Box office report
Apparently, all those ads with the cuddly puppy really paid off for 20th Century Fox over the long Christma weekend.
The dog tale “Marley & Me,” which also starred Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, debuted at No. 1 at the box office with a weekend take of $37 million, according to the Associated Press. (It opened on Christmas Day and actually made $51.7 million when you take into the account the four-day holiday weekend.)
The holiday timing was ideal for “Marley & Me,” featuring an adorable but trouble-making puppy, 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston told the AP. The movie is based on John Grogan’s best-selling book.
“It’s an all-audience picture, ages 8 to 80. That’s who’s coming,” Livingston told the AP. “This is a movie about life, love and family. It’s what people want to see now.”
Adam Sandler’s family-friendly Disney comedy “Bedtime Stories” came in second for the weekend with $28.1 million and $38.6 million since it debuted on Christmas.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” an expected awards contender starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, was close behind in the third spot, taking in $27 million for the weekend and $39 million since Christmas Day.
MGM’s World War II drama ”Valkyrie,” starring Tom Cruise as a German officer involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, came in fourth with $21.5 million and $30 million since its Christmas opening.
The other new release for Christmas was Lionsgate’s comic-book flick “The Spirit,” which came in at No. 9 with $6.5 million over the weekend and $10.4 million since Christmas.
After film revenues dropped the previous two weekends, Hollywood ended the year on a high, with the top 12 movies taking in $182.5 million, up 8 percent from the same weekend in 2007.
“It’s a very strong finish to the year,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told the AP. “Audiences are really enjoying the movies in the marketplace right now.”
That includes several of the award contenders in addition to “Benjamin Button.” Films such as “Doubt,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Gran Torino,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Wrestler” and”Frost/Nixon” doing well in limited releases.
For the year, it looks like Hollywood will miss setting a revenue record for the second straight year. According to the AP, revenues are running just behind the pace of 2007, when the box office hit a record $9.7 billion.
Here is the weekend top 10, from the AP:
1. “Marley & Me,” $37 million.
2. “Bedtime Stories,” $28.1 million.
3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” $27 million.
4. “Valkyrie,” $21.5 million.
5. “Yes Man,” $16.5 million.
6. “Seven Pounds,” $13.4 million.
7. “The Tale of Despereaux,” $9.4 million.
8. “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” $7.9 million.
9. “The Spirit,” $6.5 million.
10. “Doubt,” $5.7 million.
-BAM
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Comments
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That’s it! I am definitely going back to Westport to see the fireworks next year…I miss it TOO MUCH. Tho, where does one “former townie, now out of statie” park their car outside of Compo these days?Those kids were great…Staples kids were/are the best!!!
I’m not surprised that “The Spirit” didn’t do well. They made it look like a poorer version of Sin City.