Paramount reigned supreme at the North American box office as its animated
adventure tale Beowulf seized the number one spot in its opening weekend while
the studio’s other toon
Bee
Movie finished in second place in its third frame.
But the overall marketplace remained troubled posting ticket sales that were
more like October numbers than like the typically robust figures seen in
November. In fact, the top ten films combined for just over $92M making it the
worst showing in nine years for the weekend before Thanksgiving.
The 3D computer-animated actioner Beowulf collected an estimated $28.1M over the
Friday-to-Sunday period becoming the top choice of movie fans this weekend.
Attacking 3,153 theaters, the PG-13 film averaged a strong $8,912 per location
for Paramount which scored its seventh number one hit of 2007. The
Robert Zemeckis-directed
picture used motion capture technology to tell the story of a Viking warrior who
saves a kingdom from demonic beasts. Ray Winstone
and
Angelina Jolie contributed their voices and
likenesses. Reviews were generally favorable.
Beowulf was the widest opener ever for a 3D film with over 700 of the venues
offering the adventure in the high-tech format. The Real D format accounted for
638 of the locations (20% of the total) and roughly $8M (28%) of the weekend
gross. Several dozen Imax sites also played the 3D version while traditional
theaters played the 2D one. According to studio research the audience was 60%
male and was split evenly between those over and under the age of 25.
Warner Bros. co-financed the $150M project and opened Beowulf in several
international territories day-and-date with the domestic bow. The ancient epic
grossed an estimated $17M overseas from 2,500 screens in 13 markets for a global
opening of $45.1M. It enjoyed solid second-place debuts in the United Kingdom
and Germany and rang up number one bows in many Asian markets like Hong Kong,
South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore. Beowulf invades France, Russia, Spain, and
Mexico later this week and attacks Australia, Brazil, and Japan on the following
weekend.
Paramount also claimed the silver medal with another toon, the
Jerry Seinfeld
hit Bee
Movie, which dropped 44% to an estimated $14.3M in its third outing.
After 17 days of release, the PG-rated kidpic has amassed $93.9M from just under
4,000 theaters and could be headed for $130-140M by the end of its domestic run.
The one-two punch of Beowulf and Bee marked the first time in three years that
animated films occupied the top two positions at the box office. The last
occurrence was over the November 12-14, 2004 frame when
The Incredibles remained
number one with a mighty $50.3M in its sophomore session and Zemeckis’
The Polar
Express opened in second with $23.3M. Only two other times this year has one
studio claimed the top two films. Warner Bros. ruled the March 23-25 weekend
with TMNT and
300 while a few weeks later Paramount reigned with
Disturbia and
Blades of Glory.
Despite the studio’s killer B’s leading the box office, the overall marketplace
was in bad shape which does not bode well for the end of what has been a record
year. The top ten films have now failed to break the $100M mark over
back-to-back weekends during the normally busy month of November. This has not
occurred during this month since 2000. Also, the weekend before Thanksgiving is
routinely used by Hollywood studios to launch some of their biggest holiday
season blockbusters. Beowulf generated the worst opening for a number one film
over this high-profile frame in nine years. Clearly the box office is lacking
strength right now and moviegoers are losing excitement over the current menu of
films that studios have served up. To make things worse, the next two weekends
lack any film expected to see explosive sales.
American Gangster
shot up another $13.2M in ticket stubs, according to
estimates, and raised its 17-day cume to $101M. Off 45%, the
Denzel
Washington–Russell
Crowe hit became the 21st film of 2007 to break the century
mark and the fifth for Universal which leads all studios. Warner Bros, Fox,
Buena Vista, and Sony have all claimed three such blockbusters each this year
with Paramount close to joining them when Bee Movie crosses the barrier later
this week. Gangster should head towards $130-140M domestically.
In Europe, the
Ridley Scott-helmed crime saga began generating heat with number
one openings in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, and
Switzerland for an international weekend haul of $14M from 1,471 theaters in 14
markets. In the U.K., Gangster went head to head against the debut of Beowulf
and beat it by 13%.
Fox attracted mediocre numbers for its new kidpic Mr. Magorium’s Wonder
Emporium which opened in fifth with an estimated $10M from 3,164 sites. The G-rated tale
starring
Dustin Hoffman and
Natalie Portman averaged a mild $3,168 per theater.
Reviews were mostly negative and competing family films from a busy bee and
Santa’s brother provided ample competition for the target audience.
For the third straight weekend, the Steve Carell dramedy
Dan in Real Life
enjoyed the smallest drop in the top ten as the Buena Vista release continued to
benefit from solid word-of-mouth. The romantic comedy dipped only 25% to an
estimated $4.5M in its fourth frame and pushed its total up to $37.1M. A $50M
final could result.
The latest offering from the
Coen brothers
No Country for
Old Men expanded into
wider release and posted sensational numbers allowing it to enter the top ten at
number seven while still only playing in 148 theaters. The R-rated thriller
starring Tommy Lee Jones,
Javier Bardem, and
Josh Brolin grossed an estimated
$3.1M for a scorching $20,932 average lifting the total to $4.9M from limited
play. Strong reviews, good word-of-mouth, and a loyal fan following for the
filmmaking duo helped to keep Country going strong. On Wednesday, Miramax will
go nationwide by widening the pic to about 800 locations giving upscale adult
audiences something meaty for the turkey frame. Paramount Vantage co-financed
the pic.
Tumbling 57% in its sophomore frame, the political snoozer
Lions for Lambs
fell to eighth with an estimated $2.9M giving the MGM release a wimpy $11.6M in
ten days. Produced for $35M, the
Tom Cruise–Robert Redford–Meryl
Streep vehicle
should end its run with about half its budget in domestic grosses. Poor reviews
and off-putting subject matter negated the starpower that the film tried to rely
on for commercial success. Redford will have the honor of directing Cruise’s
lowest-grossing movie since
Legend which took in a mere $15.5M in 1986.
Factoring in inflation over the superstar’s quarter-century career, Lions For
Lambs will end up selling the second fewest number of tickets for Tom Cruise
beating only 1983’s Losin’ It which found most of its audience on VHS tapes and
late-night cable television airings.
The horror sequel
Saw IV fell 53% to an estimated $2.3M in its fourth weekend
and lifted its cume to $61.8M. Look for a $66M final gross putting it ahead of
Saw‘s $55.2M from 2004, but behind the $87M of
Saw II and the $80.2M of last
year’s Saw III.
Together the four torture flicks will reach $288M in combined domestic grosses
with another installment in the works.
It’s a rare weekend when Javier Bardem stars in two films that reach the top
ten, but the acclaimed actor also saw his romantic drama Love in the Time of Cholera debut in the ten spot with an estimated $1.9M. Panned by critics, the
R-rated pic averaged a poor $2,201 from 852 locations for New Line. Thanks to
Cholera, the box office has now seen wide releases bow to averages of less than
$2,500 during nine of the last ten frames.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, the
Nicole Kidman–Jennifer Jason Leigh drama
Margot at the Wedding
opened to muscular numbers in its platform bow in
Manhattan with an estimated $83,000 from two locations for a sizzling $41,465
average. Paramount Vantage will expand the R-rated dysfunctional family drama
into 35 theaters in the top dozen markets across North America.
Four films dropped out of the top ten this weekend. Disney’s hit family comedy
The Game Plan
was the top-grossing picture during the September-October corridor
and fell 51% to an estimated $1.2M. With a robust $87.4M to date, the sports
flick should finish with just over $90M matching The Rock’s biggest film in a
leading role – $90.5M for 2002’s The Scorpion King. Summit’s fright flick
P2 tumbled 62% in its sophomore session to an estimated $800,000. With a weak $3.6M
in ten days, the suspense title should conclude its run with only $5M.
Sony’s $30M vampire thriller
30 Days of Night
has grossed $39.1M to date and looks headed for a finish of just north of $40M.
New Line’s
John Cusack
flop
Martian
Child crashed 75% to an estimated $465,000 for a $7.2M sum. Don’t expect
the cume to get much higher than $8M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $92.4M which was down a troubling 29%
from last year when Happy Feet opened in first place with $41.5M; and down a
disturbing 45% from 2005 when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire debuted in the
top spot with $102.3M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
