Another August weekend, another new R-rated movie overperforms at number one.
This time it was the 3D fright flick
The Final Destination which easily won the showdown between new horror
sequels soaring ahead of expectations while
Halloween II
debuted in third grossing about what was expected from it. Holdovers and former
chart-toppers
Inglourious Basterds and
District 9 both
held up well making it that rare frame when violent R-rated films claimed the
top four spots at the box office. The on-screen carnage drove ticket sales to an
all-time high for the weekend before the Labor Day holiday session closing off
an exceptionally powerful August box office.
Audiences were in the mood to cheat death as
The Final Destination scared its way to a strong top spot debut grossing
an estimated $28.3M in its first weekend. The fourth installment in the
nine-year-old franchise attacked 3,121 theaters and averaged a sturdy $9,079 per
site bolstered by higher ticket prices from the 3D screens. Just under 1,700
theaters offered the 3D presentation while the remainder screened the 2D
version. As with most 3D releases, many multiplexes offered both versions so
moviegoers could choose between the extra-dimensional fun or the standard
version at the standard price.[rtimage]MapID=1207470&MapTypeID=2&photo=19&legacy=1[/rtimage]It
was by far the largest opening ever for the franchise beating the $19.2M bow of
Final Destination 3 from February 2006, and the first to reach number
one. However, when factoring in today’s higher ticket prices and the extra
surcharges that 3D venues collected, the new chapter only sold about 5% more
tickets. Still, it proved that moviegoers are willing to pay more for 3D
entertainment and that many genres can benefit from the technology. Final
is the fourth 3D film of the year to open atop the charts after kidpics
Monsters vs. Aliens, Up, and G-Force. It also beat out the
$21.2M debut of January’s 3D horror entry My Bloody Valentine.
Also impressive was how well the new Destination did against such
formidable competition. Halloween II took away a good portion of the
horror crowd and Basterds and District also played to some of the
same violence-loving audience. The gruesome foursome combined for a stellar
$76.5M which was equal to what the top thirteen films took in during this very
same weekend last year. Budgeted at about $40M, The Final Destination
will now try to challenge Friday the 13th‘s $65M to become the
top-grossing horror title of 2009. Nine R-rated films have opened at number one
this year including four during the last five weeks.[rtimage]MapID=1207470&MapTypeID=2&photo=18&legacy=1[/rtimage]Quentin
Tarantino’s war fantasy
Inglourious
Basterds enjoyed a solid second weekend despite the arrival of two new
R-rated gorefests. The World War II saga dropped by 47% to an estimated $20M
putting the ten-day total at a robust $73.8M. The sophomore fall was much more
like the director’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 (44%) than its followup Kill Bill
Vol. 2 (59%). Audiences are liking Basterds and good word-of-mouth is
helping the theatrical run. Budgeted at $70M, a final domestic haul of roughly
$125M seems likely. Overseas moviegoers are also turning out in solid numbers as
the film, released by Universal abroad, grossed an estimated $19.4M
internationally this weekend boosting the overseas total to $59.1M. That puts
the global take at $133M and counting. Worldwide grosses should eventually
surpass $250M.
The Weinstein Co. seized third place too with
Halloween II
which bowed to an estimated $17.4M from 3,025 sites. Generating a respectable
$5,754 average, the R-rated terrorfest is the sequel to the 2007 reboot of the
three-decade-old franchise which launched on the same weekend, but with a much
stronger $26.4M over three days. That film bowed in 447 more theaters and had
the horror audience all to itself as no other fright flick ranked in the Top 20.
Both films were helmed by rocker-turned-director Rob Zombie.[rtimage]MapID=1207868&MapTypeID=2&photo=05&legacy=1[/rtimage]Having
another horror sequel to compete with on opening weekend certainly made things
messy for Halloween II. However even with large declines in the weeks
ahead, it should be a profitable picture given the low production cost of $15M.
Audience research showed that 54% of the crowd was under 25 and males and
females were evenly split. Expect this one to fade fast as Saturday sales
tumbled 27% from Friday’s opening day tally. Final Destination held up
better dipping only 6% on Saturday.
The cat food-loving aliens of
District 9 came in
fourth place. Sony’s sci-fi hit slipped only 41% to an estimated $10.7M raising
the cume to an amazing $90.8M after just 17 days. Look for the prawns to smash
the $100M mark next weekend.[rtimage]MapID=1190668&MapTypeID=2&photo=20&legacy=1[/rtimage]Leading
the films that younger people could buy tickets to was Paramount’s
G.I. Joe which ranked
fifth with an estimated $8M. Off 35%, the $175M-budgeted action extravaganza
lifted its cume to a solid $132.4M. Few thought at the beginning of the summer
movie season that Joe would outgun Terminator Salvation but the
real American hero has now surpassed the $125.3M of the non-Arnold cyborg
sequel.
For the third straight weekend the chick flicks
Julie & Julia
and The Time
Traveler’s Wife were chart neighbors, but the former’s great legs
allowed it to have the upper hand this time. Sony’s Meryl Streep hit Julia
eased by a slim 16% to an estimated $7.4M with an impressive $71M cooked up so
far. The $100M mark might now be within reach. Wife dropped by 31% to an
estimated $6.7M, still a good hold, and has banked $48.2M for Warner Bros.
Female audiences not interested in the recent string of ultraviolent releases
have been getting their end-of-summer entertainment from this
pair.[rtimage]MapID=1207146&MapTypeID=2&photo=36&legacy=1[/rtimage]The Robert
Rodriguez-directed kidpic
Shorts collected an estimated $4.9M in its second weekend. Down only
24%, the Warner Bros. release has raised its ten-day tally to a disappointing
$13.6M and should end with roughly $25M.
Bad reviews hurt Oscar winner Ang Lee’s latest film
Taking Woodstock
which debuted poorly in ninth with an estimated $3.7M. The PG-13 film averaged a
weak $2,691 from 1,393 locations and failed to spark any nostalgia with baby
boomers.
Bookending the top ten with 3D movies, Disney took in an estimated $2.8M for its
family actioner
G-Force which dropped 31% in its sixth mission lifting the total to
$111.8M.[rtimage]MapID=10009462&MapTypeID=2&photo=27&legacy=1[/rtimage]Moviegoers
continued to catch up on the summer’s biggest blockbusters which witnessed small
declines this weekend. Most drops were less than 30% and new totals include
$399.4M for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $294.4M for Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, $289.6M for Up, $270.3M for The
Hangover, $256.7M for Star Trek, $193.3M for Ice Age: Dawn of the
Dinosaurs, $176.5M for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,
and $160.1M for The Proposal.
Making a glamorous premiere in limited release in New York was the fashion
industry documentary
The September Issue
which raked in an estimated $240,078 from just six locations for a stunning
$40,013 average. Released by Roadside Attractions, the PG-13 pic on legendary
Vogue editor Anna Wintour attracted mainly positive reviews and will expand to
other cities on September 11.[rtimage]MapID=1209657&MapTypeID=2&photo=2&legacy=1[/rtimage]The
top ten films grossed an estimated $110.1M which was up a stunning 61% from last
year when Tropic Thunder remained in the top spot with $11.5M over three
days; and up a healthy 20% from 2007 when Halloween opened at number one
with $26.4M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, Box Office
Guru
