|
Weekend Box Office Overview 10-10
By Vince Palomarez | Images property of respective holders.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit takes the box office.
October 10 Box Office Overview
1. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
($16.1 million, 1st week of release): This was a no-brainer. You knew that
with the lack of family films out in the theaters right now anything that
was family oriented would make a killing. What surprised me the most was
how not only was the majority of Wallace and Gromit’s audience
families, but there was also a huge percentage of adults who showed up to
see this. That is definitely a positive sign for Dreamworks who may had
some reservations about the appeal of little known Claymation characters
in a CGI dominated field. With unanimous positive reviews and a $16 million
opening weekend, I’m pretty sure they can rest easy now. I’m
expecting Wallace and Gromit to follow in the footsteps of its
predecessor, Chicken Run. Both films had similar opening weekends
(Chicken Run debuted with $17 million) and both have the same kind
of buzz going for them. The only roadblock Wallace and Gromit may
have is unlike Chicken Run which was solid during the summer; W&G’s
run is in the fall where the majority of its audience is in school. It’s
going to take a tremendous amount of word of mouth to get it to the $100
million mark that Chicken Run reached, but it should get fairly
close. Expect it to finish its run around the $75-85 million mark.
2. Flightplan
($10.7 million, $60 million total): I think I’ve finally figured out
the formula! Take one part Jodie Foster, add some sick or missing child,
put her in one cramped location, throw in some suspense and SHAZAM…..instant
hit. It really amazes me how well Flightplan has performed so far.
Sure it didn’t retain first place like it did the previous two weeks,
but with only a 27% drop from last weekend that’s really nothing to
complain about. Jodie Fosters name was one that I never really considered
had the drawing power to push a movie to blockbuster status, but if you
look at the success of Panic Room and now Flightplan I may have
to change my beliefs. If Flightplan continues to drop at such a
low rate it can expect to enjoy a lengthy stay in the top 10 and perhaps
a chance to hit the $100 million mark that studios love to brag about.
3. In Her Shoes ($10
million, 1st week of release): For a film that wasn’t heavily advertised
and really isn’t that appealing to mass audiences having labeled itself
as a “chick flick”, it was quite a shock when I saw that In
Her Shoes took in this much. This film was a huge change of direction for
everyone involved so you can understand why Fox studios were a little apprehensive
with releasing this in so many theaters, but strong reviews and Cameron
Diaz’s appeal helped get this film a very solid opening weekend. Don’t
expect a repeat performance next weekend. While Director Curtis Hanson enjoyed
huge success with his previous film 8 Mile, I’m expecting In Her Shoes
to follow the path of one of his other critical darlings, Wonder Boys.
4. Two for the Money ($8.3 million, 1st week of release): Perhaps
audiences enjoyed Al Pacino’s performance in The Devils Advocate
so much that they had to see this film hoping for a similar performance
because there is no freaking way I ever expected this film to do so well.
Sure $8 million isn’t blockbuster territory, but for a film that only
had a 17% approval rating on rottentomatoes.com,
$8 million is definitely a plus. This movie has bomb written all over it
and I wouldn’t doubt it winning the biggest drop of the week award
next weekend. The folks at Universal can’t be too happy about this
especially with their other big release Serenity looking like it’s
headed out the door in the near future. With a huge theater count (it’s
currently being played in 2,400 theaters), the appeal of three big stars
(Al Pacino, Mathew McConaughey and Rene Russo) and a very small budget ($35
million), Two for the Money can maybe squeak in another $10-$15
million and hope for the best when it goes to DVD in a month.
5. The Gospel ($8 million, 1st week of release): I had heard nothing
about this film until just this past weekend. There was almost zero buzz
for this film and it got some pretty weak reviews (24% at rottentomatoes.com),
yet it surprised everyone by taking in $8 million in only 969 theaters.
That’s an average of $8,000 per screen and is by far the best total
out of anyone in the top 10. This film found its niche audience and hopefully
the people that saw this can keep that word of mouth going. The big test
for the Gospel will be next week when it increases its theater
count and we shall see if it can continue to capitalize on its strong weekend.
Even if it does fail the folks a Screen Gems could care less. With a budget
of $4 million, The Gospel has already doubled its production budget
so whatever it makes from here on out is gravy.
Flightplan is doing better than Serenity... what the?
6. Tim Burton's Corpse
Bride $6.5 million ($42 million total)
7. Waiting
$5.7 million (1st week of release)
8. A History
of Violence $5 million ($16.7 million total)
9. Serenity
$4.9 million ($17.5 million total)
10. Into the Blue
$4.8 million ($13.8 million total)
Looking at the bottom half of the top 10 two films performed about what I expected, two others shocked and saddened me at how bad they performed and one debut proved to me that there is an audience out there that will watch anything with dick and fart jokes.
The Corpse Bride and Into the Blue finished about where
I expected them to be, but what surprised me the most was the amount of
its audience Into the Blue managed to keep. For a film that had
low expectations and was pushed back numerous times, audiences are still
coming back to check it out and the 32% drop from last week is proof of
this. Expectations were higher for The Corpse Bride and seem to
be living up to those standards dropping only 34% from last week and bringing
in another solid $6 million at the box office. In 4 weeks at the box office,
Corpse Bride has taken in a total of $42 million which may not
be blockbuster material, but it's good enough to make this film a solid
money maker for Warner Bros….which is more than I can say for the films
in the 8 and 9 spot.
Looking at the totals for both Serenity and A History of Violence
makes me wonder exactly what the rest of America is thinking. Two films
with lots of positive buzz and strong reviews are performing far lower than
what they should be; with Serenity being the biggest tragedy. While
the TV version of Serenity may not have been a big hit with audiences
I was really expecting this film to take off and start a new Sci-Fi franchise
to replace ones that have left us. Apparently the rest of America didn't
agree with me because they are staying away from this film like it was the
plague. A 51% drop from last week shows that audiences want nothing to do
with Serenity at all and it just saddens me because people are
really missing out on a good film. Lack of a name cast, a horrendous advertising
campaign and a lack of interest in anything Sci-Fi that isn't named Star
Wars are all factors in its weak performance so far, but I was really
expecting the word of mouth to help this film out based on the audience
reaction I saw when I watched the film last week. Serenity is more
than likely headed out of the top 10 in the next couple of weeks unless
a miracle happens. Hopefully all the Whedonites can give this film the success
and credit it deserves when it eventually goes to DVD because this film
shouldn't be missed. A History of Violence's performance on the
other hand is a little more puzzling to figure out. Here is a film with
lots of Oscar buzz and huge success on the festival circuit that can't seem
to bring the people in. A 36% drop from last week isn't a bad thing, but
I was expecting this film to stick around the top 5 a little longer. How
is it that audiences will pay to see a well past his prime Al Pacino ham
it up on screen (cause that's all he does nowadays) and not a cerebral thriller
that is a critical darling?
Rounding out the bottom 5 is Waiting, a new film starring Ryan
Reynolds (Blade
Trinity, Van Wilder) that resurrects the generic
dick and fart comedies of the 80's and 90's. We've seen these types of films
done thousands of times over and yet they still manage to bring in decent
money. $5 million may not be a lot for other films to cheer about, but with
a production budget of only $3 million, the makers of Waiting can
party in the streets as they will more than likely triple their money back
by the time the film ends its run in the theaters.
Last weeks predictions:
1. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit $18 million
2. Flightplan $9 million
3. Serenity $8 million
4. A History of Violence $7 million
5. In Her Shoes $6 million
Well…..if I can find anything positive in my predictions it would have to
be that I came fairly close to accurately predicting the totals for the
top two films. Again, I miscalculated audiences love for all things Pacino
and a small film that flew underneath the radar. Typing this out last week,
I knew my love for Serenity and A History of Violence
would get me into trouble, but I was hoping (as were the majority of people
who e-mailed me their predictions, thanks guys!) that the rest of America
would think like I think and make those films the success they deserve to
be.
Congrats go out to Brian Fey for coming the closest this week to the actual
box office totals. Brian was the only one who guessed Two for the Money
would be in the top 5 and that was good enough to win it. Congratulations
Brian!
Brian's picks:
1. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit $20 million
2. Flightplan $10 million
3. In Her Shoes $8 million
4. A History of Violence $7 million
5. Two for the Money $7 million
Domino steps up to plate.
1. Elizabethtown
$17 million
2. Domino
$14 million
3. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit $10 million
4. The Fog $10 million
5. Flightplan $7 million
I want to hear from you guys what you think the totals are. Agree with me?
Disagree? E-mail (vince@canmag.com)
me your totals and I'll post the person who comes closest to the actual
totals.
Stay tuned for updates.
|
Vince Palomarez
Sources: Images property of respective holders.
Contact
© 2004 Minds Eye One, All Rights Reserved
The Can Magazine™ is a trademark of Minds Eye One
All movie titles, movie icons, movie stills/clips/trailers/other media... are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of stated holders
CanMag.Com banners contain movie/gaming icons that were created by individual holders
|
|
|
Add to Heffee!
