02
Detective K CJ Ent 13,500 (13,500) 1 0.01
I Saw the Devil Magnolia 12,100 (6,050) 2 0.01
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom Mongrel 9,400 (1,880) 5 0.01
The Human Resources Manager FilmMove 8,300 (2,770) 3 0.01
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – March 3, 2011)
Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Paramount (8) 283.2 19.60%
Sony (9) 267.7 18.50%
Buena Vista (5) 198.7 13.70%
Warner Bros. (12) 157.7 10.90%
Universal (5) 135.8 9.40%
Weinstein Co. (3) 112.8 7.80%
Fox (5) 78.8 5.50%
Fox Searchlight (3) 73.6 5.10%
CBS (2) 29.3 2.00%
Relativity (2) 24.8 1.70%
Focus (2) 20.3 1.40%
eOne/Seville (7) 10.9 0.80%
Sony Classics (5) 8.7 0.60%
Summit (3) 8.5 0.60%
Other * (68) 35.2 2.40%
* none greater than 0.4%
Top Domestic Grossers (Jan. 1 – March 3, 2011)
Title Distributor Gross*
The King’s Speech * TWC 99,641,843
True Grit * Par 97,285,477
The Green Hornet Sony 96,820,070
Just Go With It Sony 81,700,070
Gnomeo and Juliet BV/eOne 76,782,010
No Strings Attached Par 69,289,473
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Par 64,551,441
Little Fockers * Uni 63,484,205
Black Swan * FxSrch 63,240,197
Tron: Legacy * BV 53,579,845
The Fighter * Par/Alliance 51,877,355
The Dilemma Uni 48,475,290
Unknown WB 46,509,264
I Am Number 4 BV 40,738,416
Yogi Bear * WB 40,506,801
The Roommate Sony 36,260,283
Tangled * BV 33,709,950
The Rite WB 32,464,547
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Fox 29,969,678
The Mechanic CBS 28,812,145
* does not include 2010 box office

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The Weekend Report — February 20

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

I Am Number?

There was little to salute as the weekend portion of the President’s holiday frame saw movie going once again register box office and admission declines. A trio of new films opened to modest response including the action-thriller Unknown, which led the field (though it could slip to second for the four-day period) with an estimated $21.9 million. Also new were the teen-oriented chiller I Am Number 4 , with $19.4 million to slot third, and the comedy sequel Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son in position five with $16.4 million.

There were also a tsunami of niche and exclusive bows including new Hindi and Telegu movies from India. But neither 7 Khoon Maaf nor Katha Screenplay Darsakakatvam provided more than a ripple of interest. Best of the limited releases was the non-fiction The Last Lions with $49,400 at four venues and Spanish Oscar submission Even the Rain, which grossed $52,600 from eight screens. And the fistful of exclusive bows was largely non-vigorous, though the doc I Am generated an encouraging $10,100 in its solo flight.

The absence of an 11th hour Oscar surge didn’t help the situation, though two contenders — The King’s Speech and Black Swan — managed to pass the $100 million threshold. Still, the failure of most late calendar releases to find Academy favor and the wave of new releases pushing out front-runners trends toward a serious re-thinking in theatrical exploitation for award season movies.

The four-day weekend should generate roughly $175 million and that translates into a 28% drop from President’s weekend 2010. It’s a more modest 4% erosion from the prior weekend. A year ago the trio of freshmen comprised of Valentine’s Day, Percy Jackson and The Wolfman debuted to respective grosses of $63.1 million, $38.7 million and $35.6 million.

Unknown skewed dramatically older with exits indicating 89% of its ticket buyers older than 25-years old. Surprisingly, I Am Number 4 also went slightly older with 53% plus 25s and Big Mommas had a 50/50 split. Also unexpected was Number 4’s 57/43 split that favored men and only 26% of its audience identified as teens.

The past six months has certainly seen a listing toward what the industry views as an older audience. The combination of the majors’ historic slowness at responding to change in the marketplace and decades of reliance on young males to propel special effects movies into the box office stratosphere is about to face a major challenge in May.

If you build it … will they come? Stay tuned.

___________________________________

Weekend Estimates – February 18-20, 2011

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
Unknown WB 21.9 (7,190) NEW 3043 21.9
Gnomeo and Juliet BV/eOne 19.6 (6,490) -23% 3014 50.6
I Am Number 4 BV 19.4 (6,160) NEW 3154 19.4
Just Go With It Sony 18.3 (5,150) -40% 3548 60.8
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son Fox 16.4 (5,810) NEW 2821 16.4
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Par 13.6 (4,370) -54% 3118 48.5
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 6.5 (3,100) -11% 2086 103.2
The Roommate Sony 4.0 (1,870) -50% 2160 32.6
The Eagle Focus 3.4 (1,490) -61% 2296 14.9
No Strings Attached Par 3.1 (1,570) -47% 1966 66
True Grit Par 2.4 (1,660) -36% 1465 164.2
Sanctum Uni 1.5 (1,110) -73% 1377 21.8
The Fighter Par/Alliance 1.5 (1,990) -30% 759 87.9
The Green Hornet Sony 1.5 (1,170) -60% 1265 95.1
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 1.3 (1,970) -39% 656 101.5
The Rite WB 1.1 (1,030) -67% 1048 31.3
The Mechanic CBS 1.0 (1,090) -68% 952 27.9
Cedar Rapids Fox Searchlight .93 (9,120) 207% 102 1.3
Barney’s Version eOne/Sony Classics .80 (2,850) 90% 323 4.3
Tangled BV .55 (1,410) -32% 389 194.1
Biutiful Roadside .52 (3,640) -10% 143 3
Tron: Legacy BV .43 (1,380) -22% 312 170.4
Yogi Bear WB .41 (570) -47% 725 97.2
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $139.30
% Change (Last Year) -28%
% Change (Last Week) -4%
Also debuting/expanding
Blue Valentine Weinstein Co. .32 (1,370) -45% 235 8.8
The Company Men Weinstein Co. .29 (1,210) -44% 242 3.5
Another Year Sony Classics .22 (1,820) -33% 121 2.5
7 Khoon Maaf UTV .19 (2,470) 76 0.19
The Illusionist Sony Classics .19 (1,790) -37% 106 1.5
Even the Rain Vitagraph 52,600 (6,570) 8 0.05
The Last Lions National Geo 49,400 (12,350) 4 0.05
Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Supreme 36,700 (1,930) 19 0.04
Immigration Tango Roadside 14,400 (380) 30 0.01
En terrains connus eOne 12,600 (1,050) 12 0.01
I Am Paladin 10,100 (10,100) 1 0.01
Brotherhood Phase 4 8,800 (8,800) 1 0.01
The Chaperone IFC 6,900 (690) 10 0.01
Putty Hill Cinema Guild 4,500 (4,500) 1 0.01
Vanishing on 7th Street Magnolia 3,200 (3,200) 1 0.01

Domestic Market Share – 2010

Distributor Gross Market Share
Paramount (8) 236.4 21.60%
Sony (9) 216.8 19.80%
Universal (5) 131.8 12.00%
Buena Vista (4) 114.3 10.40%
Weinstein Co. (3) 90.6 8.30%
Warner Bros. (10) 87.9 8.00%
Fox Searchlight (3) 66.6 6.10%
Fox (4) 47.4 4.30%
CBS (2) 27.4 2.50%
Relativity (2) 24.6 2.20%
Focus (2) 12.9 1.20%
Sony Classics (5) 5.9 0.50%
Other * (49) 33.5 3.10%
1096.1` 100.00%
* none greater than 0.45%

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The Weekend Report – February 13

Sunday, February 13th, 2011

Bieber Pitch
By Leonard Klady

It was Sandler by a nose over the teen sensation. The rom-com Just Go With It emerged with an estimated $30.8 million while the 3D concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never was right behind with $30.4 million. In a session energized by new releases the animated Gnomeo and Juliet charted third with $25.3 million and the Gladiator-lite The Eagle slotted in position five with a drab $8.3 million.

The frame also featured a clutch of incoming niche and exclusive debuts. Bollywood entry Patiala House was the best of the newbies with $352,000 at 80 venues and on the Pinoy circuit Bulong had an OK $25,300 at six locales. Testing the waters with 15 screens, the comic Cedar Rapids found the temp conducive with a $302,000 tally.

There was also good response to the Oscar shorts tour with a first stop of $237,000 and the pacifist doc Mooz-lum had an impressive $12,000 per location average of $12,000, The single screen bow of another doc, Vidal Sassoon, looked and dressed good with $13,800.

Following a month of box office declines revenues experienced dramatic upturns that have finally put smiles on the folks in the distribution and exhibition sector.

Pundits were confident that the Sandler – Aniston pairing in Just Go With It would generate a $30 million plus opening salvo that would easily outdistance any threat from Justin Bieber’s concert foray. The latter movie was pegged at $25 million to $28 million and was the clear winner on opening day Friday with close to a $3 million edge of $12.4 million.

However, whereas the pubescent fan base proved to be first day fanatics, the older Valentine romantics were dominant for Saturday date night. The Bieber group declined by 13% while the Gos expanded by 42%. Both films skewed female with the concert crowd comprised of a whopping 84% and 67% under 25 according to exit polls. The comedy crowd was 58% distaff and 60% comprised of plus 25%. Never Say Never also registered a very potent 84% attendance for its stereoscopic playdates.

That still left plenty of room for the family audience that embraced Gnomeo and Juliet. Largely underserved in recent weeks, trackers underestimated its appeal with predictions in the range of $16 million to $20 million. The Eagle was the poor cousin in the mix and largely negative reviews didn’t help improve a lackluster response.

Overall revenues pushed to roughly $150 million for an eye-popping 73% boost from the prior weekend. It was also an impressive 32% improvement from 2010. Last year’s freshmen thrust was provided by first and third ranked Dear John and From Paris with Love with respective opening salvos of $30.5 million and $8.2 million.

Obviously with so much incoming fare the crowd of Oscar contenders – even the most resilient – lost a significant number of screens. And if on-going appeal is any kind of indicator, The King’s Speech contingent would be well advised to brush up on their elocution. It sputtered an insignificant 5% erosion despite the loss of 321 theaters.

Weekend (estimates) February 11 – 13, 2011
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Just Go With It Sony 30.8 (8,680) NEW 3548 30.8
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Par 30.4 (9,790) NEW 3105 30.4
Gnomeo and Juliet BV 25.3 (8,450) NEW 2994 25.3
The Roommate Sony 8.3 (3,290) -44% 2534 26
The Eagle Focus 8.3 (3,630) NEW 2296 8.3
The King’s Speech TWC 7.3 (3,230) -5% 2263 93.8
No Strings Attached Par 5.6 (2,030) -30% 2756 59.8
Sanctum Uni 5.1 (1,830) -46% 2789 17.5
True Grit Par 3.8 (1,820) -19% 2072 160.3
The Green Hornet Sony 3.6 (1,730) -39% 2090 92.3
The Rite WB 3.1 (1,410) -44% 2207 28.7
The Mechanic CBS 3.1 (1,630) -42% 1886 25.3
The Fighter Par/Alliance 2.1 (2,030) -25% 1049 85.6
Black Swan FoxSrchlght 2.1 (1,980) -37% 1069 99.3
Dilemma Uni 1.0 (800) -70% 1242 47.6
Tangled BV .77 (980) -58% 784 193.3
Yogi Bear WB .74 (670) -67% 1111 96.6
Blue Valentine TWC .57 (1,450) -28% 393 8.2
Tron: Legacy BV .55 (1,510) -60% 364 169.7
127 Hours FoxSrchlght .54 (1,500) -50% 359 16.8
Biutiful Roadside .52 (2,740) -19% 190 2.2
The Company Men TWC .51 (1,840) -7% 277 3
Barney’s Version eOne/SPC .44 (4,400) -11% 119 3.3
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $144.10
% Change (Last Year) 32%
% Change (Last Week) 73%
Also debuting/expanding
Patiala House Hari .35 (4,400) 80 0.35
Another Year Sony Classics .34 (1,970) -23% 236 2.2
The Illusionist Sony Classics .32 (1,540) 70% 205 1.15
Cedar Rapids FoxSrchlght .30 (20,150) 15 0.3
2011 Oscar Shorts Magnolia .24 (3,880) 61 0.24
Mooz-lum Peace-Films .13 (12,000) 11 0.13
Gaganam Big Pictures 96,700 (6,400) 16 0.1
Bulong ABS 25,300 (4,210) 6 0.03
Poetry Kino 18,300 (6,100) 3 0.02
Payanam Big Pictures 15,400 (1,490) 9 0.02
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie Phase 4 13,800 (13,800) 1 0.01
Carancho Strand 12,900 (4,300) 3 0.01
Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Feb. 10, 2011)
Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Paramount (7) 184.7 20.60%
Sony (8) 157.6 17.50%
Universal (5) 121.9 13.60%
Buena Vista (3) 83.9 9.40%
Warner Bros. (10) 81.3 9.10%
Weinstein Co. (3) 78.8 8.80%
Fox Searchlight (2) 62.4 6.90%
Fox (4) 46.6 5.20%
Relativity (2) 24.5 2.70%
CBS (2) 22.6 2.50%
Alliance (5) 5.3 0.60%
Other * (49) 27.7 3.10%
897.3 100.00%

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The Weekend Report – February 6

Sunday, February 6th, 2011

Where Have All the Avids Gone …
Long Time Passing

The debut of The Roommate led an anemic field at the weekend box office with an estimated $15.5 million. Second ranked was another newcomer – the 3D adventure Sanctum – with a disappointing $9.2 million.

Anticipating steep Sunday admission drops from the Super Bowl both national and niche debuts were generally directed to strong single quadrant audiences. Opening day-and-date with Mainland China, the Sino version of What Women Want generated a dull $58,900 at 29 venues; the family oriented The Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec struggled to $51,300 at 27 screens in Quebec; and the inspirational Midway to Heaven was stuck in the middle with $42,400 at 10 playdates. Best of the new exclusives was American indie Cold Weather with a $14,800 tally on a single screen.

Continuing the first quarter cold spell ticket sales experienced double digit declines that have left both the exhibition and distribution sectors in a very blue funk.

The Roommate, a remake in all but name and credit of Single White Female, bucked recent viewing trend with exit polls showing strong younger appeal. Its 65% female crowd was not unexpected and its 61% under 21 makeup was encouraging … at least for an opening weekend gross that was largely predicted by tracking pundits.

Sanctum wasn’t as lucky with, again, a distaff skewing set of viewers, albeit largely plus 25s. The sizzle was all about its stereoscopic qualities and reviewers skewered its artistic elements. Still tracking indicated a bow of $10 million to $12 million that audiences weren’t willing to make come true.

Overall business fell short of $90 million for a 20% decline from the prior weekend. It was a slightly steeper 22% drop from 2010 when the $30.5 million opening of Dear John toppled Avatar’s reign with that film taking the bridesmaid spot with $22.8 million.

The industry is now inured to Super Bowl’s clobber but the more serious concern is the sudden disappearance of the avid audience that falls between ages 17 and 25. Recent movie releases are largely being blamed with no relief in sight for the first quarter of 2011 and certainly no possibility of Oscar fare bringing up the slack.

The official line is that the avids will return but somewhere in the dark recesses are concerns that a significant portion of that audience has opted out of the theatrical experience in favor of new technologies and platforms. Theater owners are buckling down for additional experimentation in “windows” that will cut into their bottom line.

Historically the majors have been slow to respond to change and if logically an aging population would suggest adopting more mature content, don’t expect that penny to drop for three to five years. Independents could move in to fill the gap though one can be certain their deep pocket brethren will out spend them to ensure market share dominance rather than address real business issues.

___________________________________

Weekend Estimates – February 4-6, 2011

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
The Roommate Sony 15.5 (6,130) NEW 2534 15.5
Sanctum Uni 9.2 (3,300) NEW 2787 9.2
No Strings Attached Par 8.3 (2,730) -38% 3050 51.7
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 8.1 (3,150) -27% 2584 83.9
The Green Hornet Sony 6.3 (2,070) -44% 3033 87.4
The Rite WB 5.6 (1,880) -62% 2985 23.7
The Mechanic CBS 5.3 (1,970) -53% 2704 20
True Grit Par 4.8 (1,650) -36% 2902 155
Dilemma Uni 3.4 (1,340) -40% 2545 45.7
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 3.4 (1,710) -34% 1977 95.9
The Fighter Par/Alliance 2.9 (1,730) -27% 1662 82.4
Yogi Bear WB 2.3 (1,260) -28% 1807 95.4
Tangled BV 1.8 (1,330) -28% 1369 192
127 Hours Fox Searchlight 1.4 (1,510) -36% 899 15.7
Tron: Legacy BV 1.4 (1,320) -46% 1040 168.8
Little Fockers Uni 1.2 (910) -52% 1355 146.5
Blue Valentine Weinstein Co. .79 (1,760) -33% 450 7.3
From Prada to Nada Lionsgate .69 (2,640) -38% 261 2
Biutiful Roadside .63 (3,560) 38% 177 1.4
Country Strong Sony .61 (640) -52% 948 19.8
The Company Men Weinstein Co. .55 (2,380) -17% 231 2.3
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Fox .53 (1,030) -40% 514 102.6
Gulliver’s Travels Fox .67 (1,030) -42% 495 41.14
Another Year Sony Classics .48 (2,030) 55% 236 1.7
Barney’s Version eOne/Sony Classics .43 (3,570) -13% 119 2.7
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $84.70
% Change (Last Year) -22%
% Change (Last Week) -20%
Also debuting/expanding
The Illusionist Sony Classics .19 (2,850) 46% 68 0.77
Incendies eOne/Seville .14 (3,050) 30% 47 2.8
Rabbit Hole Lionsgate .12 (890) -32% 131 1.7
What Women Want China Lion 58,900 (2,030) 29 0.06
Adele Blanc-Sec Seville 51,300 (1,900) 27 0.05
Midway to Heaven Excel 42,400 (4,240) 10 0.04
Cold Weather IFC 14,800 (14,800) 1 0.01
Troubadours PBS 13,200 (4,400) 3 0.01
Waiting Forever FreeStyle 8,700 (2,900) 3 0.01
The Other Woman IFC 5,800 (2,900) 2 0.01

Top Domestic Grossers – 2010

Distributor Gross Market Share
Paramount (7) 163.5 20.90%
Sony (7) 130.7 16.70%
Universal (4) 103.7 13.30%
Buena Vista (3) 79.6 10.20%
Warner Bros. (10) 70.1 9.00%
Weinstein Co. (3) 66.2 8.50%
Fox Searchlight (2) 55.7 7.10%
Fox (4) 45.1 5.80%
Relativity (2) 24.1 3.10%
CBS (2) 15.1 1.90%
Alliance (5) 4.9 0.60%
Other * (46) 22.3 2.90%
781 100.00%
* none greater than 0.4%

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The Weekend Report — January 16

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

Weekend Estimates – January 14-16, 2010

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
The Green Hornet Sony 33.2 (9,270) NEW 3115 33.2
Dilemma Uni 17.4 (5,910) NEW 2940 17.4
True Grit Par 10.8 (3,130) -26% 3459 126
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 9.0 (5,810) 40% 1543 44.5
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 8.0 (3,450) -1% 2328 72.9
Little Fockers Uni 7.3 (2,140) -46% 3394 134.4
Tron: Legacy BV 5.7 (2,350) -43% 2439 157
Yogi Bear WB 5.3 (1,950) -21% 2702 82
The Fighter Par/Alliance 5.1 (2,100) -28% 2414 65.7
Season of the Witch Relativity 4.5 (1,600) -57% 2827 18
Tangled BV 4.0 (1,940) -22% 2048 181
Country Strong Sony 3.6 (2,550) -51% 1424 13.2
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Fox 2.3 (1,340) -51% 1704 98
Gulliver’s Travels Fox 2.0 (1,220) -56% 1666 37.6
The Tourist Sony 1.6 (1,150) -57% 1420 64.2
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, Part 1* WB 1.4 (1,460) -42% 1507 289.8
Blue Valentine Weinstein Co. 1.4 (5,910) 93% 230 2.8
Megamind Par .62 (1,820) 125% 341 145.4
The Heart Specialist FreeStyle .48 (1,140) NEW 422 0.48
Yamla Pagla Deewana Eros .43 (5,270) NEW 82 0.43
How Do You Know Sony .41 (660) -78% 615 29.9
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $123.70
% Change (Last Year) -27%
% Change (Last Week) 15%
Also debuting/expanding
Barney’s Version * Sony Class/eOne .37 (8,270) 259% 45 0.8
Rabbit Hole Lions gate .26 (2,620) 138% 100 0.9
Somewhere Focus .25 (4,680) 52% 53 0.73
Mirapakaya Bharat .23 (8,820 26 0.13
Another Year Sony Classics .12 (9,380) 40% 13 0.34
Anaganga o Dheerudu Blue Sky 66,500 (2,290) 29 0.07
The Illusionist Sony Classics 63,400 (9,060) 92% 7 0.25
Aadukalam Big Cinemas 25,600 (4,270) 6 0.03
Kaavalan Big Cinemas 21,800 (1,680) 13 0.02
Siruthai Bharat 18,200 (2,020) 9 0.02
Every Day Image 8,800 (2,930) 3 0.01
Ong Bak 3 Magnolia 5,500 (1,830) 3 0.01
A Somewhat Gentle Man Strand 5,100 (5,100) 1 0.01

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Weekend Box Office Report –January 2

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Haply New Year

True Grit closed the gap with Little Fockers but couldn’t quite overtake the seasonal gag fest. Fockers emerged at the top of the charts with an estimated $26.2 million with Grit a trot behind at $24.5 million.

The closing frame of 2010 provided no new national releases and just two additions to the last gasp of the awards season. The searing drama Blue Valentine provided an opening weekend of $174,000 from four screens while the acclaimed Brit import Another Year bowed on six screens with $117,000.

Estimates for the year peg domestic box office at $10.52 billion, which translates into a 1.5% downturn from 2009. Admissions declined by a more sizable 7% drop largely as a result of premium pricing for 3D and large format movies. Eight of the top 10 top grossing movies of the year fell into that category and 2011 promises even more stereoscopic offerings.

Theater owners are scrambling to convert screens to digital 3D to capitalize in what no one can yet proclaim as either a temporary craze or the future of film going. The enhancements have been a finger in the dike of the eroding audience but with the arrival of 3D home entertainment this year that nagging recession may not abate. And there’s little doubt that the “windows” issue — the time between theatrical and ancillary release — will intensify with exhibition making grudging concessions that can only ramp up bad blood with major suppliers.

This year’s New Year weekend box office experienced a 13% uptick from the Christmas holiday session. However, it was 29% less fulsome than the same period last year when weekend three of Avatar grossed $68.5 million with Sherlock Holmes and Alvin: The Squeakquel adding $36.6 million and $35.2 million respectively.

Adult/awards fare, which includes The Fighter, Black Swan and The King’s Speech — all likely Oscar contenders — held their own with the holiday frivolity. That still leaves seven slots for films as diverse as Toy Story 3 and Blue Valentine in year that most film reviewers have characterized as overall sub-par.

True Grit has already become The Coen Brothers biggest grossing domestic release and actor Jeff Bridges can claim the rare distinction of having two holiday films (Grit, TRON: Legacy) that will gross in excess of $100 million. He’s easily the comeback kid in a year where seemingly more audience-friendly performers (and filmmakers) have taken it on the chin.

__________________________________________________

Weekend Estimates – December 31-January 1, 2010

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
Little Fockers Uni 26.2 (7,380) -15% 3554 103.1
True Grit Par 24.5 (7,960) -1% 3083 86.7
Tron: Legacy BV 18.4 (5,480) -4% 3365 131
Yogi Bear WB 12.6 (3,580) 62% 3515 65.7
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Fox 10.3 (3,500) 9% 2948 87
The Fighter Par/Alliance 10.0 (3,960) 32% 2534 46.4
Tangled BV 9.9 (3,820) 53% 2582 167.9
Gulliver’s Travels Fox 9.0 (2,910) 42% 3089 27.1
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 8.4 (5,420) 35% 1553 47.3
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 7.5 (10,760) 67% 700 22.7
The Tourist Sony 6.7 (2,420) 25% 2756 54.7
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, Part 1* WB 4.5 (2,580) 32% 1732 283.4
How Do You Know Sony 4.5 (1,800) 28% 2483 24.9
Megamind Par .57 (750) 56% 764 144.1
Unstoppable Fox .53 (1,180) 61% 450 79.5
The Social Network Sony .47 (1,890) 71% 249 93.2
Burlesque Sony .42 (1,270) 19% 330 37.8
Due Date WB .31 (770) 10% 404 98.8
127 Hours Fox Searchlight .27 (2,620) 42% 103 10.4
Red Summit .26 (860) 44% 303 89.5
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $153.60
% Change (Last Year) -29%
% Change (Last Week) 13%
Also debuting/expanding
Blue Valentine Weinstein Co. .17 (43,500) 4 0.27
Another Year Sony Classics .12 (19,550) 6 0.17
Somewhere Focus .14 (17,870) 20% 8 0.44
Rabbit Hole Lionsgate .13 (3,850) 52% 34 0.42
Casino Jack IDP 79,700 (4,430) 63% 18 0.23
The Illusionist Sony Classics 50,200 (16,730) 30% 3 0.13
Country Strong Sony 42,600 (21,300) 40% 2 0.12

Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)

Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Warner Bros. (30) 1900.7 18.30%
Paramount (20) 1684.9 16.20%
Fox (20) 1470.5 14.10%
Buena Vista (17) 1408.5 13.50%
Sony (26) 1258.5 12.10%
Universal (19) 844.2 8.10%
Summit (11) 522.8 5.00%
Lionsgate (16) 519.6 5.00%
Fox Searchlight (8) 119.5 1.20%
Overture (8) 87.5 0.80%
Focus (8) 75.3 0.70%
CBS (3) 72.7 0.70%
Weinstein Co. (9) 72 0.70%
Sony Classics (22) 59.7 0.60%
MGM (1) 50.4 0.50%
Other * (324) 257.5 2.50%
10404.3 100.00%
* none greater than .04%

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Weekend Estimates — January 2

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Little Fockers|26.2|-15%|103.1
True Grit|24.5|-1%|86.7
TRON: Legacy|18.4|-4%|131
Yogi Bear|12.6|62%|65.7
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|10.3|9%|87
The Fighter|10.0|32% |46.4
Tangled|9.9|53%|167.9
Gulliver’s Travels |9.0|42%|27.1
Black Swan|8.4|35%|47.3
The King’s Speech|7.5|67%|22.7

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Friday Estimates — January 1

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

True Grit|8.3|3083|74%|70.4
Little Fockers|7.7|3554|56%|84.6
TRON: Legacy|5.0|3365|26%|117.6
Yogi Bear|4.1|3515|92%|57.2
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|3.4|2948|58%|80.1
Tangled |3.4|2582|96%|161.4
Gulliver’s Travels |2.9|3089|NEW|21
The Fighter |2.7|2534|105%|39.2
The King’s Speech |2.5|700|712%|15.16
The Tourist |2.0|2756|127%|49.9
Black Swan|1.9|1553|81%|40.8
Also Debuting
Blue Valentine|42,400|4||42,400
Another Year|33,200|6||33,200
* in millions

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Weekend Box Office Report — December 26

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Grit and Bear It

Little Fockers and True Grit led the Christmas charge with respective opening debuts estimated at $34 million and $25.5 million that topped weekend movie going. The session also featured a Christmas day bow for the animated Gulliver’s Travels, which netted a two-day gross of $6.9 million.

Bollywood’s seasonal offering Tees Maar Khann rang up an impressive $700,000. However, several other Hindi, Telegu and Tamil releases were non-starters. China’s If You Are the One 2 opened up day-and-date (a first) with its Mainland release and chimed in with a potent $208,000 launch.

The frame also featured a clutch of last-minute releases for award season consideration. Best of the bunch was Venice-prized Somewhere with $148,000 from seven venues. The animated The Illusionist displayed comparable strength with a two-day tally of $52,600 on two screens and a four screen push for Barney’s Version in Canada proved effective with $64,400 (a single U.S. Oscar qualifying run was unreported). Lastly, Country Strong lilted $33,800 from two sneak peeks.

Overall the Christmas session got clobbered with calendar positioning that landed the eve on Friday (expect something similar with New Years). And while an estimated $155 million weekend provided an 11% boost from the prior weekend it translated into a pounding 45% drop from 2009. As the door quickly closes on the year, box office gross has slipped behind the prior year and admissions are approaching close to double digit erosion. A year ago Avatar’s second weekend grossed $75.6 million and debuts of Sherlock Holmes and The Alvin Squeakquel added $62.4 million and $48.9 million respectively.

All that said, tracking wasn’t exactly on target for new entries and holdovers. The third in the Fockers series was expected to render a first weekend of between $40 million and $45 million while the sophomore edition of TRON: Legacy was pegged at $25 million. Conversely True Grit outperformed pundits soothsaying that had it shy of $20 million.

Holiday crowds clearly voted for The Fighter, Black Swan and The King’s Speech as their Oscar favorites. Still there are seven additional slots to fill and the campaigning is apt to intensify in the upcoming weeks.
__________________________________________________

Weekend Estimates – December 24-26, 2010

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
Little Fockers Uni 34.0 (9,610) NEW 3536 48.2
True Grit Par 25.5 (8,360) NEW 3047 36.6
Tron: Legacy BV 20.6 (5,960) -53% 3451 88.7
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Fox 10.9 (3,240) -12% 3350 63.9
The Fighter Par/Alliance 8.6 (3,430) -29% 2511 27.7
Yogi Bear WB 8.4 (2,380) -55% 3515 36.3
Gulliver’s Travels * Fox 6.9 (2,700) NEW 2546 6.9
Tangled BV 6.7 (2,590) -24% 2582 143.8
Fox Searchlight 6.4 (4,390) -23% 1466 28.9
The Tourist Sony 5.6 (2,020) -35% 2756 41.1
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 4.6 (6,530) 317% 700 8.4
How Do You Know Sony 3.7 (1,480) -51% 2483 15.1
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1* WB 3.3 (1,920) -34% 1732 273.1
Tees Maar Khan UTV .70 (6,780) NEW 103 0.7
Due Date WB .37 (910) -71% 404 98.3
Unstoppable Fox .36 (920) -80% 393 78.5
Megamind Par .35 (460) -49% 764 142.6
Burlesque Sony .33 (660) -77% 501 36.7
The Social Network Sony .31 (1,230) 9% 249 92.3
If You Are the One 2 China Lion .21 (9,040) NEW 23 0.21
127 Hours Fox Searchlight .20 (1,720) -64% 115 9.8
* Christmas Day opening
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $145.90
% Change (Last Year) -45%
% Change (Last Week) 11%
Also debuting/expanding
Somewhere Focus .15 (21,140) 7 0.2
Rabbit Hole Lionsgate 88,700 (2,610) 65% 34 0.16
Barney’s Version eOne 64,400 (16,100) 4 0.06
Casino Jack IDP 60,500 (4,030) 75% 15 0.11
The Illusionist * Sony Classics 52,600 (26,300) 2 0.05
Country Strong Sony 33,800 (16,900) 2 0.05
The Tempest Miramax/Maple 32,700 (2,520) -44% 13 0.19
Toonpur Ka Superhero Eros 9,600 (400) 24 0.01
Isi Life Mein Rajshri 4,500 (250) 18 0.01

Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)

Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Warner Bros. (30) 1861 18.40%
Paramount (19) 1634.7 16.10%
Fox (19) 1442.4 14.20%
Buena Vista (17) 1349.1 13.30%
Sony (26) 1239.1 12.20%
Universal (18) 798.7 7.90%
Summit (11) 522.2 5.20%
Lionsgate (16) 519.3 5.10%
Fox Searchlight (8) 105 1.00%
Overture (8) 87.4 0.90%
Focus (7) 75.2 0.70%
CBS (3) 72.5 0.70%
Weinstein Co. (9) 65.5 0.60%
Sony Classics (22) 59.5 0.60%
MGM (1) 50.4 0.50%
Other * (317) 253.5 2.50%
10135.5 100.00%
* none greater than .04%

Top Limited Releases * (Jan. 1 – Dec. 23, 2010)

Title Distributor Gross
Hubble 3D WB 19,359,509
The Ghost Writer Summit 15,569,712
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Music Box/Alliance 11,287,817
The Young Victoria * Apparition/Alliance 11,131,232
127 Hours Fox Searchlight 9,321,571
Get Low Sony Classics 9,106,802
Fair Game Summit 8,650,388
A Single Man * Weinstein Co. 7,935,872
The Girl Who Played with Fire Music Box/Alliance 7,848,496
Cyrus Fox Searchlight 7,461,082
Babies Focus 7,444,272
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus E1/Sony Classics 7,394,171
Conviction Fox Searchlight 6,768,063
City Island Anchor Bay 6,671,036
The Last Station Sony Classics 6,617,867
Waiting for “Superman” Par Vantage 6,410,257
The Secret in Their Eyes Sony Classics 6,391,436
It’s Kind of a Funny Story Focus 6,362,514
Winter’s Bone Roadside Attraction 6,237,371
Under the Sea 3D * WB 5,732,362
* does not include 2009 box office

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Weekend Estimates — December 26

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

Little Fockers|34.0|NEW|48.2
True Grit|25.5|NEW|36.6
TRON: Legacy|20.6|-53%|88.7
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|10.9|-12%|63.9
The Fighter|8.6|-29% |27.7
Yogi Bear|8.4|-55%|36.3
Gulliver’s Travels *|6.9|NEW|6.9
Tangled|6.7|-24%|143.8
Black Swan|6.4|-23%|28.9
The Tourist|5.6|-35%|41.1
* Christmas Day opening

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Friday Estimates — December 25

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Little Fockers|5.0|3536|NEW|19.3
True Grit|4.8|3047|NEW|15.9
TRON: Legacy|4.0|3451|-77%|72.2
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|2.2|3350|-38%|55.3
Yogi Bear|2.1|3515|-54%|30.1
Tangled |1.8|2582|-17%|139.1
The Fighter |1.3|2511|-68%|20.3
Black Swan|1.1|1457|-58%|23.5
The Tourist |0.85|2756|-67%|36.3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1 |0.75|1732|-45%|270.6
Also Debuting
Tees Mar Khann|0.17|104||0.17
Somewhere|28,300|7||28,300
Barney’s Version|14,200|4||14,200
Country Strong|3,300|2||3,300
Toonpur Ka Superhero|2,100|24||2,100
Isi Life Mein|1,100|18||1,100
* in millions

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Weekend Box Office Report — December 19

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

Da Doo Tron Tron

TRON: Legacy commanded the multiplex with an opening salvo estimated at $43.4 million. The movie stocking was stuffed with two other new releases plus a couple of platform films that went wide to significant response.

Yogi Bear filched $16.6 million to rank second in the marketplace while the star-laden romantic comedy How Do You Know struggled to position eight with $7.5 million.

The Fighter proved itself a contender with a $12.1 gross and Black Swan spread its wings with an impressive $7.9 million. Meanwhile there were two freshmen titles tossing their hat into the ring for award season. The starkly dramatic Rabbit Hole had an encouraging $51,700 from five venues while Casino Jack failed to beat bank with $32,100 at seven tables. In Quebec, local action comedy L’Appat had a soft debut of close to $170,000.

Overall weekend revenues saw a significant boost from the early December doldrums, but couldn’t quite overtake 2009 box office when Avatar arrived at the multiplex. Friday domestic box office inched past $10 billion (4 days faster than last year) and through the weekend it stands just 1% better than at this point last year.

The current session promised an even better result than transpired with new entries appealing to different demographics. Only TRON: Legacy conformed to tracking that predicted a result between $40 million and $45 million. The 28-year hiatus from the original has allowed the 1982 movie to accrue a cult status and brought out an avid young male audience. Stereoscopic engagements accounted for an unusually strong 80% plus, though their numbers accounted for 55% of its screen count. Its ultimate potency will be determined by building a wider audience.

The animated-live action Yogi Bear was expected to gross in the low $20 million but came up short several pic-a-nic baskets. It won’t expand beyond the family market and should limp through the holiday season. How Do You Know is already hobbled and while there were low expectations of $10 million to $12 million it failed to meet an already low bar.

The session generated roughly $135 million for a 47% bump from the prior weekend but dipped 4% from 2009. Last year’s Avatar bow of $77 million led the frame with The Princess and the Frog trailing behind with $12.2 million and Did You Hear About the Morgans? limping into theaters with $6.6 million.

Black Swan shows early signs of becoming the season’s adult hit. Though the film has divided critics and the public, it has generated fierce debate that’s translated into sales … an asset in short supply for the likes of such films as 127 Hours and Fair Game. The Fighter, while not a knockout, looks likely to get traction from awards season recognition in a race that seems — despite already announced critics awards and the Golden Globe announcement — a bit amorphous.

__________________________________________________

Weekend Estimates – December 17-19, 2010

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
Tron: Legacy BV 43.4 (12,580) NEW 3451 43.4
Yogi Bear WB 16.6 (4,710) NEW 3515 16.6
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader Fox 12.5 (3,530) -48% 3555 42.9
The Fighter Par 12.1 (4,850) 2503 12.6
Tangled BV 8.7 (2,720) -39% 3201 127.9
The Tourist Sony 8.4 (3,040) -49% 2756 30.5
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 7.9 (8,260) 140% 959 15.3
How Do You Know Sony 7.5 (3,030) NEW 2483 7.5
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1* WB 4.8 (1,690) -43% 2860 265.5
Unstoppable Fox 1.8 (980) -51% 1874 77.4
Burlesque Sony 1.3 (880) -58% 1510 35.4
Due Date WB 1.2 (1,060) -52% 1157 97.3
Love and Other Drugs Fox 1.1 (970) -64% 1093 30.2
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. 1.1 (24,880) 81% 43 2.9
Megamind Par .69 (680) -73% 1025 141.6
127 Hours Fox Searchlight .51 (1,660) -49% 307 9.3
Faster CBS .41 (620) -76% 660 22.5
Red Summit .31 (710) -28% 439 88.4
The Social Network Sony .29 (1,270) 2% 228 91.9
Fair Game Summit .23 (860) -59% 268 8.7
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $129.60
% Change (Last Year) -4%
% Change (Last Week) 47%
Also debuting/expanding
L’Appat Alliance .17 (2,350) 72 0.17
I Love You Phillip Morris Roadside .14 (2,830) -10% 49 0.51
The Tempest Miramax/Maple 52,400 (2,490) 22% 21 0.12
Rabbit Hole Lionsgate 51,700 (10,320) 5 0.05
Casino Jack IDP 32,100 (4,440) 7 0.03
La Rafle Seville 28,200 (2,170) 13 0.03

Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 16, 2010)

Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Warner Bros. (29) 1837.8 18.40%
Paramount (19) 1622.6 16.20%
Fox (19) 1427.1 14.30%
Buena Vista (16) 1296.2 13.00%
Sony (25) 1221.2 12.20%
Universal (18) 798.5 8.00%
Summit (11) 521.7 5.20%
Lionsgate (15) 518.9 5.20%
Fox Searchlight (8) 96.1 1.00%
Overture (8) 87.3 0.90%
Focus (7) 75.2 0.70%
CBS (3) 72.1 0.70%
Weinstein Co. (9) 64.5 0.60%
Sony Classics (22) 59.4 0.60%
MGM (1) 50.4 0.50%
Other * (315) 251.4 2.50%
10000.4 100.00%
* none greater than .04%

Top Domestic Grossers * (Jan. 1 – Dec. 16, 2010)

Title Distributor Gross
Avatar * Fox 476,899,300
Toy Story 3 BV 415,071,937
Alice in Wonderland BV 334,191,110
Iron Man 2 Par 312,445,596
Twilight: Eclipse Summit 300,551,386
Inception WB 292,485,544
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 WB 260,701,257
Despicable Me Uni 250,322,315
Shrek Forever After Par 238,667,087
How to Train Your Dragon Par 218,685,707
The Karate Kid Sony 176,797,997
Clash of the Titans WB 163,214,888
Grown Ups Sony 162,171,789
Megamind Par 140,950,962
The Last Airbender Par 131,733,601
Shutter Island Par 128,051,522
The Other Guy Sony 119,534,389
Tangled BV 119,142,932
Salt Sony 118,485,665
Jackass 3D Par 116,857,736
* does not include 2009 box office

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Weekend Estimates — December 19

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

TRON: Legacy|43.4|NEW|43.4
Yogi Bear|16.6|NEW|16.6
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|12.5|-48%|42.9
The Fighter|12.1|NEW |12.6
Tangled|8.7|-39%|127.9
The Tourist|8.4|-49%|30.5
Black Swan|7.9|140%|15.3
How Do You Know|7.5|NEW|7.5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1|8.6|-50%|257.8
Unstoppable|1.8|-51%|77.4

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Friday Estimates — December 18

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

TRON: Legacy|17.1|3451|NEW|17.1
Yogi Bear|4.6|3515|NEW|4.6
The Fighter |3.8|2503|3748%|4.2
Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|3.5|3555|-57%|33.9
How Do You Know|2.5|2483|NEW|2.5
The Tourist |2.5|2756|-59%|24.6
Black Swan|2.4|959|142%|9.8
Tangled |2.1|3201|-38%|121.3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1 |1.3|2860|-47%|261.2
Unstoppable|0.55|1874|-54%|76.1
Also Debuting
L’Appat|50,800|68||50,800
Rabbit Hole|15,300|5||15,300
Casino Jack|8,300|7||8,300
La Rafle|5,700|13||5,700
* in millions

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Golden Globe Nominations Reactions

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

“A lot of tequila will run in our veins tonight.”
– Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of Biutiful

“To be selected with these extraordinary nominees is an honor and, boy, was I ready for some good news!”
– Michael Douglas, star of  Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

“There will be a lot of ballet jokes. Last night Letterman made fun of the film. I think he said, ‘If you don’t want to celebrate Christmas, you can go see two Jewish girls make out.’”
– Darren Aronofsky, director of Black Swan

“This nomination is an honor and I am thrilled to share it with my friend, my co-conspirator, and my favorite dance partner, Ryan Gosling. Thank you so much to The Hollywood Foreign Press, The Weinstein Company and of course to the inestimable Derek Cianfrance, whose vision led and sustained us all.”
-Michelle Williams, star of Blue Valentine

“I never lost the sight of the fact that this was about real person, and I was so appreciative that the material brought on the talent it did like Christian (Bale) and Amy (Adams),” he said. “It mirrors my family is many ways. Of course it takes a very special person to choose fighting and a lot of time fighting chooses them. After doing this film and going through the training I definitely have new respect for Mickey (Ward) and what his family went through.”
– Mark Wahlberg, star of The Fighter

“I think in Australia, because I’ve been around for 48 years, people think of me as a piece of old comfortable furniture. And now suddenly  foreigners like me.”
– Jacki Weaver, star of Animal Kingdom

“Working on Winter’s Bone with such talented people was an incredible experience, and never did I dream that it would lead to this moment. I’m so proud of this movie and words can’t describe being in the company of these extraordinary actresses. ‘Thank you,’ is the best I can do right now.”
– Jennifer Lawrence, star of Winter’s Bone

“I can remember when I found out that I had been nominated for ‘The Full Monty’ I was clearing cat sick off the floor. I really must get a more glamorous life one of these days.”
— Simon Beaufoy , 127 Hours screenwriter

“What an exciting morning for our film, especially when you consider what a terrific year it was for movies.  Thank you Hollywood Foreign Press Association for this honor and also for recognizing Mark, Melissa, Christian and David’s great work.  I am deeply proud of the film and to be honored for it is icing on the cake.”
– Amy Adams, star of The Fighter

“I am absolutely thrilled with all the nominations for The King Speech and hugely grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press.  I am so delighted for our entire cast, composer, Alexandre and for David Seidler whose journey towards making this film started as a small boy listening to King George VI on the radio.  I am so grateful to my extraordinary cast and crew for helping to bring this unlikely story of friendship to life.  Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press for supporting our film and making me very happy at 2:00 in the morning in Melbourne, Australia!”
-Tom Hooper, director of The King’s Speech

“I’m very happy to get a nomination for The King’s Speech on the eve of my daughter’s birthday, it means I get a prezzie as well. If it reminds any producer, director, writer in the profession that I’m alive and kicking and available for work, then job well done. Thank you Hollywood Foreign Press and everyone that made me look good in The King’s Speech.”
-Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech

“It is so thrilling to be nominated with such great people. Its Disney’s 50th animated film, my 10th Disney musical and it feels like my first time all over again!” 
– Alan Menken, nominated for Best Song for Tangled

“This film’s been a fighter from the start to finish, from the true story of Micky Ward’s struggle to find himself and become a champion, to Mark Wahlberg’s struggle to get this movie made, to the scrappy way we made the film in 33 days, to the actors who took on the roles with a ferocity that is not to be matched. I’m grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press, and our producers, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Ryan Kavanaugh, Relativity, and Paramount for believing in our story.”
– David O. Russell, director of The Fighter

“Tangled has been a labor of love since its beginning, and the passion and dedication of our crew shows in every frame,” commented director Byron Howard.  Director Nathan Greno adds, “It’s a true highpoint in our careers to have Tangled acknowledged by the Hollywood Foreign Press. The nomination is a real thrill and an incredible way to honor Walt Disney Animation’s 50th feature film.”
– Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, directors of Tangled 

“You don’t expect late in your career to actually meet somebody that you form a very strong friendship and bond with. Which certainly happened with me and Colin [Firth] and Tom [Hooper]. It’s a rather embarrassing triumvirate of man love.”
– Geoffrey Rush, star of The King’s Speech

“I’ve had the time of my life working alongside my colleagues on The Social Network and I’m grateful to the HFPA for recognizing their great, hard work. On a personal note it’s humbling to be nominated alongside six of the best screenwriters in town.” 
– Aaron Sorkin, screenplay for The Social Network

“The category is insane. It’s, like, what the hell is going on here?”
— Emma Stone , star of Easy A
 
 

 

“It is an incredible honor and joy to be embraced with such warmth and appreciation by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the work and sacrifices we made on I AM LOVE.  I am humbled that in Hollywood and America in general – as well as the international community – this film has enjoyed an acclaimed and embraced theatrical release. It is truly unexpected and further strengthens my belief in the power of the language of film.   I celebrate this amazing result by thanking my partners in First Sun, all my producers and of course with my wonderful star Tilda Swinton.  Thank you.”
-Luca Guadagnino, director of I Am Love

 “I couldn’t be more thrilled for my colleagues that we were recognized so richly this morning.  Huge thanks to the HFPA for a big vote of confidence in our film — we’re very grateful and very honored.”

– Scott Rudin, producer of The Social Network
“A huge thank you to the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. I am thrilled and extremely grateful that ‘The Social Network’ has been acknowledged. I am eternally grateful to David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin for creating a film of which we are all so proud.”
– Dana Brunetti, producer of The Social Network
 
 

 

“It was an honor to be part of this wonderful movie and we’re so glad it was acknowledged by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.”
– Jesse Eisenberg, star of The Social Network

“I’m very touched to have been nominated by the HFPA this morning and am thrilled that The Social Network has been recognized, as well as David, Aaron, Jesse and Trent. The process of Making this movie was an incredibly creative and joyous experience and to see the film honored in this way is truly a thrill and is something for which I’m very grateful.”
– Andrew Garfield, star of The Social Network

“We are incredibly flattered by the recognition we’re receiving for our work scoring The Social Network.  Working with David Fincher and his team ranks among the most rewarding creative experiences either of us have experienced, and we are thankful for the opportunity.  Being part of a team and watching a project you truly believe in resonate with the outside world is its own reward, but this feels pretty great, too.”
– Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, nominated for The Social Network

“I went out and had my late-night supper as I’m doing a play here [Diary of a Madmen] in Sydney and then experienced the curious phenomena of not being able to connect to the Internet. I was in a complete technological funk — I couldn’t get onto the wifi at my hotel, I couldn’t find a TV channel that was broadcasting the announcements, so my 15-year-old son in Melbourne was holding his phone to the television there to get the information. [The nomination news] was a kind of dad-and-son thing, which is really quite nice. It’s 1:45 a.m. And I should be out clubbing but I have to get to sleep now as I have a matinee tomorrow … We just took [The King’s Speech] from square one and tried to make it as vivid and as lively and as intriguing as we possibly could and that seems to be radiating out to the office, which is great.”
– Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

“Just a few weeks ago I didn’t know if this movie was going to come out. It’s just a testament to just hold on. You never know what’s right around the corner. None of us gave up hope on it. We just believed that eventually it would find its way. I know I held onto that thought. And look what happened. It’s finding its way. There are amazing women out there, and I just wish that some of these women were in movies that were bigger. Somebody brought it to my attention the other day that all the big movies have great parts for men, but where are the women? The women are in the smaller, independent, more boutique movies. And that’s okay because at least we’re there. I hope people will make an effort and get to see them.”
– Halle Berry, star of Frankie and Alice

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Weekend Box Office Report — December 12

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Weekend Estimates – December 10-12, 2010

Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume
Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader Fox 24.3 (6,840) NEW 3555 24.3
The Tourist Sony 16.8 (6,110) NEW 2756 16.8
Tangled BV 14.4 (4,040) -33% 3565 115.5
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 1* WB 8.6 (2,400) -50% 3577 257.8
Unstoppable Fox 3.7 (1,260) -37% 2967 74.3
Black Swan Fox Searchlight 3.4 (37,778) 134% 90 5.7
Burlesque Sony 3.2 (1,120) -48% 2876 32.6
Love and Other Drugs Fox 3.0 (1,330) -48% 2240 27.6
Due Date WB 2.5 (1,260) -39% 1990 94.9
Megamind Par 2.5 (1,020) -50% 2425 140.2
Faster CBS 1.7 (820) -56% 2106 21.3
The Next Three Days Lionsgate 1.0 (720) -60% 1426 20.3
127 Hours Fox Searchlight 1.0 (2,360) -39% 416 8.2
The Warrior’s Way Relativity .91 (560) -70% 1622 4.9
The King’s Speech Weinstein Co. .58 (30,530) 78% 19 1.5
Fair Game Summit .55 (1,260) -43% 436 8.2
Morning Glory Par .51 (510) -70% 1004 30.2
Red Summit .41 (730) -45% 564 87.9
The Fighter Par .33 (81,850) NEW 4 0.33
The Social Network Sony .27 (1,190) -35% 227 91.4
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $88.65
% Change (Last Year) -5%
% Change (Last Week) 9%
Also debuting/expanding
No Problem Eros .20 (2,400) 84 0.2
I Love You Phillip Morris Roadside .16 (4,490) 39% 35 0.31
The Tempest Miramax 44,700 (8,940) 5 0.04
Band Baaja Baaraat Yash Raj 43,700 (1,370) 32 0.04
Hemingway’s Garden of Eden Roadside 11,600 (830) 14 0.01
And Everything is Doing Fine IFC 6,400 (6,400) 1 0.01
You Won’t Miss Me Factory 25 4,200 (4,200) 1 0.01
Love, In Between CJ Entertainment 2,600 (2,600) 1 0.01

Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 – Dec. 9, 2010)

Distributor (releases) Gross Market Share
Warner Bros. (28) 1821.5 18.40%
Paramount (18) 1617.9 16.40%
Fox (18) 1387.3 14.10%
Buena Vista (16) 1277.9 12.90%
Sony (24) 1193.7 12.10%
Universal (18) 798.1 8.10%
Summit (11) 520.3 5.30%
Lionsgate (15) 517.1 5.20%
Fox Searchlight (8) 89.3 0.90%
Overture (8) 85.9 0.90%
Focus (7) 75.2 0.80%
CBS (3) 69.6 0.70%
Weinstein Co. (8) 63.6 0.60%
Sony Classics (22) 59.1 0.60%
MGM (1) 50.4 0.50%
Other * (306) 249.5 2.50%
9876.4 100.00%
* none greater than .04%

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Weekend Estimates — December 12

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|24.3|NEW|24.3
The Tourist|16.8|NEW |16.8
Tangled|14.4|-33%|115.5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1|8.6|-50%|257.8
Unstoppable|6.1|-47%|68.9
Black Swan|3.4|134%|5.7
Burlesque|3.2|-48%|32.6
Love and Other Drugs|3.0|-48%|27.6
Due Date|2.5|-39%|94.9
Megamind|2.5|-50%|140.2

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Friday Estimates — December 11

Saturday, December 11th, 2010

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader|8.1|3555|NEW|8.1
The Tourist |6.1|2756|NEW|6.1
Tangled |3.3|3565|-35%|104.4
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1 |2.4|3577|-50%|251.6
Unstoppable|1.2|2967|-38%|71.7
Burlesque|1|2876|-48%|30.4
Love and Other Drugs|1|2240|-49%|25.7
Black Swan|1|90|137%|3.3
Due Date |0.85|1990|-39%|93.2
Megamind|0.55|2425|-54%|138.2
Also Debuting
The Fighter |98,500|4||98,500
No Problem|56,700|84||56,700
The Tempest|15,400|5||15,400
Band Baaja Baaraat|10,600|32||10,600
Hemingway’s Garden of Eden|3,500|14||3,500
And Everything is Doing Fine|1,900|1||1,900
You Won’t Miss Me|1,500|1||1,500
* in millions

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