WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Snowed Out

Box office geeks everywhere were very curious to see how this weekend would play out. It isn’t often that two giant stars open movies the same weekend. Only one can debut on top and no one wants to take the runner-up spot. In the end though, it would appear that Mother Nature was the big winner this weekend. With most of the eastern portion of North America covered in snow, the big showdown between Jim Carrey and Will Smith got lost in the blizzard. In fact, the only casualty the weather can’t be blamed for is the steep 66% drop of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. That’s merely a reflection of how bad it is.


Carrey’s YES MAN actually came out on top, but just barely. Smith’s SEVEN POUNDS actually took in a higher per screen average, signaling that there was a higher demand for his film. Still, YES MAN had a higher theatre count and solid average, allowing it to pull ahead with $18 million over the $16 million take for SEVEN POUNDS. I never thought there was any reason to believe Smith would come out on top. I realize he is the world’s biggest box office draw but SEVEN POUNDS is a downer and it is Christmas after all. Sure, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS was a downer that came out around the same time too but that one was actually good. SEVEN POUNDS meanwhile, is actually making some critic’s year end worst lists. So finally, yes it is to YES MAN.


Squeaking into third place is the little mouse that isn’t afraid of anything (except Smith and Carrey as it turns out), THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Audiences practically ignored this family film but business could pick up in the weeks ahead with the holidays just around the corner. Still, it is off to a very slow start and has no critical praise to encourage parents to bother.


Every major awards contender vying for art house supremacy continued to impress on the smaller stages of America. DOUBT and GRAN TURINO each built on last week’s totals as they expanded but there are two other titles that need singling out this week. The first is the latest by Darren Aronofsky, THE WRESTLER. The film itself isn’t getting much awards recognition but performances by Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei are being talked up around the country – or at least they are in and around the four cinemas where the film opened this weekend. THE WRESTLER wrestled up nearly $300K on four screens for an average of over $52K per screen. And for the first time since its release six weeks ago, the unexpected front runner in the Best Picture Oscar race, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, has finally made it to the Top 10. In its widest expansion to date, Fox Searchlight added 420 screens and saw its returns improve nearly 45%. The inevitably impressive word of mouth that will be generated from these showings will certainly only catapult Danny Boyle’s film to even more unexpected heights in the weeks to come. I smell a crossover!

Or is that just my turkey in the over? Hmmm …


NEXT WEEK: What isn’t coming out next week? Aside from wide expansions for DOUBT, GRAN TURINO and FROST/NIXON, and the soft release of the Kate & Leo reunion, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Hollywood will unleash five mammoth releases on the Christmas public. For the families, there is the Adam Sandler comedy, BEDTIME STORIES. For the couples, you’ve got Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in MARLEY & ME. For the comic book crowd, Frank Miller makes his formal directorial debut with THE SPIRIT. For the award geeks, David Fincher’s buzz heavy, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON finally hits. And for, actually, I’m not sure who this one is for, but Tom Cruise also returns with VALKYRIE. People like seeing WWII movies with bad acting and eye patches on Christmas, right?

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Day the Box Office Stood Still

Aliens may have descended upon the box office this weekend but it was the art house and wards contenders that brought on the major invasion. Of the three wide releases this weekend, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is the only entry that hit the ball into outer space. Meanwhile, three smaller shining stars expanded their runs into bigger galaxies to stellar results and five brand new limited releases shone brighter than most of the big boys.


Opening THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, a sci-fi remake, in the middle of December reminds me of last year when I AM LEGEND was released. I’m sure the good people at Fox were hoping for somewhere near the $70 million that I AM LEGEND opened too but Keanu Reeves is not Will Smith. Oh, and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is certainly not I AM LEGEND. And while $31 million is more than half as much, the film still opened to another $39 million internationally this weekend, putting it just $10 million away from it’s reported $80 million budget. Granted, these preliminary figures have not taken into account grosses from space, where Fox beamed the movie this past weekend as the first film in history to be beamed in its entirety to another solar system. (No, I’m not making this up). Of course, it will take about 4 billion light years to get these figures back so we’ll just stick with earth grosses for now.


Calling the next entry notable is a bit of a stretch but it’s a mega smash when you compare it to the third wide release. NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS could not draw audiences away from FOUR CHRISTMASES (which saw a scant 20%) and opened to a very mild $3.5 million. Meanwhile, Freestyle Releasing’s animated DELGO, opened to a per screen average of just $424 on over 2100 screens. DELGO’s biggest competitor, BOLT, held nicely in fourth place with a 23% decline.


Where do we start with all these amazing art house performances? How about we start the holdovers? I would ordinarily go with the new but art house hits can hit hard one weekend and disappear the next so strong holds and growth are always a testament to the strength of the film. Despite only scoring one Golden Globe nomination for its lead, Sean Penn, MILK jumped back into the Top 10 in its third week. Its aggressive expansion of 229 additional screens proved successful as the film managed the second highest per screen average in the Top 10. Meanwhile, just below the Top 10, as is always seemingly the case for this entry, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture (drama), added 91 screens and brought in another per screen in the teens this weekend, settling again for the number 11 position. And finally, FROST/NIXON, added 36 key markets and saw its gross rise almost 250%. Nothing frosty about that! (Ugh.)


As the December 31 deadline for Oscar contention draws near, the prestige pictures are being unloaded in droves. The good news is that they all seem to be finding their own audiences. The most impressive showing this week goes to Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TURINO. Opening on 6 screens, the film nailed a $47K per screen average. Next on the list is the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, DOUBT. DOUBT earned an average of $35K on 15 screens. Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour epic, CHE, is playing in New York and L.A. just this week to attempt sneaking Benicio del Toro into the Best Actor race. On 2 screens, the film average just over $30K. Best Picture contender, THE READER, from Stephen Daldry, premiered on 9 screens this weekend to an average of $21K. And last but not least, WENDY & LUCY, starring Michelle Williams in a very stark performance, opened to an average of nearly $11K on just 2 screens. As previously mentioned, the true test will come when the expansion follows.


NEXT WEEK: With only one week to go before the big holiday, studios will cram more big names on to your wish list while they still can. Will Smith goes dark and hopes for gold with SEVEN POUNDS. He’ll have a lot of competition with Jim Carrey’s YES MAN though. I have a feeling people might opt for a positing Jim Carrey over a morose Will Smith. Or maybe both will be sent home by a little mouse that isn’t afraid of anything, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Meanwhile, Darren Aronofsky’s much buzzed about THE WRESTLER, opens on four screens before expanding in the new year.