Posts Tagged ‘The Devil’s Advocate’

Jackal Opens at Number One

Monday, November 17th, 1997

Got a lot of challenges to my box office prognostication throne this week, but all things considered, I don’t think anyone knocked me off the hill. Aaron Simpson did predict that The Jackal would be the top picture, but he got sucked into The Hollywood Reporter’s vortex of over-expectation, guessing at a $23 million opening. Jackal ended up taking first with just $15.6 million, much closer to my $14 million guess. Starship Troopers dropped off the face of the earth, losing 55 percent in week two to take second with $10.2 million. In third, The Little Mermaid did as Master Wok predicted, taking in $10.2 million. Marc Andreyko‘s prediction that Mermaid would come in first was under the sea.
The middle of the chart held no surprises with Bean coming fourth with $8 million. The Man Who Knew Too Little did too little business: just $4.7 million for fifth. The Horror Movie Formerly Known As “From The Makers Of Scream” (IKWYDLS) continued at a normal pace, slicing another $4.1 million off the box office pig for sixth. The Devil’s Advocate did $3.6 million for seventh. And Red Corner, about China and not a neighborhood in hell, grabbed $2.6 million for eighth.
My first surprise was that Mad City dropped so rapidly — more than 50 percent to disappear from the Top Ten in just its second week. Boogie Nights took ninth with a 33 percent drop to $2.6 million. And Eve’s Bayou, the little movie that could, stayed in the picture with $2.5 million for tenth.
One of the most contested of my predictions, a weak opening for One Night Stand, came true. The film ended up with just over 400 screens and not the 800 originally reported, probably due to multi-plexes finding room for Starship Troopers and three big new films. Soft reviews would seem likely to make this poor showing a trend for ONS’s future. New Line must be hoping that Mortal Kombat: Annihilation opens big, because if they thought the reviews for ONS were bad, just wait for these!
Any box office questions? E-mail them to me.

The Big Noise Starts this Weekend with Starship Troopers

Friday, November 7th, 1997

Twenty-five million is my estimate. A big number, but doable. Even surpassable. With all the people going to genre movies (see slots three, five and seven), the stage is set for this one, by far the biggest, brashest entry in the category since Men In Black last July. There are some worries about Bean stealing some of Troopers’ opening thunder, but I see these as separate audiences. I think Bean will open around $10 million, with longer legs than Troopers, but a far less explosive impact.
The numbers amongst the holdovers should make them look a bit like leftovers. With 30 percent drops, look for I Know What You Did Last Summer to pass the $50 million mark with $6.6 million, Red Corner to take fourth with $5.2 million, and The Devil’s Advocate to hit fifth, also with about $5.2 million.
Boogie Nights should drop modestly (gambling on you guys again), about 20 percent to $3.7 million for sixth place. Seven Years In Tibet finally hits the seventh slot with a 30 percent drop to $2.3 million. Fairy Tale: A Running Gag should drop about 25 percent to $2.2 million for eighth spot. Kiss The Girls may finally get slashed with a 40 percent drop to $2.1 million for ninth. And Gattaca may actually pass the magical $10 million mark adding another $1.6 million to it’s take for tenth.
Think you have a clearer view of the future? E-mail me.

Not Many Surprises at the Weekend Box Office

Monday, October 20th, 1997

At least not for me. Despite the big names (Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves) and big publicity push, The Devil’s Advocate came in just an OK second, conjuring up $12.2 million. The good news is, it may be another Pacino scenery-chewing camp classic. The easy winner of the weekend was teen horror romp I Know What You Did Last Summer with a ripping $16.1 million. Despite a last-minute agreement by Sony not to abuse the “from the makers of Scream” tag, their marketing department grabbed teen attention with big ad buys and clever gimmick promos, like a two-minute “special preview” hosted by Sarah Michelle Gellar during last week’s episode of her WB series, “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.” The only other wide release, Playing God, caught me once again overestimating the drawing power of non-movie star celebrities. Last week, it was Tupac. This week it’s Mr. Duchovny’s Doofus, which I predicted would reach fifth, but came in tenth with a weak $2 million.
The strength of the new product damaged the returning hits a little more than expected. Kiss The Girls ($7 million) and Seven Years in Tibet ($6.5 million) both dropped a little over 35 percent from last weekend. In & Out passed the $50 million mark in its fifth week, pulling in $3.9 million to become one of only two returnees in the Top 10 to drop less than 30 percent. Soul Food is now leftovers, dropping over 35 percent to $3.5 million for sixth place. Rocketman went according to plan, dropping to earth with $3 million on its way out of the Top 10. The Peacemaker is suffering nuclear fallout, dropping a substantial 44 percent to take eighth with $2.8 million. And in ninth, L.A. Confidential quietly dropped 27 percent, adding another $2.7 million to its haul.
In other box office news, the magnificent Boogie Nights, now in a 30-screen limited release in 13 cities, pulled in a throbbing $27,016 per screen over the weekend, compared to averages around $6000 a screen for this weekend’s top two hits. Boogie Nights won’t be in a theater near you, unless you are very lucky, until October 31. Hopefully, this won’t lead to flaccid box office the way it did for the also-excellent L.A. Confidential.
So, have you listened to my ringing endorsements? Have you seen L.A. Confidential yet? Email me and let me know what you think.

Hollywood Makes Bizarre Bedfellows

Friday, October 17th, 1997

As Miramax was busy suing Sony over their use of “from the creator of Scream” to sell I Know What You Did Last Summer, they were bidding to win the rights to make the tri-quel to The Terminator following T-2, one of Sony’s biggest hits ever. Speaking of hits, I expect the aforementioned next spoke on the Kevin Williamson Scream-cicle (really cycle, but it doesn’t sound as cool), to win the weekend, stealing The Devil’s Advocates soul. Both films could cross the $12 million barrier, though Last Summer could be the first really big opening of the fall and toy with the $20 million mark.
The only other wide opening is Fox Mulder in Playing God, which I see as the number five finisher with about $5 million. Outside of that, it should be a pretty standard weekend of slowly-dropping fortunes. In third place, look for Seven Years In Tibet to drop about 25 percent to $7.5 million after word gets out that Brad’s hair bleach is more consistent than his Germanic accent. Kiss The Girls should take its first deep cut (20 percent off for $7.2 million) opposite genre openings Devil and Summer
The Second Five should be headed up by In & Out, retaking a lead on Soul Food and passing the $50 million mark with a 30 percent drop to $3.8 million. Soul Food may be getting a little stale, taking sixth with a 35 percent drop to $3.65 million. Also taking the 35 percent hit, Dreamworks first effort, The Peacemaker is about ready to drop it’s load on Europe, shooting for seventh spot and another $3.4 million. Disney’s implosion-on-the-launch-pad, Rocketman, will do well to drop just 30 percent and take ninth with $3.1 million in just it’s second (and kid competition-free, I might add) weekend. In the 10 Spot, L.A. Confidential, making it’s likely last stand in the Top 10 with a 20 percent drop to $2.9 million. It’s been fun trying to get people to see you, boys. It’s hush, hush for now.
Last week, my predictions were challenged. Come on, I can take it! Email me!

Kiss The Girls was the surprise of the weekend

Monday, October 13th, 1997

Kiss The Girls was the surprise of the weekend, holding onto the top spot with $11.1 million. Dropping just 16 percent is an extraordinary accomplishment for any wide release, much less a thriller. Then again, it’s clearly Adult Time at the box office, with Seven Years In Tibet (second place: $10 million), Soul Food (third: $5.4 million) and In & Out (fourth: $5.3 million) topping the chart. The only true kids’ film out there, Rocket Man, opened weakly, in sixth place with just $4.4 million.
Seven Years (Do you think it was Eight Years before Pitt got involved?) had a per-screen average of just $4,755, which doesn’t bode well for the future of Time Magazine’s Sexiest Film Alive. I’ve been touting Soul Food as a possible ethnic crossover film for weeks, but Fox has now decided to go the other way, launching a “You go, girl!” campaign, assuring that Soul Food will be a happy cable surprise to the bulk of white audiences. And In & Out will have to wait until next weekend to pass the magic (for the fall season, at least) $50 million mark.
Rounding out the Top 10 were: The Peacemaker in fifth with $5.2 million; L.A. Confidential dropping to seventh with $3.7; The Edge in eighth with $3.3; Most Wanted — my one dead-on estimate — grossing $3 for ninth spot; and Gang Related, proving to be the made-for-cable movie it was meant to be (and should have stayed, out of respect to Tupac), taking 10 with just $2.5 million.
Strong competition on the top of the charts this Friday, with The Devil’s Advocate and I Know What You Did Last Summer hitting tons of screens. More about that on Friday.
Reader RJW2000 emailed to challenge my box office predictions. His Top 5: Most Wanted ($10m), Soul Food ($6m), Kiss The Girls ($5m), L.A. Confidential ($3.5m) and Seven Years In Tibet ($2m), He added, “I bet a million dollars Seven Years does not come in first, let alone take in double digits!” You owe Morgan Freeman big time, since he saved you a million bucks. Keenen!
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