Box Office Update

[Wang Chung]

Sorry for the week delay but here is this weekends numbers all I can say is amazing.

North American audiences got a big taste of what international movie fans have already been enjoying as the super hero value pack The Avengers smashed the all-time opening weekend record kickstarting the summer blockbuster season in an unbelievable manner. Marketed and distributed by Disney, the PG-13 film grossed a jaw-dropping $200.3M over the Friday-to-Sunday period obliterating the previous record of $169.2M set last July by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 surpassing it by more than $30M. Both films were helped by 3D and IMAX runs. Playing in 4,349 locations, the per-theater average was a scorching $46,063.

Many years in the making following solo movies from Marvel and Paramount, The Avengers was always expected to have one of the biggest debuts of all-time but the eventual turnout was even more than expected. Disney staked its claim on the May 4 weekend early on scaring away all other studios as no other film opened in wide release. That allowed Avengers to book extra screens within every megaplex thereby boosting its grossing potential. Getting a sixth or seventh screen is extra hard in June and July when so many tentpoles are playing side by side. The super heroes dominated the marketplace sucking up 80% of the entire box office this weekend. After just a single weekend, Avengers has already beaten the total grosses of every Hulk, Captain America, and Thor film.

The record-breaking weekend kicked off on Friday with a towering $80.5M marking the second best opening day ever trailing the $91.1M of the final Potter. But as is normally the case with early May films when schools are still in session, the Saturday decline was not as high as the teen wizard's which was a July release. Avengers dropped 13% to $69.7M making for the best Saturday gross ever by far beating the $51.3M of 2007's Spider-Man 3. Disney is estimating a 28% decline for Sunday which would put it at $50.1M. Even if the forecast proves to be a little optimistic, it would still break the record for the biggest Sunday gross in history. That milestone has been held for four years by The Dark Knight's $43.6M. Thursday night midnight grosses were $18.7M which was far short of a record but the Avengers audience was more patient and did not have as much upfront demand to see the first possible show that Harry Potter and Twilight audiences have displayed.

If the estimate holds, Avengers will also set a new speed record for breaking the double-century mark. Rival studios projected the weekend estimate to be in the $195-201M range. The Saturday drop for Avengers was in line with Marvel's biggest pics opening over this same frame like Spider-Man 3 (-14%) and Iron Man 2 (-11%) while the projected Sunday drop falls in between the 22% of Spidey and the 32% of the second Iron Man. Avengers is certainly better liked by the fans than those sequels as it earned a perfect A+ CinemaScore which the studio hopes indicates good word-of-mouth that will spark repeat business as well as a broadening of the audience.

Studio research showed that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team skewed much more to guys, as expected. 61% of the audience was male while those over and under the age of 25 were split evenly. 52% of the gross ($104M) came from 3D screens including the 275 domestic IMAX 3D runs. That's a higher share than the 38% of Captain America, but lower than the 60% of Thor - both released last summer as Marvel's first 3D super hero flicks. Those films along with the Iron Man movies and 2008's The Incredible Hulk slowly and steadily built up excitement for the eventual teaming of all the characters in The Avengers and the payoff was colossal. Paramount marketed and distributed most of those past films for Marvel and won the right to have its studio logo in the new film and on its marketing materials even though Marvel owner Disney performed those duties this time.

Aside from the talent and companies involved, other winners this weekend were films with trailers playing in front of Avengers. Trailer space was the most valuable real estate in the business and upcoming hits like The Dark Knight Rises scored big by getting new previews into the hands of exhibitors in time for what ended up being roughly 20 million sets of captive eyeballs looking at their big screens. If audiences liked what they saw and come back for more, it could truly be a record-breaking summer at the box office. The new Batman releases on July 20 positioned as the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's trilogy while a rebooted 3D webslinger arrives on July 3 with The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel and Sony. The super hero titles could easily soak up over $3 billion in global box office this summer. Also benefiting this weekend was Disney's megaflop John Carter which was paired with Avengers in double features which pumped some extra dollars into the underwhelming bank account of the pricey Mars stinker which now stands at $70.6M domestically. In fact, if theaters didn't take their share and Disney kept the entire opening weekend gross for Avengers, it would be just enough to wipeout the mammoth loss it took on Carter.

The road ahead is promising for Nick Fury and his team. With terrific word-of-mouth the totals will climb very high, very fast. Comic book films - even ones that are loved as much as this one - tend to drop hard on the second weekend but even a 60% tumble would put the sophomore tally at $80M with a ten-day cume in the neighborhood of $320M. A better hold would up that figure even more. The Dark Knight, which also broke the all-time opening weekend record and was a huge crowd-pleaser, fell 53% in its second round.

Overseas, crowds continued to come out for The Avengers which launched its global release a week before domestic. Powered by muscular debuts in China and Russia, the international weekend hauled in an estimated $151.5M from 52 territories boosting the overseas cume to a staggering $441.5M after 12 days. That put the global tally at an incredible $641.8M with the super hero squad set to shatter the $1 billion worldwide mark as early as next Sunday. Leading the way so far are the U.K. with $48.1M, Mexico with $40.2M, Australia with $32.2M, and Korea with $31.3M. Russia debuted on Thursday with a solid $17.9M in its first day while China opened Saturday with $17.4M. American action films, especially ones in 3D and IMAX, perform exceptionally well there.

For daily Avengers box office updates and analysis all this week, follow BoxOfficeGuru.com on Twitter.

Grosses for holdovers looked just plain puny by comparison as no film managed to break double-digit millions this weekend. Two-time chart-topper Think Like a Man plunged 55% and ranked second with an estimated $8M giving the hit comedy $73M to date. Sony's low-cost $13M production looks set to finish with about $90M.

Enjoying its final days as North America's top-grossing film of 2012, The Hunger Games dropped 47% to an estimated $5.7M boosting the cume to $380.7M putting it at number 14 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters just a hair behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2's $381M which of course included a big chunk of 3D surcharges. Zac Efron's The Lucky One followed with an estimated $5.5M, off 49%, giving Warner Bros. $47.9M to date.

The animated entry The Pirates! Band of Misfits placed fifth with an estimated $5.4M, down 52%, for a $18.6M sum to date for Sony. Universal's comedy The Five-Year Engagement fell 52% to an estimated $5.1M while the Relativity thriller The Raven tumbled 66% in its sophomore frame to an estimated $2.5M. Lukewarm cumes stand at $19.2M and $12M, respectively.

Another sophomore tumbling down to an estimated $2.5M was Jason Statham's action pic Safe which got pummeled by some other action film entering the marketplace falling 69%. Lionsgate has banked just $12.9M in ten days. Disney's nature doc Chimpanzee followed with an estimated $2.4M, off 54%, for a $23M sum. The Three Stooges rounded out the top ten with an estimated $1.8M, down 65%, giving Fox $39.6M to date.

In limited release, the international comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened to an estimated $750,000 from 27 theaters in a dozen major markets for a solid average of $27,789. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and starring an ensemble cast led by Judi Dench, the well-reviewed film expands Friday and throughout May across North America. The Fox Searchlight release has already grossed an impressive $72.4M from its overseas run.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $239.2M which was up a stunning 57% from last year when Thor opened to $65.7M; and up 43% from 2010 when Iron Man 2 bowed at number one with $128.1M.

Think Like a Man $17.6M
The Pirates! Band of Misfits $11.1M
The Hunger Games $10.8M
The Lucky One $10.8M
The Five-Year Engagement $10.6M
Safe $7.9M
The Raven $7.3M
Chimpanzee $5.2M
The Three Stooges $5.2M
The Cabin in the Woods $4.6M

Wow just wow. I have yet to see the Avengers but I can't wait until I do.

 

[Fuji Vice]

Wow just wow. I have yet to see the Avengers but I can't wait until I do.

I'm thinking of going tomorrow if I can find the time. Those numbers are obscene!!

 

[Wang Chung]

I just realized that I put up last weeks numbers instead of this weeks, because they are not out other than what I had in print.

 

[Fuji Vice]

I just realized that I put up last weeks numbers instead of this weeks, because they are not out other than what I had in print.

Nope, those are this weeks numbers. I read them earlier.

EDIT : Oh, I see what you mean, you didn't put the little chart at the bottom. Haha, no worries, I read the article. :

 

[Postman Dave]

I'm so happy that film has lived up to the hype, I wanna see it again!

 

[Wang Chung]

Still grossing far more than all other movies combined in its second weekend, the mighty super hero megahit The Avengers easily held onto its crown at the North American box office while the worldwide tally smashed the $1 billion mark in a mere 19 days with plenty of worldwide fuel still in the tank. Johnny Depp's latest eccentric offering Dark Shadows opened in second place as expected but with a smaller audience than had been anticipated while many holdovers enjoyed small declines.

Disney and Marvel celebrated another weekend of sheer dominance as The Avengers followed its record-shattering opening frame with a very good hold dropping 50% to an astounding $103.2M. That easily broke the record for the best sophomore weekend gross of all-time for any movie in history. Avatar - another big-budget 3D action title - held that record with $75.6M over the Christmas holiday session in 2009 while 2008's The Dark Knight did almost as much with $75.2M in its second round four summers ago from its 2D-only release.

After just ten days of domestic play, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team has amassed a jaw-dropping $373.2M - the best ten-day start ever beating Knight's $313.8M. However, if four years of 2D ticket price increases and 3D surcharges are factored out, the Caped Crusader actually sold more tickets during this span. Still, Avengers also broke the $300M and $350M barriers in record time (nine and ten days, respectively) beating the previous industry titleholder Dark Knight which needed ten days to hit the triple-century mark and 14 days to surpass $350M. The Joker flick also holds the $400M speed record doing it in 18 days but that milestone should also be crushed by Avengers which will do the deed in 13 or 14 days.

Nick Fury and his team have quickly zoomed up the list of all-time-domestic blockbusters reaching number 18 after just ten days of release. Given the positive audience buzz, the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, and the fact that college students will quickly be going on summer vacation over the coming week, The Avengers is on track to beat The Dark Knight to become the third largest domestic grosser of all-time trailing only Avatarand Titanic. A final tally of at least $575M and possibly $600M seems likely with 3D and IMAX, of course, helping the grosses out. The second weekend drop of 50% was quite impressive given how much business was absorbed over the first weekend. Even Knight fell harder declining by 53% in its second round.

Overseas, where the super hero value pack was in its third weekend of play, another $95.4M was pulled in from 54 territories boosting the international cume to a scorching $628.9M. Add in North America and the global total after 19 days in theaters (with the U.S. open for just ten of those) broke the billion dollar milestone with $1.002 billion. Leading market cumes are $65.7M in the U.K., $52.3M in China, $49.6M in Mexico, and $44.6M in Brazil - four countries that speak four different languages. Avatar actually grossed slightly more in its first 19 days with $1.022 billion although it played domestically that entire span. The current trajectory has the juggernaut going to $1.4 billion or beyond which would be enough to beat Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to become number three all-time worldwide following the James Cameron double feature.

The seven films featuring Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, and Thor have now grossed a staggering $3.5 billion worldwide and counting. Fans will continue to have more adventures with their favorite heroes. Next year will see Iron Man 3 open on May 3 and Thor 2 bow on November 15. The sequel to Captain America lands on April 4, 2014 and another Avengers installment is confirmed to be in development.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's latest cinematic concoction Dark Shadows debuted in second place with somewhat unimpressive figures grossing an estimated $28.8M. Averaging $7,671 from a very wide 3,755 theaters, the PG-13 remake of the cult classic 1960s TV series played to an adult female crowd and had trouble attracting interest from other groups. Studio research showed that 57% of the crowd was female while an incredibly high 73% was over the age of 25. The pricey Warner Bros. release struggled with critics and audiences alike. Reviews were mixed with many top critics giving bad marks while the CinemaScore grade from paying moviegoers was a disappointing B-.

With a brand that had a limited built-in audience and intense competition from Avengers which has been pleasing every audience segment immensely, Shadows found it difficult to establish itself as a worthy option. The road ahead looks tough too. Overseas, Dark Shadows launched this weekend in 42 markets and grossed an estimated $36.7M which Warner Bros. reported was just 7% behind the international debuts for 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Dropping to third place, Sony's hit relationship comedy Think Like a Man fell only 22% to an estimated $6.3M boosting the robust cume to $81.9M. Lionsgate followed with its juggernaut The Hunger Games which grossed an estimated $4.4M, down only 21%, for a towering $386.9M total after its eighth frame.

Zac Efron kept bringing in the ladies with his romance hit The Lucky One which dipped only 25% to an estimated $4.1M while the 3D kidpic The Pirates! declined by 42% to an estimated $3.2M. Totals stand at $53.7M and $23.1M, respectively. Universal's comedy The Five-Year Engagement followed with an estimated $3.1M, off 38%, and a $24.1M sum to date.

The indie hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel expanded into several new major markets and jumped into the top ten at number eight with an estimated $2.7M from 178 locations for a solid $14,888 average. The PG-13 film starring Judi Dench has earned good reviews and is playing as counter-programming for an older audience not interested in super heroes or vampire hunks. With $3.7M so far, Fox Searchlight will widen the film again this Friday.

The nature doc Chimpanzee placed ninth dropping 35% to an estimated $1.6M for Disney lifting the cume to $25.6M. Rounding out the top ten, if estimates hold, was the mother-daughter comedy Girl in Progress which bowed to an estimated $1.4M from 322 sites for a mild $4,193 average. Starring Eva Mendes, the PG-13 film attracted weak reviews and targeted the Latina audience with research showing that the crowd was 70% female and 57% over 25 with a respectable B+ grade from ticket buyers polled by CinemaScore. Lionsgate's estimate includes an optimistic 11% jump from Saturday to Sunday for Mother's Day which also - conveniently - was enough to put it into the top ten. Final numbers to be reported on Monday will show if it stays on the list or finishes at number eleven - a chart position that carries less P.R. value.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $158.6M which was up 25% from last year when Thor remained at number one with $34.7M; and up 23% from 2010 when Iron Man 2 stayed on top with $52M.

Marvel's The Avengers $103.2M
Dark Shadows $28.8M
Think Like a Man $6.3M
The Hunger Games $4.4M
The Lucky One $4.1M
The Pirates! Band of Misfits $3.2M
The Five-Year Engagement $3.1M
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $2.6M
Chimpanzee $1.6M
Girl In Progress $1.4M

Another good weekend for Avengers. It looks like it will be the movie to beat this year. I think the only one that will be close will be Dark Knight Rises but we won't know. There is a lot of movies this summer that will do well but I think that will be the top dog.

 

[Wang Chung]

This weekend two new releases were in a dead heat for the number one spot while a third was very close behind making the race for the box office crown too close to call based on Sunday estimates. Final grosses to be reported on Monday will determine chart positions, but overall the North American box office remained dull once again posting double-digit declines from the same frame in recent years.

The horror film House at the End of the Street headlined by Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence made a play for the top spot with an estimated opening weekend of $13M driven by teenage girls and young women who have been underserved in recent weeks by Hollywood's latest menu of action flicks, older-skewing dramas, and kidpics. The Relativity Media release scared up a decent $4,217 average from 3,083 theaters which may be good enough to lead a sluggish frame once final grosses are tabulated. The suspense thriller was produced for just $10M with the distributor acquiring domestic rights for $2.5M and kicking in a targeted P&A campaign.

According to studio research, House's audience was 61% female and 70% under 25. Timing worked in the thriller's favor as The Possession was the only scary movie to connect with moviegoers over the last few months and with Halloween right around the corner, the target audience was in the mood for a creepy flick. The PG-13 rating also opened the door to business from younger teens. Reviews were mostly negative and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a B. But even steep declines in the weeks ahead would leave House in a profitable state especially with a promising home entertainment audience to still tap into down the road.

Also claiming first place with an estimated $13M was the LAPD cop thriller End of Watch which averaged a respectable $4,762 from 2,730 theaters, beating expectations. The R-rated pic starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña scored glowing reviews which helped to attract an adult audience for Open Road Films. The distributor projected a 35% Saturday-to-Sunday decline compared to the larger 45% forecasted by Relativity for House. Sunday football tends to affect male-skewing films more than female-skewing ones so final grosses to be reported on Monday could very well see the fright flick stay ahead of the cop saga. Watch earned a good A- from CinemaScore and coupled with solid reviews could have a nice shelf life.

Clint Eastwood's latest film, the baseball scout drama Trouble with the Curve, technically finished in third place according to weekend estimates. However with a slim margin of $280,000 separating it from the two other newbies, the Warner Bros. release is still in contention to clinch the number one spot when all ticket sales are counted after Sunday's close of business. The PG-13 film reported an estimate of $12.7M from 3,212 theaters for a mild $3,960 average. Co-starring Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman, Curve played to an older adult audience like most of Eastwood's films do.

Reviews were mixed for Trouble which was the actor's first starring vehicle in 19 years which he didn't also direct; his longtime producing partner Robert Lorenz made his helming debut here. The opening was nowhere close to the $29.5M that Clint's last acting venture Gran Torino grossed in its first weekend of wide release in January 2009. That film failed to score a single Oscar nomination, but was helped by buzz that it was probably going to be the legendary star's last acting gig. Instead it bowed much closer to the $12.3M of Million Dollar Baby in its first frame of national expansion in January 2005. Curve came into the marketplace with much lighter fanfare, zero awards chatter, no must-see buzz, and so it was never expected to draw huge numbers. A lack of strong reviews probably had a significant impact on the mature target audience too.

Rounding out the top five were last weekend's two new openers which fell in different manners. The Disney/Pixar 3D release of Finding Nemo slipped 43% to an estimated $9.4M putting the ten-day tally at $30M giving the fish flick a lifetime domestic cume of $369.7M. The decline was not as good as The Lion King's 27% from this weekend a year ago, but was better than the 51% for Beauty and the Beast last January when it came off of a holiday weekend.

Falling sharply from first place, Sony's fivequel Resident Evil: Retribution tumbled 68% to an estimated $6.7M making for the largest sophomore drop yet for the decade-old franchise. It was just slightly worse than the last three films which all fell by more than 60% in their second weekends. Retribution has shot up $33.5M in North America in its first ten days and looks headed for a domestic finish of just under $45M, the smallest amount in the series since the first installment in 2002. But international business was still solid with the frame collecting an estimated $30.5M boosting the overseas cume to $103.4M and worldwide to $136.9M (76% from offshore territories led by Japan) with major markets Italy and the U.K. to still open next week.

Lionsgate failed to draw in young men with its 3D action offering Dredd which opened in sixth place with an estimated $6.3M from 2,506 locations for a slow $2,514 average. Competition from other action films as well as football were factors as was the memory of Stallone's poorly-received take on the comic book character in Judge Dredd from 1995. Repelling the ladies, Dredd skewed 75% male and 69% to those 25 and older. Although many film critics gave the R-rated sci-fi flick good reviews, audiences were not as thrilled as the CinemaScore grade was a mediocre B and its 8% Friday-to-Saturday bump was the smallest increase of any pic in the top ten.

The Weinstein Co. enjoyed a good national expansion for its arthouse hit The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and claimed eighth place with an estimated $5M from 788 locations (up from five last weekend) for a respectable $6,345 average. The critically-acclaimed cult leader pic fared slightly better than director Paul Thomas Anderson's last film There Will Be Blood which didn't expand to this level until its fifth weekend when it grossed $4.9M from 885 sites for a $5,502 average. Master hopes to follow Blood and become a contender in the Oscar race for Picture and Actor. It will have a long line of worthy titles to deal with over the next three months, though, competing for attention during awards season. Cume stands at $6.1M.

The horror hit The Possession fell 54% to an estimated $2.6M giving Lionsgate $45.3M to date. Dropping 47% to an estimated $2.3M was the crime drama Lawless which has banked $34.5M so far for The Weinstein Co. The leggy kidpic ParaNorman rounded out the top ten with an estimated $2.3M, off just 26%, for a $52.6M cume.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $73.4M which was down 29% from last year when The Lion King 3D remained at number one with $21.9M; and down 17% from 2010 when Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opened on top with $19M.

End of Watch $13.2M
House at the End of the Street $12.3M
Trouble with the Curve $12.2M
Finding Nemo 3D $9.6M
Resident Evil: Retribution $6.7M
Dredd 3D $6.3M
The Master $4.4M
The Possession $2.6M
ParaNorman $2.3M
Lawless $2.3M

I still want to see that Clint Eastwood film as it looks interesting. Down week for sure. Dredd looks ok but it got decent reviews from critics so it probably has alot of holes in it.

 

[Fuji Vice]

My buddy saw Dredd the other day and said it was awesome and he's a huge fan of the comics. I assume that's a good thing but I'm still hesitant to see it. Going to The Master tomorrow afternoon so I'm hoping that's really good.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

[Postman Dave]

End of Watch sounds awesome, may have to seek that one out when it's released over here.

 

[Wang Chung]

Liam Neeson rocked the global box office with his much-anticipated kidnapping sequel Taken 2 which scored the best opening ever for an action film in the September-October corridor grossing an estimated $50M. The Fox hit debuted in 3,661 theaters and averaged a spectacular $13,657 per location. The PG-13 film doubled the $24.7M bow of its predecessor which was released on Super Bowl weekend in January 2009. Reviews were mostly negative, however audiences disregarded critics and came out for Neeson who proved once again his ample starpower. Since Taken, he has rebranded himself as the thinking man's action hero and ticket buyers have responded. This is the actor's second time anchoring a number one hit this year following The Grey which debuted to $19.7M in January. He also hit number one last year in Unknown which bowed to $21.9M.

Taken 2, which involves a kidnapping plot to capture Neeson's retired CIA agent character as well as his ex-wife and daughter who are on holiday together in Istanbul, played broadly as males made up 52% of the audience. 56% was 25 and older while the CinemaScore grade was a B+, respectable for a sequel. Friday started red hot with $18.5M, Saturday inched up 3% to $19.1M and Sunday is estimated to drop 35% to $12.4M. Action films in the fall are often affected by football on Sundays, but with Monday being the Columbus Day holiday, the studio is expecting continued solid results. Taken 2 performed much like a summer action film as movies of this genre have never opened close to $50M at this time of year. The biggest openings to date for action films in the months of September and October have been $33M for 1998's Rush Hour and $36.5M for 2002's Red Dragon which was a suspense thriller, but marketed to an adult action crowd.

The jump in opening weekend sales for the new Taken was similar to what the second Jason Bourne film did. The original installment The Bourne Identity debuted to $27.1M in June 2002 while the sequel The Bourne Supremacy jumped 94% to $52.5M for its debut in July 2004. Taken 2 and Supremacy both benefited from the good will that their predecessors generated during their leggy runs at the box office. People who found the films after the first three days made sure that the second time around they came out on opening weekend for another adventure with a character they grew attached to. Both franchises feature gritty action anchored by a solo hero with lethal skills. The third Bourne film soared even higher at the box office. No word yet on a third round of Taken although it would certainly make financial sense.

International moviegoers also lined up for Liam Neeson as Taken 2 grossed an estimated $55M from mostly openings in new territories. The global gross now stands at $117M with plenty more to come. It has been a busy year for Neeson. He has been on the big screen in 2012 with all of his top-grossing characters - Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars Episode I 3D release, Ra's Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises, Bryan Mills in Taken 2 & Zeus in Wrath of the Titans.

Last weekend's most popular film Hotel Transylvania dropped down to second place but still attracted a huge audience of paying customers. Sony's PG-rated monster toon grossed an estimated $26.3M, which would be impressive as an opening weekend, and dropped by a reasonable 38%. After only ten days, the Adam Sandler-led film has spooked up a stellar $76M and could be on track to end its domestic run in the area of $140M. With nothing for kids opening until after Halloween, the road ahead looks bright for Hotel.

The college comedy Pitch Perfect expanded nationwide and landed in third place with $14.7M following its potent limited bow last week. Universal's PG-13 pic about an all-female a cappella group averaged a good $5,320 from 2,770 theaters with holdover locations dropping by only 26%. The cume for the low-budget $17M film is now $21.6M on its way to $55M or more. Studio research showed that women made up an overwhelming portion of the audience as 81% of the crowd was female. 55% were under 25 and the film connected primarily to teen and young adult females. The studio is hoping that positive buzz will broaden the audience over the weeks ahead. Males often avoid films like these upfront, but can get drawn in down the road after hearing many recommendations from friends as was the case with Universal's Bridesmaids last year.

The well-reviewed sci-fi actioner Looper enjoyed a good hold in its second weekend grossing an estimated $12.2M for a 41% decline. The Sony release has taken in $40.3M in ten days and looks headed for a final tally of around $70M.

Opening poorly in fifth place was Tim Burton's animated film Frankenweenie with an estimated $11.5M from 3,005 theaters for a mild $3,827 average. It was the third 3D creepy comedy toon aimed at kids in the last two months and the worst performer on opening weekend. August's ParaNorman opened better with $14.1M while last week's Transylvania ended up opening much better than expected with $42.5M providing intense competition this weekend since both were aimed at the exact same crowd.

Despite having much better reviews, Frankenweenie was a less mainstream film with its black-and-white and claymation style making Hotel the more popular choice for families looking for a pre-Halloween laugh. The CinemaScore for the Burton pic was a decent B+ and with the pumpkin holiday still a few weeks away, the PG-rated film has a chance to show some legs if good word-of-mouth spreads. Its story about a boy who reanimates his dead dog made the appeal more narrow so strong buzz will be needed for Disney to find long-term success against its competitors.

Dropping 49% to an estimated $4M was the cop thriller End of Watch which has collected $32.8M so far for Open Road. Clint Eastwood's Trouble with the Curve followed with an estimated $3.9M, down 47%, for a $29.7M total for Warner Bros. The horror film House at the End of the Street fell 48% to an estimated $3.7M putting the Relativity release at $27.5M.

The acclaimed drama The Master held up well slipping only 31% to an estimated $1.8M for The Weinstein Co. which has grossed $12.3M to date. Disney and Pixar rounded out the top ten with its 3D release of Finding Nemo which took a sharp hit tumbling 62% to an estimated $1.6M for a $39M sum. That boosted the lifetime tally to $378.7M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $129.7M which was up a sharp 62% from last year when Real Steel debuted at number one with $27.3M; and up 69% from 2010 when The Social Network remained on top with $15.5M.

Taken 2 $50.0M
Hotel Transylvania $26.3M
Pitch Perfect $14.7M
Looper $12.2M
Frankenweenie $11.5M
End of Watch $4.0M
Trouble with the Curve $3.9M
House at the End of the Street $3.7M
The Master $1.8M
Finding Nemo 3D $1.6M

Liam Neeson kicking ass again and destroying things. I will take that hands down. The critics hated it so that means its a good movie that is not boring. Quite a busy weekend to say the least though.

 

[Castiel]

I'm sure nobody is surprised that Taken 2 topped the box office.

 

[Wang Chung]

I'm not. Just a little surprised at how much or took on though. We are in October not June or July.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Wang Chung]

The booming North American box office was ruled by two stars who have successfully rebranded themselves in recent years with Liam Neeson's action sequel Taken 2 remaining in first place for a second week in a row while Ben Affleck's hostage crisis thriller Argo led a five-pack of new releases with a solid debut in the runner-up spot. Also opening well was the new horror hit Sinister in third as the overall marketplace was once again sharply ahead of last year's grosses for a third straight weekend.

Audiences powered Taken 2 into the top spot again as the kidnapping hit grossed an estimated $22.5M in its sophomore frame pushing the ten-day tally to a strong $86.8M. The Fox release played like a typical action sequel falling 55% from its better-than-expected $49.5M debut. The decline was far greater than the 17% dip that its predecessor enjoyed in February 2009, but that was a leggy sleeper hit that moviegoers found over time thanks to sensational word-of-mouth. Taken 2 is on track to finish its domestic run with $135-140M which would put it just shy of the $145M of Taken. This is the first time Neeson has ever been the solo anchor of a number one hit over back-to-back weekends.

Audiences around the world continued to line up for the actor's special set of skills as Taken 2 grossed an estimated $41M from international markets for a global weekend of $63.5M. The sequel has amassed $132.8M overseas and a stellar $219.6M worldwide to date.

Ben Affleck's hostage thriller Argo enjoyed a solid debut in second place with an estimated $20.1M from 3,232 theaters for a good $6,225 average. The R-rated film based on the true story of a CIA agent's covert operation into Iran to rescue Americans in hiding during the hostage crisis won top marks from both film critics and paying audiences alike. Reviews were glowing across the board and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave a rare A+ grade which bodes well for the film's long-term playability. Set in the aftermath of the 1979 attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Argo skewed extremely old and more female. Studio research showed that a whopping 74% of the audience was over age 35 and 54% were women. Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman acted along with Affleck who played the lead.

Argo did not reach the heights of Affleck's last film The Town - another critically acclaimed drama with Oscar buzz released in the fall. That one, also released by Warner Bros., opened to $23.8M and a $8,322 average in September 2010 on its way to a $92.2M final. Despite being showered with awards buzz at the time of its release, it failed to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination which many industry experts predicted it would earn. With its more contemporary story and younger cast, Town played a bit younger. Argo could find itself with better legs thanks to its older audience plus it seems likely to score more points with Academy voters. Argo's pro-America theme should continue to play well at the box office during this election season with all types of voters and the next two weekends will offer very little direct competition so solid holds are likely.

The new fright flick Sinister scared up the best opening for any horror film in ten months and placed third for the frame with an estimated $18.3M. The Summit title released by new owner Lionsgate averaged a stellar $7,222 from 2,527 theaters and was even the number one movie in the country on opening day beating Taken 2 by $425,000 on Friday before taking a drop on Saturday while all other films saw gains. The R-rated chiller stars Ethan Hawke but was sold more on its behind-the-scenes team with materials promoting that it was from the makers of the wildly successful Paranormal Activity films and Insidious.

That helped the well-reviewed Sinister post big numbers upfront but grosses fell 8% on Saturday and the C+ CinemaScore grade indicates the usual fast-burning horror road ahead - especially with Paranormal Activity 4 opening this Thursday night starting with 9:00pm shows on both conventional and IMAX screens. Exit polls indicated a young adult audience as 67% of the crowd was in the 18-34 age range while 54% was male. Sinister beat out recent openings for horror titles like August's The Possession ($17.7M) and September's House at the End of the Street ($12.3M).

Sony claimed the next two spots with a hit and a miss. The animated comedy Hotel Transylvania collected an estimated $17.3M in its third weekend, down 36%, pushing the cume past the century mark to $102.2M. It's now the 13th $100M+ domestic grosser for Adam Sandler over the past 14 years. Though not sold as a Sandler vehicle, the spooky toon features the comedian voicing the main character Dracula. With Halloween still more than two weeks away, Hotel should continue to thrive at the box office and surpass $140M.

The funnyman's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry co-star Kevin James stumbled with his new broad comedy Here Comes the Boom which opened in fifth with an estimated $12M from 3,014 locations for a lukewarm $3,981 average. The PG-rated pic about a teacher who enters Mixed Martial Arts to earn money for his school played to a mixed crowd of families and general audiences and with a male skew. Reviews were mostly negative, though critical comments generally play a small role in the commercial playability of movies like these. Boom was produced by Sandler's Happy Madison production company and directed by Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy). On the bright side, it earned a good A grade from CinemaScore though that does not guarantee legs in the weeks ahead.

In its second weekend of wide play, the college comedy Pitch Perfect dropped a reasonable 37% to an estimated $9.3M for a cume to date of $36.1M for Universal. The hold was certainly good, but not too impressive considering the very high exit polls it got from audiences. Still, the $17M production should finish up as a nice moneymaker in the $60M range before overseas and other ancillaries are factored in.

Disney's stop-motion toon Frankenweenie fell by 39% in its sophomore round to an estimated $7M - another good but not exceptional hold for a quality film. The Tim Burton creation has grossed $22M in ten days and may be headed for a disappointing $40M final. The sci-fi pic Looper got hit hard falling 48% to an estimated $6.3M giving Sony $51.4M to date.

Competition for adult audiences proved to be too fierce this weekend for the well-reviewed crime saga Seven Psychopaths which opened poorly in ninth place with just $4.3M, according to estimates. The CBS release averaged a weak $2,889 from 1,480 playdates and will have a hard time as it tries to expand in two weeks to more of the country. Studio research showed that 62% of the audience was male and 71% was over 25. The CinemaScore was a decent B+. With Taken 2, Argo, and Looper to choose from, the target audience for Psychopaths found more high profile options to go with. Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, and Woody Harrelson led the ensemble cast for the R-rated film.

The indie drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower starring Harry Potter's Emma Watson jumped into the top ten in its national expansion grossing an estimated $2.2M putting it in tenth place. The Summit film widened from 221 to 726 locations and witnessed its per-theater average drop to a mild $2,983. Total to date is $6.2M.

Audiences rejected the Ayn Rand story Atlas Shrugged Part II which debuted outside the top ten despite a wide release in 1,012 theaters grossing an estimated $1.7M for a dismal $1,700 average. The opening weekend gross was identical to the bow that Part I generated in April 2011 however that one was released in less than one third of the theaters with only 299 sites for a more solid $5,640 average. Part II was backed by a larger investment into marketing and distribution but fans mostly ignored it.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $119.2M which was up a hefty 64% from last year when Real Steel remained at number one with $16.3M; and up a scant 2% from 2010 when Jackass 3D opened on top with a then-record $50.4M.

Taken 2 $22.5M
Argo $20.1M
Sinister $18.2M
Hotel Transylvania $17.3M
Here Comes the Boom $12.0M
Pitch Perfect $9.3M
Frankenweenie $7.0M
Looper $6.3M
Seven Psychopaths $4.3M
The Perks of Being a Wallflower $2.2M

Still not much of a surprise here. Figured Sinister would have done better since it is the Halloween season. In Liam We Trust.

 

[Petty]

I wasn't surprised at all. Taken was a hit. I don't listen to critics.

 

[Castiel]

Good to see Argo doing well, hard to compete with the juggernaut that is Taken 2 though.