The 3D zombie sequel
Resident
Evil: Afterlife easily topped the North American box office on its
opening frame leading a sluggish marketplace that delivered the worst ticket
sales in over two years. Grossing more than the next six films combined, the
R-rated action pic from Sony’s Screen Gems unit debuted to an estimated $27.7M
helped, of course, by 3D surcharges. The fourth in the successful line of
Milla Jovovich
films averaged a muscular $8,648 from 3,203 theaters outgunning the $23.7M of
the last film in the series, 2007’s
Resident
Evil: Extinction, which was the previous franchise high. Admissions
remained mostly the same with just over three million tickets sold.
Shot in 3D and offering a popular brand and formula,
Afterlife
attracted fans that have enjoyed the film series and video game over the
years. According to studio research, 58% of the crowd was male while those over
and under 25 were about even. Over 2,000 of the playdates offered 3D screens
including 141 digital IMAX venues charging as much as $18 per ticket. Facing
zero competition thanks to a mix of no new wide releases and aging holdovers
made the newest Alice flick the only game in town. Afterlife also
generated the seventh best September opening ever and was not screened in
advance for critics.
Overseas, the zombie pic was a big hit pulling in an impressive $45.5M which was
two-and-a-half times bigger than the openings of the last Evil film in
the same markets. Leading the way were Japan with a massive $15.5M and Russia
with $9.5M. Afterlife was directed by
Paul W.S.
Anderson who has plenty of experience in bringing video game fun to the big
screen having helmed 1995’s
Mortal Kombat,
2004’s Alien vs.
Predator, and 2002’s original
Resident Evil.
Sony and Screen Gems seized second place too with the hit heist pic
Takers which held its
position with an estimated $6.1M dropping by only 44%. After 17 days, the PG-13
film has taken in an impressive $48.1M and could be headed north of $60M which
nobody thought was possible just a few weeks ago.
Following its mild Labor Day debut which was good enough for the top spot,
George Clooney‘s
assassin drama The
American declined by a disturbing 55% to an estimated $5.9M for a 12-day
total of $28.3M. It was the second highest drop for any film in the top ten and
was especially large for a film that caters to an older crowd that typically
doesn’t rush out on the first weekend. Add in the fact that American‘s
Wednesday launch meant its opening weekend gross did not include the opening day
tally and the fact that no new films targeting its mature adult audience opened
this weekend and the 55% fall becomes quite troubling. It can only be attributed
to poor word-of-mouth. A final of $38-40M could result.
The Mexploitation actioner
Machete fell a sharp
63% in its second weekend to an estimated $4.2M for Fox. After ten days, the
Robert
Rodriguez film has cut up $20.8M – about even with the film that
inspired it, 2007’s
Grindhouse, which also dropped by 63% in its sophomore frame with $4.3M
and $19.8M in ten days. The double feature ended with $25M and Machete should
end a bit above the same amount.
The rest of the top ten was filled with summer holdovers that finished in a
tight range within $1M of each other. Final grosses to be reported on Monday may
see some rankings change. Fifth place went to the R-rated romantic comedy
Going the
Distance which dropped a moderate 44% in its second weekend to an
estimated $3.8M. The ten-day total for Warner Bros. is only $14M and a $22-24M
final is likely. Will Ferrell’s latest hit
The Other Guys
fell just 32% to an estimated $3.6M bumping Sony’s cume to $112.7M.
A pair of Lionsgate titles followed. The fright flick
The Last Exorcism
grossed an estimated $3.5M, off 53%, and has scared up $38.2M to date. Sylvester
Stallone’s action flick
The Expendables
inched closer to the century club with an estimated $3.3M, down 51%, for a
$98.5M total.
Spending its ninth weekend in the top ten, the sci-fi thriller
Inception slipped
34% to an estimated $3M giving Warner Bros. $282.4M thus far. Surpassing $290M
should be easy but reaching $300M seems unlikely without some sort of
re-release. Eat Pray
Love placed tenth with an estimated $2.9M, down 40%, and a $74.6M sum
for Sony which had four films in the top ten.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $63.9M which was down 11% from last year
when I
Can Do Bad All By Myself opened in the top spot with $23.4M; and down
22% from 2008 when
Burn After Reading
debuted at number one with $19.1M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, Box Office Guru!
The 3D zombie sequel
Resident
Evil: Afterlife easily topped the North American box office on its
opening frame leading a sluggish marketplace that delivered the worst ticket
sales in over two years. Grossing more than the next six films combined, the
R-rated action pic from Sony’s Screen Gems unit debuted to an estimated $27.7M
helped, of course, by 3D surcharges. The fourth in the successful line of
Milla Jovovich
films averaged a muscular $8,648 from 3,203 theaters outgunning the $23.7M of
the last film in the series, 2007’s
Resident
Evil: Extinction, which was the previous franchise high. Admissions
remained mostly the same with just over three million tickets sold.
Shot in 3D and offering a popular brand and formula,
Afterlife
attracted fans that have enjoyed the film series and video game over the
years. According to studio research, 58% of the crowd was male while those over
and under 25 were about even. Over 2,000 of the playdates offered 3D screens
including 141 digital IMAX venues charging as much as $18 per ticket. Facing
zero competition thanks to a mix of no new wide releases and aging holdovers
made the newest Alice flick the only game in town. Afterlife also
generated the seventh best September opening ever and was not screened in
advance for critics.
Overseas, the zombie pic was a big hit pulling in an impressive $45.5M which was
two-and-a-half times bigger than the openings of the last Evil film in
the same markets. Leading the way were Japan with a massive $15.5M and Russia
with $9.5M. Afterlife was directed by
Paul W.S.
Anderson who has plenty of experience in bringing video game fun to the big
screen having helmed 1995’s
Mortal Kombat,
2004’s Alien vs.
Predator, and 2002’s original
Resident Evil.
Sony and Screen Gems seized second place too with the hit heist pic
Takers which held its
position with an estimated $6.1M dropping by only 44%. After 17 days, the PG-13
film has taken in an impressive $48.1M and could be headed north of $60M which
nobody thought was possible just a few weeks ago.
Following its mild Labor Day debut which was good enough for the top spot,
George Clooney‘s
assassin drama The
American declined by a disturbing 55% to an estimated $5.9M for a 12-day
total of $28.3M. It was the second highest drop for any film in the top ten and
was especially large for a film that caters to an older crowd that typically
doesn’t rush out on the first weekend. Add in the fact that American‘s
Wednesday launch meant its opening weekend gross did not include the opening day
tally and the fact that no new films targeting its mature adult audience opened
this weekend and the 55% fall becomes quite troubling. It can only be attributed
to poor word-of-mouth. A final of $38-40M could result.
The Mexploitation actioner
Machete fell a sharp
63% in its second weekend to an estimated $4.2M for Fox. After ten days, the
Robert
Rodriguez film has cut up $20.8M – about even with the film that
inspired it, 2007’s
Grindhouse, which also dropped by 63% in its sophomore frame with $4.3M
and $19.8M in ten days. The double feature ended with $25M and Machete should
end a bit above the same amount.
The rest of the top ten was filled with summer holdovers that finished in a
tight range within $1M of each other. Final grosses to be reported on Monday may
see some rankings change. Fifth place went to the R-rated romantic comedy
Going the
Distance which dropped a moderate 44% in its second weekend to an
estimated $3.8M. The ten-day total for Warner Bros. is only $14M and a $22-24M
final is likely. Will Ferrell’s latest hit
The Other Guys
fell just 32% to an estimated $3.6M bumping Sony’s cume to $112.7M.
A pair of Lionsgate titles followed. The fright flick
The Last Exorcism
grossed an estimated $3.5M, off 53%, and has scared up $38.2M to date. Sylvester
Stallone’s action flick
The Expendables
inched closer to the century club with an estimated $3.3M, down 51%, for a
$98.5M total.
Spending its ninth weekend in the top ten, the sci-fi thriller
Inception slipped
34% to an estimated $3M giving Warner Bros. $282.4M thus far. Surpassing $290M
should be easy but reaching $300M seems unlikely without some sort of
re-release. Eat Pray
Love placed tenth with an estimated $2.9M, down 40%, and a $74.6M sum
for Sony which had four films in the top ten.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $63.9M which was down 11% from last year
when I
Can Do Bad All By Myself opened in the top spot with $23.4M; and down
22% from 2008 when
Burn After Reading
debuted at number one with $19.1M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, Box Office Guru!
