Box office report for Nov. 2, 2009
The Halloween weekend was friendly to “Thriller” star Michael Jackson’s farewell film.
“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” which opened last Wednesday, made $101 million worldwide in its first five days in theaters. According to the Associated Press, distributor Sony plans to extend the performance film beyond its originally planned two-week theatrical run.
The film was the No. 1 Halloween thriller domestically with a $21.3 million opening weekend, the AP reported. It raised its domestic total to $32.5 million.
The movie made $68.5 million overseas, including $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $5.8 million in France and $3.2 million in China.
In the United Kingdom, where Jackson had planned a marathon series of 50 sold-out London concerts starting last July, the movie earned $7.6 million. “This Is It” features Jackson in behind-the-scenes performances the weeks before his death last June, as he rehearsed his biggest hits for the London shows.
Sony plans to extend the run of “This Is It” overseas on a country-by-country basis, with most territories probably getting one to three weeks of extra playing time, according to the AP.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, Paramount’s mico-budget horror sensation “Paranormal Activity,” dropped to No. 2 with $16.5 million. That brings its total to a whopping $84.8 million.
“Paranormal Activity” may have proved the killing blow for Lionsgate’s long-running gorefest franchise “Saw.” After a lackluster debut the previous weekend, “Saw VI” fell to No. 5 in its second weekend. It made $5.6 million, raising its total to just $22.8 million after 10 days. Previous sequels in the serial-killer series all had topped $30 million during opening weekend alone.
Here’s the list of the weekend’s top 10 movies, according to the AP:
1. “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” $21.3 million.
2. “Paranormal Activity,” $16.5 million.
3. “Law Abiding Citizen,” $7.3 million.
4. “Couples Retreat,” $6.1 million.
5. “Saw VI,” $5.6 million.
6. “Where the Wild Things Are,” $5.1 million.
7. “The Stepfather,” $3.4 million.
8. “Astro Boy,” $3.04 million.
9. “Amelia,” $3 million.
10. “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Oct. 26, 2009
he gory and seemingly endless “Saw” franchise finally met its match over the weekend.
The micro-budgeted fright flick “Paranormal Activity” ascended to the No. 1 spot after its nationwide release over the weekend.
In contrast, “Saw VI” debuted with just $14.8 million for second place. According to the Associated Press, the “Saw” franchise that has been an annual fixture before the Halloween holiday since 2004.
This was the worst opening ever for Lionsgate’s “Saw” series, whose previous low was $18.3 million for the original movie. Subsequent installments of the “Saw” franchise all opened at $30 million or better.
This time, horror fans simply opted for the documentary-style chills of “Paranormal Activity” instead of the bloody thrills of the new “Saw” installment.
After four weeks in narrower release, distributor Paramount released “Paranormal Activity” into 1,945 theaters. That still was just under two-thirds of the 3,036 theater count for “Saw VI.”
“Paranormal Activity” raised its total haul to $62.5 million. The movie was shot for a reported $15,000 but has become a horror sensation because of online fan buzz. The fictional movie unfolds like a homemade documentary as a couple copes with apparitions and supernatural phenomena in their home.
It has a strong shot at topping $100 million, something none of the “Saw” movies ever managed.
Paramount already is toying with the prospects for sequels or prequels.
“Given the success of this and the passion of the online community, I think our guys have got a number of different ideas they’re percolating,” said Rob Moore, Paramount vice chairman, to the AP. “Once we’ve gotten to the end of this run, we’ll see what other fun we can have with this.”
According to the AP, the overall box office declined, with Hollywood revenues totaling $121 million, down 9 percent from the same weekend a year ag, when ”High School Musical 3: Senior Year” debuted with $42 million and “Saw V” opened with $30.1 million.
That was despite the number of new releases in theaters, most of which notched lackluster numbers. Summit Entertainment’s “Astro Boy” opened at No. 6 with $7 million, Universal’s “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” debuted at No. 8 with $6.3 million, and Fox Searchlight’s “Amelia” premiered at No. 11 with $4 million.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, the Warner Bros. tale “Where the Wild Things Are,” fell to No. 3, just behind “Saw VI” with $14.4 million. Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the beloved Maurice Sendak’s beloved picture book raised its total to $54 million.
The box-office should get a jolt over the Halloween holiday as “Paranormal Activity” expands to as many as 2,500 theaters and Sony’s “Michael Jackson: This Is It” heads into its first weekend after debuting late Tuesday night.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Paranormal Activity,” $22 million.
2. “Saw VI,” $14.8 million.
3. “Where the Wild Things Are,” $14.4 million.
4. “Law Abiding Citizen,” $12.7 million.
5. “Couples Retreat,” $11.1 million.
6. “Astro Boy,” $7 million.
7. “The Stepfather,” $6.5 million.
8. “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” $6.3 million.
9. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $5.6 million.
10. “Zombieland,” $4.3 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Oct. 19, 2009
Director Spike Jonze’s long-awaited “Where the Wild Things Are,” a big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book, debuted at No. 1 at the weekend box office with $32.5 million, according to the Associated Press.
Moviegoers 18 and older accounted for 43 percent of the audience, while parents with children made up 27 percent, the AP reported. Jonze viewed his version as a story about a child, but not necessarily a children’s movie, so those statistics seem appropriate.
It was a happy ending for the long-delayed film: During production, Jonze clashed with Warner Bros., which had wanted a more kid-friendly film. The studio gave Jonze more time and money to finish the movie and ultimately backed his vision with a huge marketing campaign, according to the AP.
Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler’s vengeance thriller “Law Abiding Citizen,” debuted with $21.3 million for the No. 2 spot.
Expanding into wider release, Paramount’s micro-budget fright flick “Paranormal Activity” took the No. 3 spot with $20.2 million.
Shot for a reported $15,000, “Paranormal Activity” outperformed the debut of Sony’s horror remake “The Stepfather,” which cost $19 million, played in nearly four times as many theaters but opened at No. 5 opening with just $12.3 million.
Paramount plans to keep expanding “Paranormal Activity” into more theaters as Halloween approaches; the documentary-style haunted house tale will take on another horror film this week with the opening of “Saw VI.”
Here is the weekend’s top 10 list, from the AP:
1. “Where the Wild Things Are,” $32.5 million.
2. “Law Abiding Citizen,” $21.3 million.
3. “Paranormal Activity,” $20.2 million.
4. “Couples Retreat,” $17.9 million.
5. “The Stepfather,” $12.3 million.
6. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $8.1 million.
7. “Zombieland,” $7.8 million.
8. “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ in 3-D, $3 million.
9. “Surrogates,” $1.92 million.
10. “The Invention of Lying,” $1.9 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Oct. 12, 2009
Benefiting from a dearth of competition, the comedy “Couples Retreat,” which reunited “Swingers” co-stars Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, topped the weekend box office with $35.3 million.
Despite poor reviews (it scored only 14 percent at RottenTomatoes.com), ”Couples Retreat,” the directing debut for Peter Billingsley (AKA “Ralphie” of ”A Christmas Story” fame) exceeded expectations for Universal Pictures. According to the Associated Press, the distributor hoped the movie would top the $20 million range.
The No. 1 opening came just days after a management shake-up that followed a summer of poor box office performers for Universal, which released the Will Ferrell dud “Land of the Lost” and such commercial underachievers as Adam Sandler’s “Funny People” and Jennifer Aniston’s “Love Happens.”
The week’s previous No. 1, the horror-comedy “Zombieland,” came in second place with $15 million, raising its take to $47.8 million.
The micro-budgeted fright film “Paranormal Activity” jumped to No. 5 after distributor Paramount expanded into daylong release after two weeks of midnight screenings.
Shot for a reported $15,000, “Paranormal Activity” played in narrow release of just 160 cinemas. It averaged a huge $44,163 a theater, compared with $11,780 in 3,000 theaters for “Couples Retreat.”
“Paranormal Activity” was acquired by former Paramount partner DreamWorks at 2007’s Slamdance Film Festival with the idea that writer-director Oren Peli would re-shoot it on a bigger budget, according to the AP.
But after audiences responded well to a test screening, Paramount decided to sneak “Paranormal Activity” out in a manner befitting its raw, independent roots. The studio began two weekends ago with midnight screenings in 13 cities, the movie building buzz online much as “The Blair Witch Project” did 10 years ago.
Only Paramount has the advantage of social media now: Fans spread the word about the documentary-style horror flick on Twitter and Facebook, and the movie expanded to more cities based on which markets received the most requests to see it on a Web site Paramount set up. According to the AP, the weekend’s 46 markets included mostly big cities, but mid-sized cities such as Norfolk, Va., also made the cut as fans there voted to bring the movie.
According to Paramount, “Paranormal Activity” had a record weekend for a movie playing in fewer than 200 theaters, surpassing the $3.7 million haul for “Platoon” in 174 theaters early in its run in 1987. Factoring in today’s higher prices for movie tickets, which average nearly twice as much as in 1987, “Paranormal Activity” sold about the same number of tickets as “Platoon.”
“Paranormal Activity” has grossed $8.3 million so far. And Paramount plans to expand it to several hundred more theaters this weekend, again adding new markets based on where it gets the most requests.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Couples Retreat,” $35.3 million.
2. “Zombieland,” $15 million.
3. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $12 million.
4. “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ in 3-D, $7.7 million.
5. “Paranormal Activity,” $7.1 million.
6. “Surrogates,” $4.1 million.
7. “The Invention of Lying,” $3.4 million.
8. “Whip It,” $2.8 million.
9. “Capitalism: A Love Story,” $2.7 million.
10. “Fame,” $2.6 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Oct. 5, 2009
The undead took over the box office over the weekend, with the horror-comedy “Zombieland” coming in No. 1 with $25 million.
Although several new releases entered theaters, some familiar favorites fared well: After two weeks at No. 1, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” didn’t roll far. The animated movie made another $16.7 million for second place, according to the Associated Press.
Disney/Pixar’s double feature re-release of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ in 3-D made $12.5 million for third place. The double feature is getting a limited two-week run to prep audiences for the long-awaited arrival of “Toy Story 3″ in 3-D next year.
The comedy “The Invention of Lying,” starring Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner, opened at No. 4 with $7.4 million. The sci-fi thriller “Surrogates,” starring Bruce Willis, fell to No. 5 from No. 2 the previous weekend.
In sixth place was a tie between Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, the roller derby flick “Whip It,” and Michael Moore’s latest documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story.” Both films made $4.85 million.
In limited release, Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest film, “A Serious Man,” notched a big opening with $251,510 in six theaters, averaging a whopping $41,918 per cinema.
Sports fans turned out for Lionsgate’s basketball documentary “More Than a Game,” which chronicles the high school years of NBA star LeBron James, opened with $196,681 in 14 theaters, averaging a solid $14,049 a cinema.
And the fright flick “Paranormal Activity” took in $535,000 from midnight-only screenings in 33 cities. The studio plans to expand the movie to all-hours show times on Friday, according to the AP.
Here is the top 10 list, from the AP:
1. “Zombieland,” $25 million.
2. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $16.7 million.
3. “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ in 3-D, $12.5 million.
4. “The Invention of Lying,” $7.4 million.
5. “Surrogates,” $7.3 million.
6 (tie). “Capitalism: A Love Story,” $4.85 million.
6 (tie). “Whip It,” $4.85 million.
8. “Fame,” $4.8 million.
9. “The Informant!”, $3.8 million.
10. “Love Happens,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Sept. 28, 2009
The animated movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” was still appetizing to movie-goers in its second week in theaters.
Over the weekend, the tasty 3-D adventure topped the box office for the second straight week with $24.6 million. Based on the famed children’s book, “Cloudy” follows the exploits of Flint Lockwood (voice of Tulsa native Bill Hader), a geeky aspiring inventor who devises a machine that turns water into food.
The Sony release raised its domestic haul to $60 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the Associated Press.
The sci-fi thriller “Surrogates,” based on the graphic novel and Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, debuted at No. 2 with $15 million. Set in a future in which people live in isolation and interact mostly through surrogate robots, the Disney release stars Bruce Willis as a cop forced to leave his home to investigate the murder of others’ surrogates.
“Pandorum,” another sci-fi thriller opening over the weekend didn’t fare as well. The film, which stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as two astronauts who awaken on a spaceship with no memory of their identities or mission, came in No. 6 with $4.4 million.
The weekend’s other new wide release, MGM’s new take on the 1980 musical hit “Fame,” opened in third place with $10 million. Oklahoma City-raised Megan Mullally plays one of the teachers in the film, set in a prestigious New York performing arts school.
According to the AP, Michael Moore’s new film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” opened strongly in limited release with a $240,000 weekend take in four theaters. The Overture Films release boosts its total to $306,586 since it debuted last Wednesday. It expands to theaters nationwide on Friday.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $24.6 million.
2. “Surrogates,” $15 million.
3. “Fame,” $10 million.
4. “The Informant!”, $6.9 million.
5. “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” $4.8 million.
6. “Pandorum,” $4.4 million.
7. “Love Happens,” $4.3 million.
8. “Jennifer’s Body,” $3.5 million.
9. “9,” $2.8 million.
10. “Inglourious Basterds,” $2.7 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Sept. 21, 2009
Good fortune rained down on the 3-D animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” which earned $30.1 million to top the weekend box office.
Sony’s family comedy was adapted from the popular 1978 children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett. It featured Tulsa native Bill Hader as the voice of the lead character, geeky inventor Flint Lockwood.
According to the Associated Press, the film’s success bodes well for another big-screen version of a classic children’s book: the long-awaited film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” The Spike Jonze-directed adaptation will be released Oct. 16.
Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!,” starring Matt Damon as an unreliable whistle blower, came in second with $10.5 million.
Among other wide releases, the romantic comedy “Love Happens” starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart came in fourth with $8.5 million. Apparently, moviegoers are weary of Aniston, rom coms or both. It’s Aniston’s third film this year, according to AP.
Megan Fox’s first headlining role wasn’t a supernatural success: “Jennifer’s Body,” an R-rated horror film starring the “Transformers” babe, was in fifth place with $6.8 million. It was written by Diablo Cody of “Juno” fame.
Last week’s No. 1 film, Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” saw a 57 percent drop in business for Lionsgate. But it still earned $10 million to land in third place. It also brought its cumulative take to $37.9 million.
The weekend’s total box-office gross was approximately $100 million, which compares favorably with the $88 million that was made on the corresponding weekend last year, according to the AP.
Here are the top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” $30.1 million.
2. “The Informant!” $10.5 million.
3. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” $10 million.
4. “Love Happens,” $8.5 million.
5. “Jennifer’s Body,” $6.8 million.
6. “9,” $5.5 million.
7. “Inglourious Basterds,” $3.6 million.
8. “All About Steve,” $3.4 million.
9. “Sorority Row,” $2.5 million.
10. “The Final Destination,” $2.4 million.
-BAM
Box office report for Sept. 14, 2009
Tyler Perrys latest comedy, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” opened at No. 1 over the weekend with $23.4 million.’
Of the eight films Perry has made as writer/director/actor, five have debuted at No. 1, according to the Associated Press.
Among the other new releases, the animated post-apocalyptic tale “9″ came in at No. 2 with $10.7 million. It opened last Wednesday — on 9-9-09 — and has made a total of more than $15 million.
Two other new releases notched mediocre openings: The slasher film “Sorority Row” debuted at No. 6, while Kate Beckinsale’s Antarctic whodunit “Whiteout” opened at No. 7.
Quentin Tarantino’s wonderful World War II epic “Inglourious Basterds” continued to perform well, coming in at No. 3 and crossing the $100 million mark.
Here are the top 10 movies, from the AP:
1. “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” Lionsgate, $23,446,785, 2,255 locations, $10,398 average, $23,446,785, one week.
2. “9,” Focus Features, $10,740,446, 1,661 locations, $6,466 average, $15,160,926, one week.
3. “Inglourious Basterds,” Weinstein Co., $6,140,617, 3,215 locations, $1,910 average, $103,903,469, four weeks.
4. “All About Steve,” Fox, $5,638,243, 2,265 locations, $2,489 average, $21,650,628, two weeks.
5. “The Final Destination,” Warner Bros., $5,522,377, 2,732 locations, $2,021 average, $58,280,235, three weeks.
6. “Sorority Row,” Summit, $5,059,802, 2,665 locations, $1,899 average, $5,059,802, one week.
7. “Whiteout,” Warner Bros., $4,915,104, 2,745 locations, $1,791 average, $4,915,104, one week.
8. “District 9,” Sony, $3,538,769, 2,560 locations, $1,382 average, $108,456,233, five weeks.
9. “Gamer,” Lionsgate, $3,293,055, 2,502 locations, $1,316 average, $16,261,653, two weeks.
10. “Julie & Julia,” Sony, $3,156,316, 2,343 locations, $1,347 average, $85,216,398, six weeks.
-BAM
Box Office Report for Labor Day Weekend
Hey there loyal readers, 3D here with your box office report for the weekend. Unfortunately for the movie industry, the results were quite disappointing. Despite the influx of new films this weekend, the top ten movies together earned less than $100 million dollars and none of the new films was at the top of the list. That honor went to the newest installment in the “Final Destination” horror franchise, which continues to perform well in part because of its 3-D dollars.
Sandra Bullock’s new movie “All About Steve” came in at No. 3, which isn’t quite up to the level of her previous effort this year “The Proposal.” The new action movie “Gamer” also cracked the top five, while Mike Judge’s new workplace satire “Extract” looks like it is destined for cult status rather than box office glory since it opened at number nine.
Here are the top 10 movies for the holiday weekend, courtsey of IMDB:
1.) “The Final Destination” $15.3 million ($50.4 million)
2.) “Inglourious Basterds” $15.3 million ($95.1 million)
3.) “All About Steve” $14.1 million (New)
4.) ”Gamer” $11.2 (New)
5.) ”District 9″ $9.11 million ($103 million)
6.) “Julie & Julia” $7.08 million ($80.7 million)
7.) ”Halloween II” $6.87 million ($26.9 million)
8.) “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” $6.71 million ($141 million)
9.) “Extract” $5.51 million (New)
10.) “The Time Traveler’s Wife” $5.47 million ($55.8 million)
—3D
Box office report for the weekend of Aug. 28-30
It was a battle of horror sequels at the box office over the weekend, and “The Final Destination” emerged victorious.
“The Final Destination” opened as the No. 1 movie with $28.3 million, according to the Associated Press. The Warner Bros. release is the latest installment in a film franchise about people who stalked by death after a premonition saves them from their destined doom.
The weekend’s other horror sequel, Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” made the No. 3 spot with $17.4 million. It was the second film in Zombie’s update of the slasher franchise about the psychopathic Michael Myers. The sequel took in more than its $15 million production budget over opening weekend, according to the AP.
“The Final Destination” took over the top spot from Quentin Tarantino’s excellent World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” which slipped to second place with $20 million. The Weinstein Co. release raised its total to $73.8 million after 10 days in theaters, according to the AP.
It was a good weekend for the Weinsteins, who also released “Halloween II.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, Focus Features’ music romp “Taking Woodstock,” opened weakly in the No. 9 spot with $3.7 million. Directed by Ang Lee (”Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”), “Taking Woodstock” is a nostalgic look behind the scenes at the huge landmark 1969 rock concert.
Though Hollywood’s summer season historically does not end until Labor Day, the holiday comes late this year, adding an extra week to the movie schedule and skewing comparisons to past summers.
Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian is using this Monday to mark the end of the season, since this weekend corresponded to Labor Day weekend last year. Dergarabedian estimated that through Monday, Hollywood will have taken in $4.26 billion, 1.5 percent ahead of the revenue record the industry set in summer 2008.
While receipts ran at an all-time high, attendance was off 2.2 percent compared with last summer factoring in this year’s higher ticket prices, he told the AP. Hollywood finished with an unusually strong lineup in August, typically a quiet time at the box office.
“August gave us the record,” Dergarabedian told the AP. “Virtually every summer crosses the finish line with a whimper. This year, we crossed with a bang.”
Here is the top 10 at the weekend box office, from the AP:
1. “The Final Destination,” $28.3 million.
2. “Inglourious Basterds,” $20 million.
3. “Halloween II,” $17.4 million.
4. “District 9,” $10.7 million.
5. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” $8 million.
6. “Julie & Julia,” $7.4 million.
7. “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” $6.7 million.
8. “Shorts,” $4.9 million.
9. “Taking Woodstock,” $3.7 million.
10. “G-Force,” $2.8 million.
-BAM
