Moviegoers rang in the new year by flocking to the same films as last weekend
with the star-driven comedy
Little Fockers
leading the way once again and the Western hit
True Grit
following closely in second place. Most films enjoyed sales increases over the
previous frame which was hampered by Christmas Eve falling on Friday and a
blizzard slamming the east coast on Sunday. The top ten jumped 11% versus last
weekend, but fell a sharp 33% from a year ago.
Universal was on top once again with the Robert De Niro-Ben Stiller comedy
sequel Little Fockers which laughed up an estimated $26.3M in its second
session sending the total over the century mark to $103.2M in only 12 days. The
decline was 15% which represented the largest fall of any film in wide release.
Not surprisingly, the drop was slightly more than the 10% dip that Meet the
Fockers witnessed on the same frame six years ago when the calendar was
identical. The new Fockers is currently running 37% behind its
predecessor. Little could end its run in the $160-170M range.
Holding steady in second place was the Western remake
True Grit
which grossed an estimated $24.5M lifting its 12-day total to a stellar $86.8M
quickly becoming the top-grossing film ever for the Coen brothers. Their
previous career high was $74.3M for the Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men and
they hardly ever break $50M with any film. Produced for only $38M, the Jeff
Bridges-Matt Damon period film was almost even with Christmas weekend and eased
by a scant 1%. Grit could remain strong even after the holidays and find its way
past the $150M mark for Paramount making it one of the most profitable titles of
the holiday season.
TRON: Legacy
followed in third with an estimated $18.3M, off 4%, boosting the 17-day cume to
$130.9M. Budgeted at $150M, the Disney effects extravaganza looks on course to
end its run with $160-170M from North America putting it just outside of the top
ten list of 2010 blockbusters. It has done exceptionally well in IMAX venues
which have accounted for roughly 25% of the total gross despite the limited
number of screens. Overseas, the action pic has hauled in $110M for a global
tally of $240.9M so far.
More PG-rated films in 3D followed.
Yogi Bear enjoyed a
sturdy 66% jump to an estimated $13M for fourth place posting healthy numbers
after a sluggish start two weeks ago. With $66.1M to date, the Warner Bros. pic
will try to end its run around the $90M mark. Fox’s
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader rose 11% to an
estimated $10.5M for a total of $87.1M thus far. Look for a final tally in the
$100-110M range with more than double that amount from overseas markets.
Domestic grosses for the first two Narnia films were $291.7M for 2005’s The
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and $141.6M for 2008’s Prince Caspian.
Tied for sixth place were Disney’s animated hit
Tangled and Paramount’s
acclaimed boxing drama
The Fighter with an estimated $10M each. The Rapunzel toon shot up 56% and
has banked an impressive $168M to date on its way to about $190M. It currently
ranks as Disney’s top-grossing non-Pixar toon since 1999’s Tarzan which did
$171.1M. The Mark Wahlberg film The Fighter enjoyed a 32% increase this
weekend and has taken in a solid $46.4M. Look for at least $70M with the cume
going much higher if it scores big at the Golden Globes or with Oscar nods.
Fox has struggled with its Jack Black offering
Gulliver’s
Travels which has been shoved to the side by a long list of competitors.
This weekend it grossed an estimated $9.1M in its first Friday-to-Sunday frame
after bowing last Saturday on Christmas Day for a nine-day cume of only $27.2M.
A disappointing $40-45M final may result. Making more than that already, awards
entry Black Swan
from the studio’s specialty division Fox Searchlight collected an estimated
$8.5M this weekend, up 35%, for a $47.4M take so far. Like Fighter, the
road ahead could be a long one depending on how events during awards season
broaden appeal. But a minimum of $70M seems likely.
Rounding out the top ten was a newer contender in the awards race,
The King’s Speech,
which grossed an estimated $7.6M in its first full weekend of nationwide play.
Averaging a healthy $10,927 per theater from 700 locations, The Weinstein Co.
release has taken in $22.8M so far and is hoping for some Golden Globes love to
help it generate more excitement in the weeks ahead as it expands into even more
markets.
Below the top ten, Sony’s disappointing duo of duds
The Tourist and
How Do You Know
grossed estimates of $6.8M and $4.6M, respectively. The pricey star vehicles
have grossed $54.8M and $25.1M thus far. The holiday season’s top hit
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 brought in an estimated $4.4M
in its seventh frame boosting the cume to $283.2M putting it at number 46 on the
list of all-time domestic blockbusters between Home Alone and The
Matrix Reloaded. The new Potter broke the $600M mark overseas
climbing to $616M giving Warner Bros. $899.2M worldwide. The $900M mark should
be smashed by Monday. Part 2 opens in just over six months on July 15.
Opening with encouraging results in platform release was the Ryan
Gosling-Michelle Williams indie drama
Blue Valentine
with an estimated $180,000 from four sites for a strong $45,000 average.
Originally rated NC-17 but overturned on appeal, The Weinstein Co. release has
collected $278,000 since its Wednesday bow and will expand slowly to more
cities. Reviews were excellent.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $137.8M which was down a sharp 33% from
last year when Avatar stayed in the top spot with $68.5M; but up 12% from
2009 when Marley & Me remained at number one with $24.3M.
