Posts Tagged ‘The Town’
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Jack’use!
Jackass 3D was better than all right with an estimated $49.3 million that easily ranked it at the top of the weekend movie going charts. Another freshman, the seasoned action-comedy Red, ranked second with $21.9 million. The session’s third national debut in medium-wide release was the inspirational N Secure with an OK $133,000 bow.
Among niche and regional bows the polemical documentary I Want Your Money failed to bring out the vote with a $236,000 tally from 537 screens. Telegu-language Brindaavanam rang up an impressive $10,320 average from 20 venues while Bollywood entry Aakrosh was a washout with a $46,400 gross from 24 screens.
Among the week’s exclusive newbies the clear favorite was Hereafter with a $37,380 per screen from six early peeks. There were also impressive openings for the three-hour plus portrait of a terrorist Carlos of $33,700 from single dates in Manhattan and Montreal and a sturdy $101,000 gross for the ripped from the headlines Conviction at 11 cells.
Overall weekend box office revenues topped $130 million for a sizeable 42% boost from seven days back. However, it fell 4% below last year’s tally and the 2010 box office has shrunk to just 2% better than the prior year’s gross for the same period.
Industry trackers had pegged the stereoscopic version of Jackass at roughly $30 million prior to its opening. But they obviously were deaf to bygone wag Henry Mencken’s observation that “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” The recently under-served young male audience were eager to don Polaroid glasses and see the aging stars of the reality skein making fools of themselves and others up close and personal.
Pundits also undervalued Red with early estimates in a $15 million to $18 million range. The single joke premise of over the hill spies conscripted back into service (more intentionally mawkish than The Expendables) skewed older but obviously had some appeal for a younger crowd in search of something marginally less mind numbing that required optical gimmicks.
The glacial expansion of Waiting for “Superman” continued to display stamina but it’s clear that Never Let Me Go has peaked and that the rapid expansion of Nowhere Boy left the early years of John Lennon stranded outside the Cavern Club. Stone was experiencing a better than expected hold as it increased its exposure from six to 41 venues.
The frame’s two award contenders – Hereafter and Conviction – constructed solid foundations for their platform bids. Still the early signs suggest a better than anticipated commercial run for the former with the latter yarn requiring a lot of TLC to reach a wider audience.
Among holdovers the second lap for Secretariat showed signs that audiences were discovering the heartfelt saga and The Social Network continues to be propped up by award buzz rather than Facebook fascination.
__________________________________________________
Weekend Estimates – October 15-17, 2010
| Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
| Jackass 3D |
Par |
49.3 (16,010) |
New |
3081 |
49.3 |
| Red |
Summit |
21.9 (6,740) |
New |
3255 |
21.8 |
| The Social Network |
Sony |
10.8 (3,910) |
-30% |
2771 |
63 |
| Secretariat |
BV |
9.4 (3,070) |
-26% |
3072 |
27.4 |
| Life As We Know It |
WB |
9.2 (2,910) |
-37% |
3150 |
28.8 |
| Legend of the Guardians |
WB |
4.2 (1,670) |
-39% |
2502 |
46 |
| The Town |
WB |
4.0 (1,700) |
-37% |
2368 |
80.6 |
| My Soul to Take |
Uni/Alliance |
3.1 (1,240) |
-54% |
2529 |
11.9 |
| Easy A |
Sony |
2.6 (1,140) |
-39% |
2314 |
52.3 |
| Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps |
Fox |
2.3 (1,110) |
-50% |
2045 |
47.8 |
| N Secure |
FreeStyle |
1.3 (2,730) |
New |
486 |
1.3 |
| It’s Kind of a Funny Story |
Focus |
1.3 (1,660) |
-38% |
757 |
4 |
| You Again |
BV |
1.2 (750) |
-53% |
1588 |
22.7 |
| Case 39 |
Par Vantage |
1.2 (840) |
-56% |
1406 |
11.9 |
| Devil |
Uni |
1.0 (1,100) |
-46% |
891 |
31.6 |
| Let Me In |
Overture |
.83 (690) |
-66% |
1211 |
11.1 |
| Alpha and Omega |
Lions Gate |
.81 (840) |
-46% |
969 |
22.6 |
| Waiting for “Superman” |
Par Vantage |
.74 (4,060) |
17% |
182 |
2.5 |
| Toy Story 3 |
BV |
.52 (1,480) |
-6% |
350 |
412.8 |
| Inception |
WB |
.35 (1,180) |
-29% |
297 |
289.7 |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
.34 (780) |
-73% |
438 |
59.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$125.70 |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Year) |
|
-4% |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Week) |
|
42% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
| Nowhere Boy |
Weinstein Co. |
.33 (1,550) |
554% |
215 |
0.41 |
| Never Let Me Go |
Searchlight |
.32 (1,390) |
-7% |
232 |
1.65 |
| You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger |
Sony Classics |
.27 (2,440) |
1% |
112 |
1.26 |
| I Want Your Money |
FreeStyle |
.24 (440) |
|
537 |
0.24 |
| Stone |
Overture |
.23 (5,780) |
199% |
41 |
0.34 |
| Hereafter |
WB |
.22 (37,380) |
|
6 |
0.22 |
| Brindaavanam |
Blue Sky |
.21 (10,320) |
|
20 |
0.21 |
| Buried |
Lions Gate |
.13 (1,270) |
-41% |
103 |
0.76 |
| Conviction |
Fox Searchlight |
.10 (9,200) |
|
11 |
0.1 |
| Aakrosh |
Eros |
46,400 (1,930) |
|
24 |
0.05 |
| Carlos |
IFC |
33,700 (16,850) |
|
1 |
0.03 |
| Knockout |
Eros |
18,100 (700) |
|
26 |
0.02 |
| A Better Tomorrow |
CJ Entertainment |
5,800 (5,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
| Down Terrace |
Magnolia |
2,900 (1,450) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
| Samson and Delilah |
Ipix |
2,300 (1,150) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – October 14, 2010
| Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
| Warner Bros. (24) |
1380.1 |
16.40% |
| Fox (16) |
1284.6 |
15.30% |
| Paramount (14) |
1242.3 |
14.80% |
| Buena Vista (15) |
1129.6 |
13.40% |
| Sony (23) |
1111.7 |
13.20% |
| Universal (17) |
765.4 |
9.10% |
| Summit (9) |
425.1 |
5.10% |
| Lionsgate (12) |
410.1 |
4.90% |
| Overture (7) |
78.2 |
0.90% |
| Fox Searchlight (5) |
72.1 |
0.90% |
| Focus (7) |
71.4 |
0.90% |
| Weinstein Co. (7) |
61.1 |
0.70% |
| Sony Classics (20) |
52.9 |
0.60% |
| MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.60% |
| CBS (2) |
50 |
0.60% |
| Other * (266) |
222.3 |
2.60% |
|
8407.3 |
100.00% |
| * none greater than .04% |
Tags: A Better Tomorrow, Aakrosh, Alpha and Omega, Brindaavanam, Buried, carlos, Case 39, Conviction, Devil, down terrace, Easy A, Hereafter, I Want Your Money, Inception, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, jackass 3-d, Jackass 3D, Knockout, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, Life As We Know It, My Soul To Take, N Secure, Never Let Me Go, Nowhere Boy, Red, Resident Evil: Afterlife, samson and delilah, Secretariat, Stone, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, Waiting For 'Superman', Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Walt Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 1 Comment »
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Jackass 3D|49.3|New| 49.3
Red|21.9|New |21.9
The Social Network|10.8|-30%|63
Secretariat|9.4|-26%|27.4
Life As We Know It|9.2|-37%|28.8
Legend of the Guardians|4.2|-39%|46
The Town|4.0|-37%|80.6
My Soul to Take|3.1|-54%|11.9
Easy A|2.6|-39%| 52.3
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|2.3|-50%|47.8
Tags: Easy A, jackass 3-d, Legend of the Guardians, Life As We Know It, My Soul To Take, Red, Secretariat, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates – October 17
Saturday, October 16th, 2010
Jackass 3D|20.4|3081|New|20.4
Red|8 |3255|New|8
The Social Network|3.3|2868|-31%|55.4
Life As We Know It|3|3150|-42%|22.7
Secretariat|2.9|3072|-29%|20.9
The Town|1.2|2368|-34%|77.7
Legend of the Guardians|1|2502|-42%|42.8
My Soul to Take|1|2529|-63%|9.7
Easy A|0.8|2314|-38%|50.5
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|0.7|2045|-49%|46.3
Also Debuting
N Secure|0.42|486||0.42
I Want Your Money|83,400|537||83,400
Brindaavanam|59,300|20||59,300
Hereafter|57,900|6||57,900
Conviction|29,100|11||29,100
Aakrosh|12,300|24||12,300
Carlos|6,900|1||6,900
Knockout|4,800|6||4,800
Vision|3,900|2||3,900
A Better Tomorrow|1,900|1||1,900
||||
*in millions|||
Tags: carlos, Conviction, Easy A, Hereafter, Jackass 3D, Legend of the Guardians, Life As We Know It, My Soul to Tak, Red, Secretariat, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – October 16
Monday, October 11th, 2010
Tags: 127 Hours, Another Year, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Everything You've Got, Fair Game, For Colored Girls, Get Low, Hereafter, Inception, Love and Other Drugs, Made in Dagenham, Never Let Me Go, Rabbit Hole, Secretariat, Shutter Island, Somewhere, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Town, The Tree of Life, the way back, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Waiting For 'Superman', Winter's Bone
Posted in Awards Update, Awards Watch, Gurus o' Gold, MCN Originals, Movie City News | 15 Comments »
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
Nobody Nose Anything
The Social Network surprised pundits with a better than expected hold and won the weekend movie going chase with an estimated $15.3 million. Three national debs were on its tail with lackluster returns. The rom-com Life As We Know It faltered in the clutch with $14.6 million while the much ballyhooed turf saga Secretariat posted $12.4 million, and there was a lack of stereoscopic shock for My Soul to Take with $6.9 million.
There was also a lack of oomph for the comic oddity It’s Kind of a Funny Story with $2 million tally-woo from 742 engagements.
In the niches Telegu-language Khaleja had a buoyant bow of $343,000 from 24 screens and OK returns of $72,700 for French thriller L’Immortel in Quebec. There were also a raft of exclusive bows with Darwinian winners that included the young John Lennon of Nowhere Boy grossing $51,300 at four venues, the squeezed of non-fiction Inside Job with $37,500 at two interviews and psychological thriller Stone with $71,400 from six couches.
Overall business once again took a dip with 2010 box office now less than 2% ahead of last year’s pace and industry mavens sweating out a quick reversal of fortune.
Tracking reports had pegged the uplifting tale of racing Triple Crowner Secretariat as the weekend’s odds-on favorite with estimates in the range of $16 million to $18 million. But its appeal to women and an older demo that remembered the four-legged wonder of the early 1970s failed to bring ‘em out in its maiden performance despite a considerable marketing push.
Life As We Know It was expected to be about a length behind Secretariat but pulled ahead right from the opening gate. It opened ahead of the pack on Friday with a $5.2 million bow but quickly lost ground to The Social Network as the weekend advanced.
And My Soul to Take fell smack in the middle of estimates in the $6 million to $8 million range. All three of the newbies skewed toward distaff viewers and there’s little question the marketplace is in dire need of something for the boys.
Weekend revenues pushed to roughly $92 million that represented a 4% dip from seven days back. It was a considerably steeped 16% fall from 2009 when the launch of Couples Retreat topped the charts on a $34.3 million first salvo.
On the expansion track, the “what’s wrong with our education” doc Waiting for “Superman” is holding up well and Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger continues to draw in aficionados. But the dour Never Let Me Go appears to have peaked early in the awards season. Among the new entries the highly enjoyable Tamara Drewe proved to be the surprise commercial disappointment with a dull $4,300 engagement average from four initial exposures.
__________________________________________________
Weekend Estimates – October 1-3, 2010
| Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
| The Social Network |
Sony |
15.3 (5,520) |
-32% |
2771 |
45.9 |
| Life As We Know It |
WB |
14.6 (4,630) |
New |
3150 |
14.6 |
| Secretariat |
BV |
12.4 (4,050) |
New |
3072 |
12.4 |
| My Soul to Take |
Uni/Alliance |
6.9 (2,670) |
New |
2572 |
6.9 |
| Legend of the Guardians |
WB |
6.8 (2,100) |
-38% |
3225 |
39.2 |
| The Town |
WB |
6.3 (2,310) |
-36% |
2720 |
73.7 |
| Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps |
Fox |
4.5 (1,600) |
-55% |
2829 |
43.6 |
| Easy A |
Sony |
4.1 (1,450) |
-39% |
2847 |
48.1 |
| Case 39 |
Par Vantage |
2.6 (1,160) |
-55% |
2212 |
9.5 |
| You Again |
BV |
2.4 (1,030) |
-58% |
2332 |
20.7 |
| Let Me In |
Overture |
2.4 (1,160) |
-54% |
2042 |
9.1 |
| It’s Kind of a Funny Story |
Focus |
2.0 (2,670) |
New |
742 |
2 |
| Devil |
Uni |
1.7 (1,210) |
-51% |
1442 |
30 |
| Alpha and Omega |
Lionsgate |
1.4 (890) |
-51% |
1616 |
21 |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
1.2 (1,210) |
-56% |
1012 |
58.8 |
| Waiting for “Superman” |
Par Vantage |
.63 (6,120) |
54% |
103 |
1.4 |
| Toy Story 3 |
BV |
.55 (1,400) |
140% |
393 |
412 |
| Inception |
WB |
.52 (1,290) |
-43% |
403 |
289.2 |
| Takers |
Sony |
.39 (950) |
-50% |
412 |
56.8 |
| Catfish |
Uni/Alliance |
.37 (2,590) |
-37% |
143 |
2.2 |
| Khaleja |
Ficus |
.34 (14,290) |
|
24 |
0.39 |
| Never Let Me Go |
Searchlight |
.33 (1,990) |
77% |
167 |
1.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$86.30 |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Year) |
|
-16% |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Week) |
|
-4% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
| You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger |
Sony Classics |
.25 (3,380) |
15% |
73 |
0.84 |
| Buried |
Lionsgate |
.21 (2,300) |
118% |
92 |
0.5 |
| L’Immortel |
Seville |
72,700 (3,030) |
|
24 |
0.07 |
| Stone |
Overture |
71,400 (11,900) |
|
6 |
0.07 |
| Nowhere Boy |
Weinstein Co. |
51,300 (12,820) |
|
4 |
0.05 |
| Inside Job |
Sony Classics |
37,500 (18,750) |
|
2 |
0.04 |
| Route 132 |
Alliance |
37,300 (1,430) |
|
26 |
0.06 |
| I Spit on Your Grave |
Anchor Bay |
30,800 (2,570) |
|
12 |
0.03 |
| Tamara Drewe |
Sony Classics |
17,200 (4,300) |
|
4 |
0.02 |
| Ghetto Physics |
IDP |
10,700 (1,190) |
|
9 |
0.01 |
| Budrus |
Balcony |
8,400 (8,400) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
| It’s a Wonderful Afterlife |
UTV |
5,500 (770) |
|
20 |
0.01 |
| As Good as Dead |
First Look |
1,850 (1,850) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – October 7, 2010
| Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
| Warner Bros. (23) |
1340.5 |
16.20% |
| Fox (16) |
1277.7 |
15.40% |
| Paramount (14) |
1237.4 |
15.00% |
| Buena Vista (14) |
1107.4 |
13.40% |
| Sony (23) |
1081.3 |
13.10% |
| Universal (16) |
753.6 |
9.10% |
| Summit (9) |
425.1 |
5.10% |
| Lionsgate (12) |
407.1 |
4.90% |
| Overture (6) |
74.5 |
0.90% |
| Fox Searchlight (5) |
71.5 |
0.90% |
| Focus (6) |
68.4 |
0.80% |
| Weinstein Co. (6) |
60.9 |
0.70% |
| Sony Classics (19) |
52.3 |
0.60% |
| MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.60% |
| CBS (2) |
50 |
0.60% |
| Other * (260) |
217.3 |
2.60% |
|
8275.4 |
100.00% |
| * none greater than .04% |
Top Global Grossers: January 1 – October 7, 2010
| Title * |
Distributor |
Gross |
| Avatar * |
Fox |
1,948,069,404 |
| Toy Story 3 |
BV |
1,047,492,510 |
| Alice in Wonderland |
BV |
1,024,537,295 |
| Twilight: Eclipse |
Summit |
691,330,829 |
| Inception |
WB |
803,799,128 |
| Shrek Forever After |
Par |
732,163,289 |
| Iron Man 2 |
Par |
622,718,660 |
| How to Train Your Dragon |
Par |
494,288,254 |
| Clash of the Titans |
WB |
489,778,913 |
| Sherlock Holmes * |
WB |
367,796,599 |
| Despicable Me |
Uni |
367,194,481 |
| The Karate Kid |
Sony |
357,206,535 |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time |
BV |
335,020,929 |
| Robin Hood |
Uni |
311,610,747 |
| The Last Airbender |
Par |
310,375,125 |
| Shutter Island |
Par |
301,977,955 |
| Sex and the City 2 |
WB |
301,158,934 |
| Salt |
Sony |
287,626,258 |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel |
Fox |
264,341,533 |
| Grown Ups |
Sony |
261,324,243 |
| The Expendables |
Lionsgate |
257,529,373 |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
244,795,280 |
| Knight and Day |
Fox |
229,686,302 |
| Percy Jackson & the Olympians |
Fox |
226,497,209 |
| Valentine’s Day |
WB |
217,596,116 |
|
|
| * does not include 2009 box office |
Tags: Alpha and Omega, As Good as Dead, Budrus, Buried, Case 39, Catfish, Devil, Easy A, Ghetto Physics, I Spit on Your Grave, Inception, Inside Job, It's a Wonderful Afterlife, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, khaleja, L'Immortel, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, Life As We Know It, My Soul To Take, Never Let Me Go, Nowhere Boy, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Route 132, Secretariat, Stone, Takers, Tamara Drewe, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, Waiting For 'Superman', Walt Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 3 Comments »
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
The Social Network|15.3|-32%| 45.9
Life As We Know It|14.6|New |14.6
Secretariat|12.4|New|12.4
My Soul to Take|6.9|New|6.9
Legend of the Guardians|6.8|-38%|39.2
The Town|6.3|-36%|73.7
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|4.5| -55%|43.6
Easy A|4.1|-39%|48.1
Case 39|2.6| -55%| 9.5
You Again|2.4|-58%|20.7
Tags: Case 39, Easy A, Legend of the Guardians, Life As We Know It, My Soul To Take, Secretariat, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates – October 10
Saturday, October 9th, 2010
Life As We Know It|5.2|3150||5.2
The Social Network|4.8 |2771|-40%|35.4
Secretariat|4|3072|New|4
My Soul to Take|2.6|2572|New|2.6
The Town|1.9|2720|-41%|69.3
Legend of the Guardians|1.8|3225|-31%|34.1
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|1.4|2820|-58%|40.4
Easy A|1.3|2847|-41%|45.3
Case 39|0.8|2212|-57%|7.8
Let Me In|0.75|2042|-61%|7.5
Also Debuting
It’s Kind of a Funny Story|0.6 5|742||0.65
Khaleja|32,500|22||32,500
L’Immortel|22,800|24||22,800
Stone|21,300|6||21,300
Nowhere Boy|12,700|4||12,700
I Spit on Your Grave|11,100|12||11,100
Tamara Drewe|5,100|4||5,100
Ghetto Physics|4,990|9||4,990
Budrus|3,450|1||3,450
It’s a Wonderful Afterlife|1,500|18||1,500
||||
*in millions|||
Tags: Case 39, Easy A, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, khaleja, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, Life As We Know It, My Soul To Take, Nowhere Boy, Secretariat, Stone, Tamara Drewe, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – October 9
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
I Am Not a Robot … or Not
The uber-ballyhooed The Social Network buzzed above the pack with an estimated $22.6 million to lead weekend ticket sales. Two other national releases proved commercial disappointments. The much-admired horror remake Let Me In ranked seventh overall with $5.3 million and the thriller Case 39 was a peg behind with $5.2 million.
The big noise for the frame came from new regional and niche titles. The Tamil language Robots (the most expensive film ever produced in India) rewrote the record books with the biggest ever North American debut with a $2.1 million tally. The simultaneous release of Anjaana Anjaani from Bollywood’s Hindi sector was also impressive with a $560,000 bow. In Canada, the Brit import StreetDance 3D generated a hefty $423,000 and the indigenous Fubar II rang up $209,000 from just 30 venues.
However, a couple of indie horror entries failed to ignite pre-Halloween frenzy. Chain Letter eked out a $300 average from 401 screens and Hatchet II was marginally better with an $880 average from a more contained 68 playdates.
Overall business experienced a roll back from both the prior weekend and 2009 revenues.
Critical response to The Social Network was predominantly rapturous. Still, media reports detailed concerns based on tracking and previews that the flamboyant saga of Facebook and its youthful creators was a tough sell. Exit polls showed that opening weekend skewed slightly female with 53% of the audience and plus 25s comprised 55% of sales. Trackers had predicted grossed in the range of $25 million to $28 million and its clear that its future rests on playing the awards card and eventually drawing in younger viewers obviously spending too much time on the net to go see the movie.
Let Me In also received enthusiastic thumbs ups from reviewers that failed to translate at the box office. Prognosticators pushed its envelope to the $10 million to $12 million strata but ticket buyers opted to catch up with The Town, Easy A or the Wall Street sequel. Case 39, which opened internationally in late 2008 and has grossed more than $10 million overseas, arrived as a theatrical afterthought and performed more or less as expected … blah.
Weekend sales came up just short of $100 million, which amounted to a 3% decline from seven days earlier. 2009 comparisons saw a steeper erosion of 9%. A year ago the debuts of Zombieland and the 3D pairing of Toy Story’s first two installments ranked first and third with respective openings of $24.7 million and $12.5 million.
Robot, with echoes of Metropolis, is a more optimistic yarn of a scientist who creates an android in his own image and watches the somewhat amusing results unfold. The big budget production went full out with dubbed versions in Hindi and Telegu in addition to the Tamil original. The largely Indian diasporas came out in force to generate a record opening box office. Still, despite considerable efforts in the past five years, the Indian cinema is just one film short of producing a crossover mainstream hit.
The session didn’t include a new platform in what looks like a crowded, eclectic awards season. However a clutch of early entries including Never Let Me Go, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Catfish added dates and continued to keep a foot in the door. Only Jack Goes Boating appears to have run out of steam early.
__________________________________________________
Weekend Estimates – October 1-3, 2010
| Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
| The Social Network |
Sony |
22.6 (8.170) |
New |
2771 |
22.6 |
| Legend of the Guardians |
WB |
10.9 (3,040) |
-33% |
3575 |
30.1 |
| Walt Street: Money Never Sleeps |
Fox |
10.2 (2,840) |
-46% |
3597 |
36 |
| The Town |
WB |
10.1 (3,430) |
-36% |
2935 |
64.4 |
| Easy A |
Sony |
6.8 (2,280) |
-36% |
2974 |
42.2 |
| You Again |
BV |
5.5 (2,150) |
-35% |
2548 |
16.4 |
| Let Me In |
Overture |
5.3 (2,610) |
New |
2021 |
5.3 |
| Case 39 |
Par Vantage |
5.2 (2,370) |
New |
2211 |
5.2 |
| Devil |
Uni |
3.6 (1,510) |
-45% |
2392 |
27.3 |
| Alpha and Omega |
Lions Gate |
3.0 (1,290) |
-38% |
2302 |
19 |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
2.8 (1,450) |
-44% |
1907 |
56.6 |
| Robot/Endhiran |
Ficus/B4U |
2.1 (15,260) |
New |
139 |
2.1 |
| Inception |
WB |
.84 (1,340) |
-37% |
625 |
288.3 |
| Takers |
Sony |
.79 (1,020) |
-46% |
773 |
56.2 |
| Catfish |
Uni/Alliance |
.61 (4,480) |
80% |
136 |
1.6 |
| Anjaana Anjaani |
Eros |
.56 (6,090) |
New |
92 |
0.56 |
| The Other Guys |
Sony |
.43 (760) |
-57% |
566 |
117.7 |
| StreetDance 3D |
Alliance |
.42 (2,940) |
New |
144 |
0.42 |
| Waiting for “Superman” |
Par Vantage |
.41 (12,010) |
193% |
34 |
0.6 |
| Despicable Me |
Uni |
.39 (840) |
-33% |
463 |
246 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$90.90 |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Year) |
|
-9% |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Week) |
|
-3% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
| Fubar 2 |
Alliance |
.21 (6,970) |
|
30 |
0.21 |
| You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger |
Sony Classics |
.20 (7,010) |
27% |
29 |
0.286 |
| Never Let Me Go |
Searchlight |
.19 (3,470) |
-23% |
54 |
0.62 |
| Chain Letter |
New Film |
.12 (300) |
|
401 |
0.12 |
| Jack Goes Boating |
Overture |
.10 (1,300) |
29% |
78 |
0.27 |
| Buried |
Lions Gate |
96,200 (2,920) |
-4% |
33 |
0.23 |
| Hatchet II |
Vitagraph |
59,700 (880) |
|
68 |
0.06 |
| Le Poil de la bete |
Seville |
48,800 (1,740) |
|
28 |
0.05 |
| Freakomomics |
Magnolia |
32,400 (1,620) |
|
20 |
0.03 |
| Leaving |
IFC |
12,700 (6,350) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
| Douchebag |
Paladin |
3,600 (3,600) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – September 23, 2010
| Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
| Warner Bros. (23) |
1312.1 |
16.10% |
| Fox (16) |
1263.7 |
15.50% |
| Paramount (11) |
1228.6 |
15.10% |
| Buena Vista (14) |
1099.5 |
13.50% |
| Sony (22) |
1035.9 |
12.70% |
| Universal (16) |
747.4 |
9.20% |
| Summit (9) |
424.9 |
5.20% |
| Lions Gate (12) |
403.1 |
5.00% |
| Fox Searchlight (5) |
71.2 |
0.90% |
| Focus (6) |
68.1 |
0.80% |
| Overture (5) |
67.6 |
0.80% |
| Weinstein Co. (6) |
60.8 |
0.70% |
| Sony Classics (19) |
51.7 |
0.60% |
| MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.60% |
| CBS (2) |
50 |
0.60% |
| Other * (253) |
211 |
2.60% |
|
8146 |
100.00% |
| * none greater than .04% |
Top Limited Releases: January 1 – September 30, 2010
| Title * |
Distributor |
Gross |
| Hubble 3D |
WB |
16,036,317 |
| The Ghost Writer |
Summit |
15,569,712 |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
Music Box/Alliance |
11,250,177 |
| The Young Victoria * |
Apparition/Alliance |
11,131,232 |
/tr>
| Get Low |
Sony Classics |
8,449,788 |
| A Single Man * |
Weinstein Co. |
7,935,872 |
| The Girl Who Played with Fire |
Music Box/Alliance |
7,539,151 |
| Babies |
Focus |
7,444,272 |
| Cyrus |
Fox Searchlight |
7,442,641 |
| The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus * |
E1/Sony Classics |
7,394,171 |
| City Island |
Anchor Bay |
6,671,036 |
| The Last Station |
Sony Classics |
6,617,867 |
| The Secret in Their Eyes |
Sony Classics |
6,384,875 |
| Winter’s Bone |
Roadside Attraction |
6,077,440 |
| An Education * |
Sony Classics |
4,963,224 |
| Under the Sea 3D * |
WB |
4,950,071 |
| I Am Love |
Magnolia |
4,900,430 |
| The Hurt Locker * |
Summit |
4,531,548 |
| Solitary Man |
Anchor Bay |
4,359,937 |
| Greenberg |
Focus |
4,283,056 |
|
|
| * does not include 2009 box office |
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Case 39, Devil, Easy A, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | 5 Comments »
Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
The Social Network|22.6|New| 22.6
Legend of the Guardians|10.9|-33% |30.1
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|10.2|-46%|36
The Town|10.1|-36%|64.4
Easy A|6.8|-36%|42.2
You Again|5.5|-35%|16.4
Let Me In|5.3| New|5.3
Case 39|5.2| New|5.2
Devil|3.6| -45%| 27.3
Alpha and Omega|3.0|-38%|19
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Case 39, Devil, Easy A, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates — October 3
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
Interesting.
Basically, Sony is now hoping that The Social Network, which they have pushed about as hard as any drama has ever been pushed, does slightly better than The Town this weekend. $26.85m is the magic number to pass, as it is the number Ben Button opened to… and they want that across-the-board Oscar nominee to be their first point of reference. If things go well, about one of every 20 million Facebook users will have rushed out to see the film.
Back in the Land of Reality, this is an excellent opening for a drama with no box office stars. Aside from chick-flicky films like Dear John and Eat Pray Love, you don’t see $20m opening dramas these days.
That said, as this Social Network and Let Me In were both reminded this weekend, you gotta sell your goods and not get caught up in your own in-house excitement. Social Network sold itself to the media elite, smartly and with style. And as a result, they’re getting box office returns from that limited group. That could, as Sony hopes, still mean $100 million.
It’s really a different conversation than box office, but Sony should embrace and be fully pleased with this number for an Aaron Sorkin script… which means a specific slice of people who want to hear rapid-fired clever dialogue and not walk away with much more than that story being well told. They made the movie they set out to make… and then, I am afraid, got a little too caught up in their own belief that it was the second coming. There is a ton of talent on display in the film, but it is only as much as it is. And perspective gets lost.
The same need to sell what you have and not what you think you have is true for Let Me In, which is a much bigger mystery non-opening this weekend, as they chose to take a gentle, weird, very Euro movie and make it into a horror film with fancy arthouse edges. I don’t see the movies as the same at all, i believe that film can be reimagined (and think Fincher will take Dragon Tattoo miles further than the director of the series now on screen does), so I am fine with what Matt Reeves did. So the question is, why couldn’t Overture sell what Lionsgate or Screen Gems would have opened to 3x as much of a gross. (My first suspect would be TV spending and time for a strong pr rollout, but honestly, I have been so in TIFF mode for weeks that I don’t have a great idea of what the team left at Overture was able to get done, aside from fests and geek community hype.)
This opening neither puts Social Network behind some 8-ball with awards season or profitability, nor does it make it a smash success. It’s just box office. And awards are just awards. And really, what will live on forever is The Film. I am not as over the moon about Social Network as some. I think a lot of critics projected their personal issues with the web onto the movie. But It’s a damned good movie, especially from a major studio.
But I digress…
Nice holds again for The Town and Easy A.
Tags: anjaana anjaani, Case 39, chain letter, Devil, Douchebag, Easy A.Let Me In, Freakomomics, fubar 2, hatchet II, Le Poil de la bête, leaving, Legend of the Guardians, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Robot, StreetDance 3D, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in MCN Blogs, MCN Originals, Movie City News, The Hot Blog | 36 Comments »
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
The Social Network|8|2771||8
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|3.3 |3565|-53%|29
The Town|3.1|2885|-38%|57.4
Legend of the Guardians|2.6|3575|-43%|21.8
Easy A|2.2|2974|-38%|37.7
Let Me In|1.9|2021||1.9
Case 39|1.8|2211||1.8
You Again|1.6|2548|-40%|12.5
Devil|1.1|2392|-48%|24.8
Resident Evil: Afterlife|0.75|2642|-44%|54.6
Also Debuting
Robot|0.4 5|89||0.45
Anjaana Anjaani|0.16|92||0.16
StreetDance 3D|0.12|144||0.12
Fubar 2|81,600|30||81,600
Chain Letter|37,800|401||37,800
Hatchet II|25,300|67||25,300
Le Poil de la bete|16,400|28||16,400
Freakonomics|9,300|17||9,300
Leaving|4,100|2||4,100
Douchebag|2,050|1||2,050
||||
*in millions|||
Tags: anjaana anjaani, Case 39, chain letter, Devil, Easy A, Freakonomics, hatchet II, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – October 2
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Our Players|Coming Soon|Box Office Prophets|Box Office Guru|EW|Box Office . com
The Social Network|27.6|27.5|26|28|27
Let Me In|13.5|11.5|8|8|9.5
Legend of the Guardians|10|9.8|10|8|10.8
The Town|9.8|11.3|10|7.5|10.5
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|9.8|11|10.5|10|11
Case 39|3.8|7.4|4|n/a|6.5
Tags: Case 39, Legend of the Guardians, Let Me In, The Social Network, The Town, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Posted in Box Office Hell, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Box Office Hell – September 30
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
I was going to write about how tight the Oscar race already is as we enter the month of October. But looking back at last season’s post-Toronto column… 8 of 10 of the eventual nominees were already well in focus. And had I not been so stubborn about believing that District 9 could make it, I would have had every film except The Blind Side in my Top 13 possibles at the time.
The point is not to ring my own bell, but to pay tribute, really, to how early and how strong the Oscar push efforts are these days. They are still stealth. No one is supposed to notice that a campaign has been going on for months. In fact, no one wants to be up in front, towards the head of the pack, this early. You can be sure that a lot of competitors are giddy that The Social Network has such heat around it RIGHT NOW.
The biggest news coming out of Toronto, aside from films that were non-starters, was that we now have only seven films, by my count, that are in any way contenders that have not been widely available to be seen by The Press and some public. And the only one that seems to be an inevitable nominee – scary words, those – is True Grit.
That is not to say that the other unseen films are not serious contenders. Four are comedies – Due Date, How Do You Know, Love & Other Drugs, and Morning Glory – three from very serious directors and one from the director of one of last year’s commercial phenoms, The Hangover. The Fighter is from revered David O. Russell… who has never made it into the Oscar race. And another, For Colored Girls…, is from critically reviled Tyler Perry, who is a commercial sensation and is working from a play that was one of the most widely seen in the 70s and 80s.
And then there are the films that have already garnered a lot of love. Movies like The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone, and Get Low have many fans and supporters. The Town has had a few weeks as the hot title to discuss, to be followed this weekend by The Social Network. Shutter Island is Scorsese’s biggest worldwide grosser ever, slightly ahead of Best Picture winner The Departed. And what of Oscar faves Clint Eastwood, Mike Leigh, and Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu?
I am pretty comfortable that at least 6 of my 7 Most Liklies will be there in the end. The only real question, to me, is whether both Black Swan and 127 Hours, both masterful, artful, commercial films will make the cut. And that’s when distributors have to decide how they are going to craft their efforts. Does a Sony Classics move forward on all fronts or do they decide which of their films is the most realistic nominee? Does a Roadside Attractions, which has very strong candidates in Best Actor and Best Actress, push for more… aside from maybe screenplay nods? Does Lionsgate believe that either of their actor-nom chasing films are BP candidates? And how does Sony balance what feels like a lock for The Social Network when they have a Jim Brooks movie with Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Jack Nicholson in the hopper?
But the thing that really, really strikes me at this moment is that it is a very competitive race for a dozen or so movies looking to fit into a few slots (anything can happen in Phase II… there is no such thing as a frontrunner to win at this point), GREAT is not necessary. In fact, GREAT may be a problem for some of these films. This is the Oscar season of Really Good.
There is no The Hurt Locker… no film offering itself up as one. There’s no deep underdog like Precious. There is no Avatar. Toy Story 3 and Inception will be the highest grosser amongst BP nominees (assuming TS3 makes it). But neither film has had the kind of impact that Avatar had and will be two of at least five $700 million worldwide grossing films this year.
So we may be back to the best liked movies over the best movies. How lovable is Made in Dagenham? Is Ed Zwick at an advantage making his first comedy in almost 25 years instead of another drama? Do Academy members really want to wrestle with the heaviness of Never Let Me Go and Winter’s Bone and Biutiful and Rabbit Hole when Black Swan and Shutter Island feel both a little weighty, but are also movie movies that leave you leaving the theater excited by the craft of filmmaking?
I’m really curious. All six of the still unseen non-Coen films could be left on the sidelines. Or they could represent 3 or 4 of the final 10.
In any case, we’ve all been whining about the first half of 2010 and I have to say, there are a lot of good times at the movies coming down the pike. And if even half the unseen films are Really Good, it’s kind of a thrilling year… all of a sudden… out of nowhere.
Cool.
Tags: 127 Hours, Another Year, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Conviction, Due Date, Eat Pray Love, Everything You've Got, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Get Low, Godfather III, Hereafter, Inception, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, Love and Other Drugs, Made in Dagenham, Miral, Morning Glory, Never Let Me Go, Nowhere Boy, Roadside Attractions, Secretariat, Shutter Island, Somewhere, The American, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Tempest, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar, Awards Update, Awards Watch, MCN Originals, Movie City News | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
|
BEST
PICTURE
|
|
Picture
|
Studio
|
Director
|
Stars |
Comment
|
The Films
Most Likely (by release date) |
|
June 18
|
Toy Story 3 |
Disney
|
Unkrich
|
–
|
|
| July 16
|
Inception |
WB
|
Nolan
|
DiCaprio
|
|
| Oct 1
|
The Social Network |
Sony
|
Fincher
|
Eisenberg
|
|
|
Nov 5
|
127 Hours |
FxSch
|
Boyle
|
Franco
|
|
|
Nov
24
|
The King’s Speech |
TWC
|
Marshall
|
Firth
|
|
|
Dec 1
|
Black Swan |
FxSch
|
Aronofsky
|
Portman
|
|
|
Dec 25
|
True Grit |
Par
|
Coens
|
Bridges
Brolin
Damon
|
The only film in this category that hasn’t been seen. |
| Duking It Out For 3 or 4 Slots (by release date) |
|
July 30
|
Get Low |
SPC
|
Schneider
|
Duvall
Spacek
Murray
|
|
|
Feb 19
|
Shutter Island |
Par
|
Scorsese
|
DiCaprio
|
|
| June 11 |
Winter’s Bone |
RdAtt
|
Granik
|
Lawrence
|
|
|
July 9
|
The Kids Are All Right |
Focus
|
Cholodenko
|
Bening
Moore
|
|
|
Sept 15
|
Never Let Me Go |
FxSch
|
Romanek
|
Knightley
Mulligan
Garfield
|
|
|
Sept 17
|
The Town |
WB
|
Affleck
|
|
|
|
Oct 8
|
Secretariat |
Dis
|
Wallace
|
Lane
|
|
|
Oct 22
|
Hereafter |
WB
|
Eastwood
|
Damon
|
|
|
Nov5
|
Due Date |
WB
|
Phillips
|
Downey
Galifianakis
|
|
|
Nov 5
|
For Colored Girls… |
LGF
|
Perry
|
Elise
Goldberg
Newton
|
|
|
Nov 12
|
Morning Glory |
Par
|
Michell
|
McAdams
Ford
|
|
|
Nov 19
|
Made In Dagenham |
SPC
|
Cole
|
Hawkins
|
|
|
Nov 24
|
Love & Other Drugs |
Fox
|
Zwick
|
Gyllenhaal
Hathaway
|
|
|
Dec 10
|
The Fighter |
Par/Rel
|
O. Russell
|
Wahlberg
|
|
|
Dec 17
|
How Do You Know |
Sony
|
Brooks
|
Witherspoon
Nicholson
|
|
|
Dec 17
|
Rabbit Hole |
LGF
|
Mitchell
|
Kidman
|
|
|
Dec 29
|
Another Year |
SPC
|
Leigh
|
Broadbent
Staunton
|
|
|
Dec 29
|
Biutiful |
RdAtt
|
Gonzalez-
Inarritu
|
Bardem
|
|
The
Rest Of The Contenders (by release date) |
|
Mar 26
|
How to Train Your Dragon |
DW/Par
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 13
|
Eat Pray Love |
Fox
|
|
J Roberts
|
|
|
Sept 1
|
The American |
Focus
|
Corbijn
|
Clooney
|
|
| Sept 24
|
It’s Kind Of A Funny Story |
Focus
|
Boden/
Fleck
|
E Roberts
|
|
|
Sept 24
|
Wall Street 2 |
Fox
|
Stone
|
Douglas
Mulligan
|
|
|
Oct 15
|
Conviction |
FxSch
|
Goldwyn
|
Swank
|
|
| Dec 25
|
Somewhere |
Focus
|
Coppola
|
|
|
|
Dec 1
|
Miral |
TWC
|
Schnabel
|
–
|
|
|
Dec 10
|
The Tempest |
Mir
|
Taymor
|
Mirren
|
|
|
Dec 31
|
Blue Valentine |
TWC
|
Cianfrance
|
Gosling
Williams
|
|
Tags: 127 Hours, Another Year, Biutiful, Black Swan, Blue Valentine, Conviction, Due Date, Eat Pray Love, Everything You've Got, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Get Low, Godfather III, Hereafter, Inception, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, Love and Other Drugs, Made in Dagenham, Miral, Morning Glory, Never Let Me Go, Nowhere Boy, Roadside Attractions, Secretariat, Shutter Island, Somewhere, The American, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Tempest, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone
Posted in 20 Weeks to Oscar - Charts, Awards Watch | 8 Comments »
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps| 19.5|New| 19.5
Legend of the Guardians|16.3|New |16.3
The Town| 15.9|-33%|49
Easy A|10.7|-40%|32.8
You Again|8.4|New|8.4
Devil|6.4|-48%|21.7
Resident Evil: Afterlife| 4.8| -52%| 51.9
Alpha and Omega|4.6| -49%|15.1
Takers| 1.6| -46%| 53.26
Inception| 1.2| -37%|287
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Devil, Easy A, Inception, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Takers, The Town, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, You Again
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates – September 26
Saturday, September 25th, 2010
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps|6.9|3565||6.9
The Town|5|2885|-40%|38.1
Legend of the Guardians|4.5|3575||4.5
Easy A|3.6|2856|-47%|25.7
You Again|2.7|2548||2.7
Devil|2.1|2809|-57%|17.3
Resident Evil: Afterlife|1.4|2642|-54%|48.5
Alpha and Omega|1.1 |2625|-53%|11.5
Takers|0.5|1413|-49%|53.7
Inception|0.4|907|-37%|286.2
Also Debuting
The Virginity Hit|0.1|700||0.1
Waiting for Superman|52,300|4||52,300
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger|44,800|6||44,800
Like Dandelion Dust|37,100|26||37,100
Buried|34,100|11||34,100
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Buried, Devil, Easy A, Inception, Legend of the Guardians, like dandelion dust, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Takers, The Town, the virginity hit, Waiting For 'Superman', Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, You Again, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
Posted in Friday Box Office Estimates, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News | Comments Off on Friday Estimates – September 25
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
A trio of new films was expected to duke it out for weekend bragging rights but Friday box office returns burst that bubble. The cops and robbers of The Town prevailed with an estimated $23.6 million while the high school angst and hijinx of Easy A took place position with $18 million; followed with a $12.5 million gross for the horror entry Devil.
The session’s fourth national bow was the family-targeted Alpha and Omega (in 3D) that ranked fifth with $9.2 million.
And despite the surge of new blood, weekend box office was no better than on par with 2010; albeit with fewer people buying tickets.
The frame was also chock-a-block with new additions in regional and exclusive play. The Toronto fest favorite Incendies had a solid bow in Quebec of $170,500 at 29 venues while another TIFF debut, the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, rang up a per engagement average of $29,370 from four screens. Also good in limited exposure were Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut Jack Goes Boating and the black comic Leaves of Grass.
Though The Town was clearly out-pacing its competition in advance ticket sales, tracking pundits pegged the latter day Ridgemont High antics of Easy A as the box office leader for the frame. Devil was expected to be very close behind the duo.
But some unexpected twists altered the scenario. The most telling wild card was the fact that Devil went against the grain of drawing in women (horror films generally draw a majority distaff audience). Exit polls revealed the horror film’s audience at 60% while The Town, which was expected to be predominantly male, had a better than expected 45% female buyers.
Conversely, Easy A’s composition was two-thirds female and whenever two films display comparable strength, the one that favors males usually dominates. Men out-weigh women among avid filmgoers.
Weekend revenues should top out just shy of $100 million for a sizeable 24% boost from the immediate prior weekend. However, that also translated into a 1% box office drop from 2009. A year ago the debuts of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The Informant held the top two slots with respective opening salvos of $30.3 million and $10.5 million.
Holdovers largely took it on the chin with last weekend’s chart topper Resident Evil: Afterlife going free fall by 63%. In general older titles saw their box office halved. The alternative hits of summer have pretty much run their course and specialized exhibitors are almost rabid about getting the deluge of film festival favorites on screen to bolster flagging sales.
Weekend Estimates – September 17-19, 2010
| Title |
Distributor |
Gross (average) |
% change * |
Theaters |
Cume |
| The Town |
WB |
23.6 (8,250) |
New |
2861 |
23.6 |
| Easy A |
Sony |
18.0 (6,310) |
New |
2856 |
18 |
| Devil |
Uni |
12.5 (4,460) |
New |
2809 |
12.5 |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife |
Sony/Alliance |
9.9 (3,090) |
-63% |
3209 |
43.8 |
| Alpha and Omega |
Lions Gate |
9.2 (3,490) |
New |
2625 |
9.2 |
| Takers |
Sony |
3.0 (1,390) |
-48% |
2139 |
52.3 |
| The American |
Focus |
2.7 (1,110) |
-52% |
2457 |
32.8 |
| Inception |
WB |
2.0 (1,510) |
-29% |
1305 |
285.1 |
| The Other Guys |
Sony |
1.9 (1,050) |
-43% |
1827 |
115.3 |
| Eat Drink Pray |
Sony |
1.6 (980) |
-44% |
1668 |
77.6 |
| Machete |
Fox |
1.6 (940) |
-63% |
1704 |
24.2 |
| Going the Distance |
WB |
1.3 (660) |
-65% |
2007 |
16.7 |
| The Expendables |
Lions Gate |
1.3 (720) |
-59% |
1854 |
101 |
| The Last Exorcism |
Lions Gate |
1.2 (600) |
-64% |
2013 |
40.1 |
| Nanny McPhee Returns |
Uni |
1.0 (600) |
-53% |
1588 |
27.6 |
| The Switch |
BV |
.91 (790) |
-55% |
1158 |
26.6 |
| Despicable Me |
Uni |
.86 (910) |
-48% |
944 |
244.7 |
| Lottery Ticket |
WB |
.62 (920) |
-49% |
677 |
23.5 |
| Get Low |
Sony Classics |
.57 (1,380) |
-34% |
421 |
7.8 |
| Vampires Suck |
Fox |
.54 (560) |
-64% |
964 |
35.8 |
| Toy Story 3 |
BV |
.43 (900) |
-44% |
475 |
410.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) |
|
$94.30 |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Year) |
|
-1% |
|
|
|
| % Change (Last Week) |
|
24% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Also debuting/expanding |
|
|
|
|
|
| Catfish |
Uni |
.25 (21,080) |
|
12 |
0.25 |
| Incendies |
eOne |
.17 (5,880) |
|
29 |
0.17 |
| Never Let Me Go |
Searchlight |
.12 (29,370) |
|
4 |
0.16 |
| I’m Still Here |
Magnolia |
.11 (970) |
11% |
111 |
0.25 |
| Jack Goes Boating |
Overture |
30,300 (7,580) |
|
4 |
0.03 |
| Leaves of Grass |
First Look |
24,300 (8,100) |
|
3 |
0.02 |
| Picture Me |
Strand |
6,800 (6,800) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
| The Freebie |
Phase 4 |
4,400 (4,400) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
| GasLand |
HBO |
2,800 (1,400) |
|
2 |
0.01 |
| Kings of Pastry |
First Run |
2,250 (2,250) |
|
1 |
0.01 |
Domestic Market Share – January 1 – September 16, 2010
| Distributor (releases) |
Gross |
Market Share |
| Fox (15) |
1232.8 |
15.60% |
| Warner Bros. (21) |
1229.4 |
15.60% |
| Paramount (11) |
1227.5 |
15.60% |
| Buena Vista (13) |
1086.8 |
13.80% |
| Sony (20) |
967.9 |
12.30% |
| Universal (14) |
718.4 |
9.10% |
| Summit (9) |
424.5 |
5.40% |
| Lions Gate (10) |
382.2 |
4.80% |
| Fox Searchlight (4) |
70.6 |
0.90% |
| Overture (5) |
67.4 |
0.90% |
| Focus (6) |
62.8 |
0.80% |
| Weinstein Co. (6) |
60.3 |
0.80% |
| MGM (1) |
50.4 |
0.60% |
| CBS (2) |
50 |
0.60% |
| Sony Classics (18) |
49.8 |
0.60% |
| Other * (235) |
199.9 |
2.60% |
|
7880.7 |
100.00% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| * none greater than 0.45% |
|
|
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Box Office, Catfish, Devil, Easy A, I'm Still Here, incendies, Jack Goes Boating, Leaves of Grass, Never Let Me Go, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Town
Posted in Columns, Klady, MCN Originals, MCN Weekend, Movie City News, The Weekend Report | Comments Off on Weekend Box Office Report – September 19
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
The Town| 23.6|New| 23.6
Easy A| 18|New | 18
Devil| 12.5| New| 12.5
Resident Evil: Afterlife| 9.9| -63%| 43.8
Alpha and Omega| 9.2|New|9.2
Takers|3|-48%|52.3
The American| 2.7| -52%| 32.8
Inception| 2 | -29%| 285.1
The Other Guys| 1.9| -43%| 115.3
Eat Pray Love| 1.6| -44%| 77.6
Tags: Alpha and Omega, Box Office, Devil, Easy A, Eat Pray Love, Inception, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Takers, The American, The Other Guys, The Town
Posted in Estimates, MCN Weekend | Comments Off on Weekend Estimates – September 19
