The Moviefone Blog

'Man of Steel': 8 Reasons Behind its Super-Sized Box Office Victory

Gary Susman — 2013-06-17T10:00:00+00:00

"Man of Steel" may have set a June record with the estimated $113.1 million it earned from Friday to Sunday ($125.1 million since Thursday), but its success was far from a sure thing. After all, it featured a little-known star (Henry Cavill) and a narrative that seemed to divide both fans and critics, in a reboot of a franchise not seen on screen for seven years. Even its own distributor, Warner Bros., predicted an opening in the modest $75 to $80 million range, while only a few pundits predicted an opening above $100 million.

How, then, did Cavill and his Superman reboot manage to leap over all that negative buzz in a single bound? Love it or hate it, here's what "Man of Steel" did right:

It's the Character That's the Star. Going with an unknown lead really isn't that big an obstacle. Christopher Reeve was an unknown before he starred in the benchmark "Superman" movie series of the '70s and '80s. So was every actor who's ever played Superman on TV (Tom Welling, Dean Cain, George Reeves). And so was Brandon Routh, who, whatever you thought of 2006's "Superman Returns," managed to sell nearly $400 million worth of tickets worldwide once he donned the red cape.

It's the Behind-the-Camera Team That's the Star. Warners did a good job making sure everyone knew that the creative team behind "Man of Steel" was producer Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer, the gurus who gave us Warners' bleak blockbuster Batman trilogy. The prospect of the "Dark Knight" team giving a similarly grim makeover to the Big Blue Boy Scout set fanboy hearts aflutter. As for director Zack Snyder, his track record is mixed (he had a comic-book smash with "300," a flop with "Sucker Punch," a revisionist superhero tale with "Watchmen," and, uh, there was that cartoon about owls), but his undeniable visual flair, along with Nolan's vote of confidence, earned him the benefit of the doubt.

It's the Trailers. Those ads we've been watching and re-watching online all spring were actually poignant and moving, hitting the movie's major emotional beats without entirely spoiling the plot. Plus, there were Snyder's gorgeous visuals to gawk at.

It's the Surcharges. "Man of Steel" is a film that demands to be seen on an eye-filling giant screen. The movie's opening weekend saw it earn 11 percent of its sales from IMAX theaters and 41 percent from 3D screenings.

It's the Word-of-Mouth. Reviews have been mixed -- sure, there's more action than in the introspective "Superman Returns," but some critics feel that the brooding hero is kind of a bummer. But the fans are happy and are avidly recommending the film, as its A- grade at CinemaScore attests.

It's the Timing. Apocalyptic comedy "This Is the End" actually proved to be shrewd counterprogramming, earning an estimated $20.5 million from Friday to Sunday and $32.8 million since its Wednesday debut. It may have even swiped a small fragment of the young male audience away from "Man of Steel." But otherwise, the superhero saga had the playing field to itself. It's the first summer action popcorn spectacle to open in two weeks, and it's fortuitous that the previous one, the bomb "After Earth," was too weak by now to prove any kind of a threat.

It's the Modest Expectations. Warner Bros.' prediction of a $75 to $80 million premiere now looks like deliberate lowballing, a way to make everyone feel pleasantly surprised when the movie's actual sales far outperformed that gloomy prognostication. Still, a lot of pundits bought into those numbers and, as a result, seemed astonished on Friday when it became clear that the movie was going to open north of $100 million.

It's the Saturation Marketing. More than anything else, the movie's ubiquity in advance of its release may have done the trick. In addition to the usual wall-to-wall ads and those viral trailers, there were upwards of 100 promotional partners among retailers, who kicked in $160 million worth of free promotional support. Even non-Superfans who might not have considered going to see the movie couldn't help but be bombarded by "Man of Steel" hype every time they went shopping. Clark Kent may not be the world's most intrepid reporter, but once he takes off the glasses, he's one Super Salesman.

Box Office: 'Man of Steel' Soars to $113 Million Opening Weekend

The Associated Press — 2013-06-16T12:12:00+00:00

"Man of Steel" leaped over box office expectations in a single weekend.

The Warner Bros. superhero film earned $113 million in its opening weekend at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Superman tale starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams earned an additional $12 million from Thursday screenings, bringing its total to $125 million. Original expectations for the film ranged from $75 million to $130 million.

Sony's "This Is the End" opened in second place with $20.5 million in its opening weekend. The apocalyptic comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco opened Wednesday, banking a total of $32.8 million.

In its third weekend, "Now You See Me" earned $10 million in third place, bringing its total to $80 million.

Weekend Estimates

1. "Man of Steel" ($113 million)
2. "This Is the End" ($20.5 million)
3. "Now You See Me" ($10.3 million)
4. "Fast & Furious 6" ($9.4 million)
5. "The Purge" ($8.2 million)
6. "The Internship" ($7.0 million)
7. "Epic" ($6.0 million)
8. "Star Trek Into Darkness" ($5.6 million)
9. "After Earth" ($3.8 million)
10. "Iron Man" ($2.9 million)

'Man of Steel' on Track for $100 Million Opening Weekend

Katie Roberts — 2013-06-13T17:44:00+00:00

Superman is on track to have himself a super weekend, if the latest box office projections are to be believed.

The Wrap reports that "Man of Steel" is set to make at least $100 million when it opens in 4,207 theaters on Friday, with studio Warner Bros. and industry analysts setting that number anywhere between $85 million to $105 million.

Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told The Wrap that only 24 films have ever hit the $100 million mark on opening weekend, and that rare feat can translate into even bigger box office returns down the line thanks to the media attention it brings. Bock also said it was likely that "Man of Steel" could easily over-perform its early estimates.

"Comic book movies can do that," he said. "Because of the fan boys, these movies have more power behind them than most films, and this one really is highly anticipated."

Warner Bros. is hoping "Man of Steel" is its ticket to a "Dark Knight"-level of international success for the flagging Superman franchise, which flopped in its last attempted reboot with 2006's "Superman Returns." But with "Dark Knight"'s Christopher Nolan producing "Man of Steel," it seems likely that our hero can soar to tall heights once more.

"Man of Steel" opens June 14.

[via The Wrap]

Box Office: How Did 'The Purge' Surge Past 'The Internship'?

Gary Susman — 2013-06-10T10:00:00+00:00

Before the summer started, anyone handicapping this past weekend's "The Internship"-vs.-"The Purge" showdown would likely have picked the former. After all, "Internship" is a broad comedy about the world's most talked-about company, from the stars of "Wedding Crashers," opening on 3,366 screens, rated an audience-friendly PG-13. "Purge," however, is a micro-budgeted sci-fi/horror film with a restrictive R-rating, a star who's never been a box office draw, a release pattern of just 2,536 screens, and a premise that's hard to describe in one sentence. The battle should have been a lop-sided one.

Well, it was lop-sided, all right, but the other way around. "Purge," which had been expected to open somewhere between $18 and $25 million, outperformed even the most wildly optimistic projections to debut with an estimated $36.4 million, dethroning two-time box office champ "Fast & Furious 6." "Internship" also did better than expected -- recent tracking guessed it would earn as little as $15 million -- grossing an estimated $18.2 million and settling for a fourth-place debut.

How did "Purge" transform from underdog into sure thing? How did it earn twice as much as the wider-released big-budget, heavily promoted comedy? Here are some possible reasons:

Originality still counts. As we saw last week with the surprise surge of magician caper "Now You See Me" over yet-another-post-apocalyptic-epic "After Earth," many moviegoers are eager for novelty, especially in a summer full of sequels and reboots. The premise of "The Purge" -- a future where crime goes unpunished one night each year -- may have seemed like a tricky sell, but it was intriguing enough to spark discussion across the social media world for weeks in advance of the film's release. Granted, "The Internship" is also built on a new idea -- Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are middle-aged salesmen interning at Google alongside computer-savvy kids half their age -- though it also sounds a lot like a movie Vaughn and Wilson's brother Luke made a decade ago, "Old School."

Jason Blum. Producer Blum may be the MVP of "The Purge." A horror producer best known for turning bite-sized-budget movies like "Paranormal Activity" and "Sinister" into hits, he made "Purge" along the same lines, for just $3 million. As with his "Paranormal" movies, he let social media carry the heavy lifting of marketing. His frugality doesn't ensure hits, but it certainly lowers the bar his movies have to clear in order to be seen as hits.

Ethan Hawke. He's never been a box office draw, but Hawke is a reliable, underrated actor whose quiet intensity and earnestness lend themselves well to imperiled genre-movie heroes. His effective performance in Blum's "Sinister" last fall helped make that film a hit, one recent enough for fan goodwill to carry over to "The Purge." Plus, it didn't hurt that he's been all over the media lately promoting his current indie romance hit "Before Midnight," allowing for some free marketing piggybacking.

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. "Wedding Crashers" was eight long years ago. Neither of its stars wields that kind of box office clout anymore. Both actors have had hits since then, but not much lately. Vaughn in particular has been in the box office doghouse thanks to movies like "The Dilemma" and "The Watch." Plus, even though he and Wilson have comic chemistry, moviegoers knew that they wouldn't get into any raunchy "Crashers" shenanigans, since "Internship" is rated a tame PG-13.

Product placement. "The Internship" was written with Google in mind, and it certainly wouldn't have worked without the active cooperation of the Web titan. Still, the movie plays like a very long infomercial. A lot of viewers found that off-putting.

The marketplace. "Internship" must have expected to have the comedy field all to itself, especially after "The Hangover Part III" tanked. Well, sort of tanked. In its third weekend, "Hangover" earned an estimated $7.4 million, enough to finish in eighth place and to cross the $100 million mark in total domestic revenue. So that took a bite out of "Internship." Meanwhile, "Purge," for all its futuristic trappings, played less like a sci-fi flick than a horror home-invasion chiller. Among horror movies, it had no competition.

Might "internship" have fared better if released on a different weekend? Maybe. One thing's for certain, though: both "Internship" and "Purge" are likely to get crushed next week by the star-driven horror comedy "This Is the End," as well as by a little movie called "Man of Steel."

Weekend Box Office: 'The Purge' Scares Up $36.4 Million

The Associated Press — 2013-06-09T11:52:00+00:00

NEW YORK (AP) - The suspense thriller "The Purge" topped the weekend box office with a shocking $36.4 million that doubled industry expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Audiences starved for a horror option flocked to the micro-budget Universal film starring Ethan Hawke. The film's strong opening performance minted another box-office hit for "Paranormal Activity" producer Jason Blum.

Like that horror franchise, "The Purge" was made for relative peanuts - just $3 million - making it an extremely lucrative release for Universal. The studio had expected it to open in the high teens.

"Never did we expect it to open at this level," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "This result could not have been forecasted by anybody."

There has been a dearth of horror films at the multiplex in recent weeks, which Rocco acknowledged was a major factor for "The Purge." Written and directed by James DeMonaco, "The Purge" is set in a utopic United States in the year 2022, where crime has been eradicated except for one violently cathartic day a year when nearly all mayhem is legal.

The film opened strong with late night screenings Thursday night that alone took in $3.4 million.

"This is exactly the kind of film that stumps all the analysts," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "It proves that R-rated horror films, no matter the budget, always have a place with audiences."

Universal also claimed the second spot at the box office, as the Vin Diesel action flick "Fast & Furious 6" earned $19.8 million in its third week of release. The sixth installment of the street racing series has now earned a total of $202.3 million domestically and $381.7 million internationally.

The Google-promoting comedy "The Internship" opened with $18.1 million, a decent debut for the Fox comedy that reteams "Wedding Crashers" stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.

But that was good enough only for fourth place behind two hold-overs: "Fast & Furious 6" and Lionsgate's "Now You See Me." The illusionist heist film held strong, earning $19.5 million over the weekend, bringing its cumulative haul to $61.4 million.

After Will Smith's sci-fi adventure "After Earth" bombed in its domestic opening last weekend, coming in third with $27.5 million for Sony, the film found a warmer reception overseas this weekend. It took in $45.5 million internationally after opening in some 60 overseas markets. Domestically, it continued to fare poorly, adding $11.2 million in its second week.

Even with the unexpected success of "The Purge," the box office was still down from last year, when "Madagascar 3" and "Prometheus" both opened. But Superman comes to the rescue next weekend with the debut of Zac Snyder's highly anticipated "Man of Steel" for Warner Bros. Dergarabedian expects the film to open above $100 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. "The Purge," $36.4 million.

2. "Fast & Furious 6," $19.8 million.

3. "Now You See Me," $19.5 million.

4. "The Internship," $18.1 million.

5. "Epic," $12.1 million.

6. "Star Trek Into Darkness," $11.7 million.

7. "After Earth," $11.2 million ($45.5 million international).

8. "The Hangover Part III," $7.4 million.

9. "Iron Man 3," $5.8 million.

10. "The Great Gatsby," $4.2 million.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Weekend Box Office: 'Devil Inside' Scares Up Record-Breaking Debut

Gary Susman — 2012-01-08T14:45:00+00:00

Hard to say what's scarier: the downright hostile reviews and word-of-mouth for 'The Devil Inside,' or the fact that the pans didn't stop the new horror movie from a record-breaking box office debut. 'Devil' took possession of the box office crown with an estimated $34.5 million, about twice what was expected, setting a record for the biggest opening ever for the first weekend of the year.

No one expected much from the low-budget chiller, a star-free effort opening on just 2,285 screens. But the film had two things going for it: the marketing savvy of Paramount -- last year's top-grossing studio and the distributor of the similarly cheap, docu-style 'Paranormal Activity' horror franchise, which now owns October -- and audiences' fondness for exorcism movies, which seem to do especially well in January, when viewers want an antidote to the sugarplum sweetness of holiday fare. Past Januarys have seen such related hits as 'One Missed Call,' 'The Unborn,' and 'The Rite.'

Still, none of them did as well as 'The Devil Inside,' which is not only the top first-weekend debut but also the third best ever opening in January, topped only by fellow docu-horror movie 'Cloverfield' in 2008 ($40.1 million million) and the 'Star Wars' special edition re-release in 1997 ($35.9 million). Still, it's hard to account for such a huge opening for a movie so poorly received by audiences as well as critics. (Demonic influence, perhaps?) It'll be interesting to see how the movie holds up next weekend, when the movie won't face any new wide-release competition for the horror audience, and when its only obstacle will be its own negative buzz; audiences gave 'The Devil Inside' an almost unheard-of F-grade on Cinemascore.

The success of 'Devil' scared up crowds for other movies as well, judging by how well older movies held onto their audiences. Last week's champ, 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' slipped to second place but lost just 30 percent of last weekend's business, a shallow drop for a movie in its fourth week of release. It earned an estimated $20.5 million, for a total to date of $170.2 million.

In third was 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' another four-week veteran, which fell just 33 percent to an estimated $14.1 million. Its total so far is $157.4 million.

The smallest dip among wide releases belonged to 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' The thriller slid just 24 percent, taking in an estimated $11.3 million, good for fourth place. Despite a slow start three weeks ago, the film has earned $76.8 million so far, and distributor Sony believes it's on track to cross $100 million.

The top family movie was still 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' which finished in fifth place. Its estimated $9.5 million take, down 42 percent from last week, brings the film's four-week total to $111.6 million.

Moving into wider release, 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' broke into the top 10 by expanding from 57 screens to 809. It earned an estimated $5.8 million, good for ninth place and a five-week total of $10.4 million.

Awards buzz for 'Tinker' and several more limited-release movies was reflected in large per-screen averages for some year-end contenders playing in just a handful of theaters. 'The Iron Lady' averaged an estimated $34,420 on each of five screens. 'A Separation' earned an estimated $16,103 on each of its six screens. The per-screen average of 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' (six screens) was an estimated $16,000. 'Pina' scored an average estimated at $27,000 for each of three screens. By comparison, 'Devil Inside' enjoyed a per-screen average of $15,098.

Already, box office for 2012 is $283.8 million, some 12.6 percent ahead of the same period a year ago. Between last weekend's busy New Year's traffic and this weekend's successes, 2012 is off to a roaring start.

'The Devil Inside' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'The Devil Inside,' $34.5 million (2,285 screens), new release
2. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' $30.5 million (3,555), $170.2 million total
3. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' $14.1 million (3,603), $157.4 million
4. 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' $11.3 million (2,950), $76.8 million
5. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' $9.5 million (3,425), $111.6 million
6. 'War Horse,' $8.6 million (2,783), $56.8 million
7. 'We Bought a Zoo,' $8.5 million (3,170), $56.5 million
8. 'The Adventures of Tintin,' $6.6 million (3,006), $61.9 million
9. 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' $5.8 million (809), $10.4 million
10. 'New Year's Eve,' $3.3 million (1,864), $52.0 million

[Photo: Paramount]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Why Does the Multiplex Charge the Same for Every Movie?

Gary Susman — 2012-01-06T19:00:00+00:00

Movies don't all cost the same to make. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' reportedly cost $145 million to make, plus tens of millions more for prints and advertising, while 'Young Adult' cost a reported $12 million to make and spent a fraction of the Tom Cruise spectacle's cost on marketing. Yet both movies have the same ticket price at your multiplex. In fact, uniform pricing has been the policy at American movie theaters for 40 years, and hardly ever does anyone think to ask why.

Well, OK, Derek Thompson at the The Atlantic asked why this week. He did some research and reporting, and, short answer: because the uniform price structure has been in place for so long that everyone is used to it.

It wasn't always that way, however. In the 1960s, theaters used to charge more for what are now called "event movies" -- the 'Harry Potters' or 'Twilights' that are guaranteed box-office draws. But they stopped after studio arm-twisting 40 years ago. (Fittingly enough, the event movie that applied the squeeze was 1972's 'The Godfather.') Ever since, movie theaters have charged the same for big-budget studio spectacles and low-budget indie dramas alike.

Still, you'd think that the theaters, if they wanted to, could apply a sliding scale that takes both production cost and supply-and-demand into account and charge more for popular movies (which tend to be expensive studio films) while discounting the price to see less popular ones (inexpensive indies with limited marketing budgets). Sure, such a system would have to predict how likely a movie is to become a hit -- or, after it has been playing a while, how much demand has fallen off -- but that information isn't hard to find; neither are data on which times of year people are most and least likely to go to the movies. So you'd think theaters could increase their profits with variable pricing. In fact, after a box office year as dismal as 2011, you'd think they'd jump at the chance.

Thompson cites a 2007 University of Arizona study (which you can read in .pdf form here) that looks at overseas models to suggest that variable pricing could work here if it were tried. But the study also notes that there are a lot of institutional and psychological barriers in the way of such a change.

For one, the studios aren't going to thrill to any policy that returns them less money on tickets for some movies, or to any policy that irons out the supply-and-demand inefficiencies enough to extend a movie's stay in theaters. There are two reasons the studios like the short runs. First, most revenue splitting between studios and theaters is done on a sliding scale that favors the studios early in a movie's run and theater owners later, so the longer the run, the more exhibitors benefit at the expense of distributors. Second, the studios have been trying for years to shorten the theatrical exhibition window so that they can get on to the home video release, where the majority of the studios' profit is made.

Plus, there's the difficulty of policing; what's to stop patrons from buying tickets to the cheap movie and then sneaking into the expensive movie? More importantly, there's the issue of perceived fairness. Moviegoers already routinely complain about ticket prices; will they really accept further jacking of prices for event movies, or will they root themselves ever more firmly to the living room sofa to wait for the video release?

But maybe it wouldn't be that hard to ease consumers into accepting variable pricing. After all, we've already accepted some types of tiered ticket pricing. Kids and seniors pay less than most adults. Some theaters charge less for matinees or weekday screenings. And formats like IMAX and 3D have allowed theaters to reintroduce event pricing for some movies.

Beyond that, however, is a variable you can't quantify: entertainment value. Is 'Ghost Protocol' really more entertaining than 'Young Adult'? If so, is it twice as entertaining? One and a half times? As movie critics are fond of noting, there's no real correlation between a movie's budget and its quality.

Since theaters have no quality control over the product, about all they can do is try to improve the quality of the overall theatrical experience -- which, after all, is what you're really buying for the price of your ticket. Some theaters are indeed trying to make improvements, whether by installing more comfortable seats with better sightlines, or upgrading projectors and speakers, or adding gourmet food options. Still, customers continue to complain about dirty theaters, rude crowds, lax image and sound standards, dim projection (especially for 3D movies), and most of all, the prices of tickets and snacks. As home theater systems continue to improve, and as on-demand and streaming options continue to multiply, it's always going to be easier and more comfortable to watch a movie in your living room a few weeks or months after its theatrical run than to be motivated to leave your couch and go to the multiplex.

At this rate, the only movies that will succeed in theaters will be event movies, and it won't matter what the price is. So there's little incentive to monkey with the current uniform price structure. Besides, the box office isn't where the profit is, anyway. It's at the concession stand. Let us know, will ya, when they institute variable pricing there, so that we don't have to take out a loan to buy a tub of popcorn.

[Photo: Paramount ('Mission: Impossible')/Paramount ('Young Adult')]

Would you go to the movies more often if tickets were priced according to a movie\'s popularity?
Yes	179 (40.8%)
No	260 (59.2%)

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible' Rules Over Robust Holiday Session

Gary Susman — 2012-01-01T15:00:00+00:00

You may be starting the new year with a hangover, but the box office, for once, is lively and robust. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' easily repeated last week's holiday victory, but the weekend's other holdovers, in a session without any new wide-release competition, also performed strongly. The top 14 movies, and all but three of the top 33 movies, saw their earnings rise over last weekend's takes.

The fourth 'Mission: Impossible' continues to do business like a Tom Cruise movie of old, barreling toward a possible $200 million domestic take. Over the weekend, it lived up to expectations and earned another estimated $31.3 million (up 6 percent from Christmas weekend), for a three-week total of $134.1 million. That edges out the $134.0 million domestic total earned by 'Mission: Impossible III' nearly six years ago. In fact, this is Cruise's first film to pass $100 million domestically since that 2006 installment of the franchise.

Also in line with predictions, 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' finished second, with an estimated $22.1 million, up 9 percent from a week ago. Despite a slower than expected start, it's keeping pace with 'Mission: Impossible,' having earned $132.1 million over the same three weeks.

In third place, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' saw a jump in business of 45 percent over last weekend. Kids out of school helped the 'toon earn an estimated $18.3 million over New Year's weekend, for a three-week total of $94.6 million.

'War Horse' saw the week's biggest boost, vaulting 125 percent over last weekend's earnings. Finishing fourth, Steven Spielberg's equestrian drama also made hay out of of family free time and grabbed another estimated $16.9 million. In eight days, the film has earned $43.0 million.

Finishing fifth was 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' with an estimated take of $16.3 million, up 28 percent from last weekend. Like the three movies above it on the chart, the grim David Fincher thriller seems to be overcoming a slow start, holding up well due to strong word-of-mouth. Its two-weekend total is $57.1 million.

Among limited-release debuts, 'The Iron Lady' did very well, earning an estimated $222,000 on just for screens, for an outstanding $55,450 per-screen average. Reviews for the movie itself are so-so, but raves are nearly unanimous for Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher, which seems destined to earn the actress an unprecedented 17th Oscar nomination. Also doing well were Iranian drama 'A Separation' (an estimated $66,600 on three screens) and African-American lesbian coming-of-age tale 'Pariah' (an estimated $49,700 on four screens).

Overall, box office was up about 30 percent from last weekend. Among the top 30 returning films, only 'The Sitter,' 'Arthur Christmas' and 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' saw declines from last weekend's business. Everything else was up, marking a happy end to an otherwise dismal year at the box office.

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' $31.3 million (3,455 screens), $134.1 million total
2. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' $22.1 million (3,703), $132.1 million
3. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' $18.3 million (3,724), $94.6 million
4. 'War Horse,' $16.9 million (2,547), $43.0 million
5. 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' $16.3 million (2,914), $57.1 million
6. 'We Bought a Zoo,' $14.3 million (3,163), $41.8 million
7. 'The Adventures of Tintin,' $12.0 million (3,087), $47.8 million
8. 'New Year's Eve,' $6.7 million (2,225), $46.4 million
9. 'The Darkest Hour,' $4.3 million (2,327), $13.2 million
10. 'The Descendants,' $3.7 million (758), $39.7 million

[Photos: Paramount ('Mission: Impossible'), The Weinstein Company ('The Iron Lady')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Box Office Slump 2011: Ticket Sales Drop to 16 Year Lows, International Numbers Increase

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-30T08:50:00+00:00

For Hollywood in 2011, it was the best of times and the worst of times. Internationally, the film business was booming: according to estimates, studios earned $13.53 billion overseas in 2011, an increase of 6 to 8 percent from 2010 and a new all-time record. Unfortunately, that success didn't extend to U.S. shores: ticket sales dropped to 1.28 billion in 2011, the lowest total since 1995. Thank goodness for increased prices and 3D surcharges!

Because of the higher costs, revenue in 2011 will only dip 3.5 percent from where it was in 2010 ($10.2 billion from $10.58 billion), but that still doesn't show an industry in some distress. This will be the seventh straight year that ticket sales have declined since the high of 2003 (that was the year 'Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' 'Finding Nemo,' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ruled the box office).

According to the Los Angeles Times, total box-office per film dropped some 13 percent in 2011, because -- as research indicates -- people are more inclined to wait for movies to hit DVD and video on-demand services.

"Younger people who are image-conscious don't want to talk about movies that are a week old," said Ben Carlson, president of social media research firm Fizziology to the Times. "If you don't see the movie at that first moment, then the desire to see it begins to fall away."

Of course, the movies themselves could also be blamed. The top seven films at the box office in 2011 -- 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,' 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' 'Breaking Dawn Part 1,' 'The Hangover Part II,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' 'Fast Five' and 'Cars 2' -- were sequels, while 'Thor,' 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and 'Captain America' rounded out the list, films which could hardly be called originals. Might U.S. audiences be revolting against unoriginality? Unfortunately, it likely won't matter: with foreign grosses exploding and ticket prices rising, it seems that the domestic moviegoer is of less concern than ever before -- something the 2012 release calendar, chock full of sequels, prequels and reissues, seems to illustrate.

Why didn't you go to the movies this year? What movies will you see with your disposable income in 2012? Let us know in the comments below and take part in our anticipation poll!

What\'s Your Most Anticipated 2012 Movie?
The Hunger Games	2540 (18.7%)
The Dark Knight Rises	2975 (21.9%)
The Avengers	1376 (10.1%)
The Hobbit	2615 (19.2%)
The Amazing Spider-Man	140 (1.0%)
Django Unchained	166 (1.2%)
The Great Gatsby	726 (5.3%)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2	1869 (13.8%)
Pixar's Brave	169 (1.2%)
Other	1012 (7.4%)

[via LAT, THR]

[Photo: Warner Bros.]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-137125%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Can You Believe 'The King's Speech' Made $414 Million Worldwide?

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-28T10:10:00+00:00

Since Labor Day weekend, the conversation surrounding Hollywood economics has been almost exclusively about disappointment. From 'Warrior' all the way through 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' new releases have financially underwhelmed to the point that all the year-to-year box-office gains made during the second and third quarters of 2011 -- after a terrible first quarter -- were washed away. 2011 will likely finish around 4 or 5 percent behind 2010 in box-office revenue -- a stat that maybe didn't seem possible when 'Harry Potter,' 'Bridesmaids' and 'Transformers' were making money hand over fist. All of which is to say, 2011 wasn't the best year for the movie business, relatively speaking -- it will still be the third-highest grossing year in history -- which is what makes the success of 'The King's Speech' still stunning 13 months after its initial release.

Released in four theaters on Nov. 26, 2010, 'The King's Speech' was seen as a likely Best Picture favorite, but perhaps not a box-office juggernaut. About that: despite never finishing higher than fourth at the domestic box office, 'The King's Speech' earned $138,797,449 between 2010 and 2011. This year alone, the Best Picture winner grossed $115.8 million -- better than films like 'Hop,' 'Paranormal Activity 3,' 'Bad Teacher,' 'Just Go With It,' 'The Muppets,' and, possibly, 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' and 'The Adventures of Tintin.'

Globally, 'The King's Speech' grossed over $414 million, more than 2011 successes like 'The Help,' 'Bridesmaids,' 'Captain America: First Avenger,' 'X-Men: First Class,' and 'Super 8.'

Those figures wouldn't be all that surprising if 'The King's Speech' weren't 'The King's Speech.' After all, it seems that studios can't get moviegoers to buy tickets for "sure things" like 'Dragon Tattoo' and 'The Muppets,' but The Weinstein Company was able to get Average Joes and Janes to plunk down hard-earned money to watch a story about a British king with a speech impediment. Think about that one, especially in light of the fact that similar art-house leaning 2011 releases -- like the Weinstein Company released 'My Week With Marilyn' and 'The Artist' -- aren't catching on nearly as well. That could change post-Oscar nominations, as things did with 'The King's Speech,' but it seems unlikely that either will scale such great box office heights.

All of which raises the question: What was it about 'The King's Speech' that struck such a chord with audiences? Seriously, I'm asking. To take nothing away from the quality of the film, doesn't $414 million in global grosses seem absurd for a movie like 'The King's Speech'? And yet, less than a year ago, it was the box-office hit that kept on giving: the Tom Hooper-directed film spent 11 weeks in the top-ten. 11 weeks! The thing was like a mini-'Titanic'!

So: Why did you see 'The King's Speech,' when it seems like you're less likely to head to the movies now?

[Photo: TWC]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Was 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Hurt by Foreign Remake Fatigue?

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-27T13:30:00+00:00

Audiences weren't just disinterested in the Bosnian war over Christmas; ticket buyers were also somewhat cool on 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.' The highly anticipated self-proclaimed "feel bad movie of Christmas," finished in fourth place over the holiday with $19.4 million, and has grossed $27 million since release last Tuesday. What could be the reason for the less-than-thrilling numbers? Perhaps remake fatigue.

As the Los Angeles Times points out, the David Fincher-directed version of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' is the latest in a growing line of fiscally disappointing remakes from recent European source material. (The original adaptation of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' came out in 2009.) From 'Let Me In' (adapted from 'Let the Right One In') to 'Brothers' (adapted from 'Brothers'), there are plenty of recent foreign hits that have failed to connect with American audiences.

Of course, that might not be the case with 'Dragon Tattoo.' After all, the film is nearly two-and-a-half hours in length (which limits daily showings), rated 'R,' and -- as the millions who read Stieg Larsson's source material know -- filled with rape, incest and excessive violence against women. Not necessarily the type of cheery Christmas fare that families were looking to see in their escape to the movie theaters this past weekend. Plus, 'Dragon Tattoo' has received strong reviews, meaning its word-of-mouth will propel the film through the holiday week. The feel-bad movie of Christmas might turn into the must-see film of New Year's for adults.

All of which is to say, don't write off 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' from a box-office perspective just yet. Besides, Larsson's books were international best-sellers -- and 'Dragon Tattoo' has not rolled out overseas in any sort of major way. Unlike the Millennium Trilogy, the financials of Fincher's adaptation have yet to be written. Translation: there's still hope for Rooney Mara to play with fire.

[via LAT/24 Frames]

[Photo: Sony]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-141812%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Angelina Jolie's 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' Stumbles in Limited Release

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-27T09:50:00+00:00

As it turns out, not even art-house audiences were clamoring for a subtitled drama about the Bosnian war over the Christmas holiday. 'In the Land of Blood and Honey,' better known as Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, earned just $27,827 from three theaters during the four-day weekend. That breaks down to $9,267 per screen, which, while being the fourth-highest per-screen average of the weekend, is on the low-end for a limited release.

On the bright side, you can only imagine what 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' would have done without Jolie behind the camera. Featuring a cast of no-name performers and the brutal setting of the Bosnian war, the film is an almost impossible sell for audiences of any stripe.

"We obviously realize that the subject matter itself is very demanding," Bob Berney, president of FilmDistrict's distribution branch -- the studio that release 'Blood and Honey' -- told the Los Angeles Times. "But Angelina's name helped tremendously in getting the word out. This appeals to art-house crowds -- people interested in politics or history -- but I think she definitely helped to expand the audience."

'In the Land of Blood and Honey' remains out in theaters now.

[via LAT/Company Town]

[Photo: Getty]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Christmas Weekend Box Office: 'War Horse' Strong, 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Stronger

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-26T13:30:00+00:00

It turns out things at the domestic box office weren't as disappointing as they initially seemed on Christmas morning. Weekend winner 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' grabbed $46.2 million over the four-day holiday, an estimate that is nearly $20 million larger than the $26.5 million that was reported for the three-day frame. The fourth installment of the Tom Cruise franchise might wind up being the most lucrative yet -- proof that perhaps audiences have forgotten/forgiven Cruise for all that couch-jumping hysteria that clouded the box office of 'Mission: Impossible III.'

Elsewhere, 'War Horse' opened on Christmas Day to strong receipts. The Steven Spielberg-directed Oscar contender pulled in an estimated $15 million between Christmas and Dec. 26 thanks to an older crowd, 31 percent of whom were over 50.

Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin' didn't fare as well; the motion-capture adventure earned $16.1 million over the four-day weekend, with ticket sales only reaching $24.1 million since release on Dec. 21 -- or just $4 million more than weekend two of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' grabbed over Christmas.

As for the other new releases: 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' earned just over $19 million during the four-day holiday, while 'We Bought a Zoo' grabbed just over $15 million. Both are being looked at as disappointments, but with a long holiday week and no new releases next weekend -- plus excellent word-of-mouth -- both films could have long legs.

That won't be the case of the unscreened-for-critics 'Darkest Hour'; the alien invasion film was D.O.A on Christmas Day, earning just $5.5 million.

EARLER: 'Mission: Impossible' Takes Christmas Crown

[via LAT/Company Town]

[Photo: DreamWorks]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Weekend Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible' Takes Christmas Crown, as 'Dragon Tattoo,' 'Tintin,' 'Zoo' Stumble

Gary Susman — 2011-12-25T14:50:00+00:00

A return to the days when Tom Cruise was a top domestic box office draw might have seemed like an impossible mission, but 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' easily fended off several highly-touted newcomers, including 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' and 'The Adventures of Tintin,' to take the holiday box office crown.

After last week's successful IMAX-only debut, the fourth 'Mission: Impossible' installment expanded from 425 screens to 3,448, resulting in an estimated second-weekend take of $26.5 million. That's about $10 million less than most pundits predicted, but it was still far ahead of any other movie this weekend. Plus, with decent word-of-mouth and no new wide releases this coming weekend, the movie may well retain the top slot for another week or two. The movie's total to date comes to $59.0 million.

Last week's champ, 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' fell a sharp 55 percent to an estimated $17.8 million and a second-place finish. (No wonder, with as many as four new wide release movies elbowing into the action/mystery/adventure/thriller space.) In two weekends, it's earned a solid $76.6 million.

In third place, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' dropped 42 percent to an estimated $13.3 million. Those numbers have to be a huge disappointment for the franchise, whose first two installments grossed more than $215 million each. This one has earned just $50.3 million in two weeks. It'll be lucky to get anywhere near $100 million.

Debuting in fourth place, 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' earned an estimated $13.0 million. That's well below expectations, which were at least $18 million on the low end. After all, the movie is based on a best-selling book, is tailored to the gifts of its A-list director (David Fincher) and has been riding a wave of hype and Oscar buzz for a year. Still, it's a long movie (nearly three hours), which limits the number of times per day it can screen, it has a lot of competition among current wide-release thrillers, and its pretty grim and horrific for moviegoers in a holiday mood. Still, its acclaim and uniqueness (nothing else in theaters is this dark) may give it some legs. Having opened in mid-week, it has earned a total so far of $21.4 million.

'The Adventures of Tintin' was already an enormous international hit by the time it opened here on Wednesday. Which is good because the Steven Spielberg family-friendly action tale earned only an estimated $9.1 million at the domestic box office over the weekend (finishing at No. 5) and $17.1 million total in North America for the week. That's about what was expected, given American audiences' lack of familiarity with the European comic-book adventurer. Having already earned $239 million overseas, the makers of 'Tintin' probably aren't too disappointed.

Debuting in sixth place was 'We Bought a Zoo,' which has grossed an estimated $7.8 million since it opened on Friday. Again, that's about all that was expected of the family-friendly film, despite some buzz-building sneak previews in recent weeks. Reviews were mixed, and Matt Damon isn't as bankable of a name outside the action genre.

Final figures for the crowded Christmas weekend, which included the Sunday releases of Steven Spielberg's period drama 'War Horse' and the alien invasion thriller 'The Darkest Hour,' won't be released until Tuesday. At this writing, there were no studio estimates yet for the first day's receipts for the two December 25 debuts. Before the weekend, pundits' predictions for 'War Horse' were in the $6-$7 million range for Sunday, while they expected just $2 or $3 million from 'The Darkest Hour.'

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' $26.5 million (3,448 screens) $59.0 million total
2. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' $17.8 million (3,703), $76.6 million
3. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' $13.3 million (3,734), $50.3 million
4. 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' $13.0 million (2,914), $21.4 million
5. 'The Adventures of Tintin,' $9.1 million (3,087), $17.1 million
6. 'We Bought a Zoo,' $7.8 million (3,117), new release
7. 'New Year's Eve,' $4.0 million (2,225), $32.3 million total
8. 'Arthur Christmas,' $2.7 million (1,804), $44.2 million
9. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $2.1 million (1,603), $270.9 million
10. 'Hugo,' $2.0 million (1,236) $43.7 million

[Photos: Paramount ('Mission: Impossible'), Sony ('The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'), Paramount ('The Adventures of Tintin'), 20th Century Fox ('We Bought a Zoo')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: Weak 'Sherlock Holmes,' Chipmunks Lead, But 'Mission: Impossible' Steals Thunder

Gary Susman — 2011-12-18T15:30:00+00:00

The biggest mystery facing Sherlock Holmes: how come he was so ho-hum at the box office this weekend? 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' was the weekend's top movie, with an estimated $40 million opening, but its performance was underwhelming considering it was expected to score as much as $60 million. Similarly, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' disappointed despite an estimated $23.5 million, second-place debut, since it was expected to gross well over $30 million. On the other hand, the unusual, IMAX-exclusive opening of 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' outperformed modest expectations and premiered with an estimated $13 million on just 425 screens, good enough for third place.

Pundits predicted that the 'Sherlock Holmes' sequel would open in the ballpark of the original, which debuted with $62.3 million two years ago. But that opened on Christmas weekend, while this one opened earlier and against stiffer competition. Reviews have been just so-so, though that shouldn't really matter with this franchise. Also, there's the notion that audiences in recent months have been suffering from sequel fatigue, especially if the sequel brings nothing new to the table, though this one does introduce Holmes' nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

Sequel fatigue also seemed to affect the third 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' movie, which had been predicted to open between $30 and $38 million. The reviews were mostly scathing, but this franchise is also review-proof. Plus, there was no other kiddie competition this weekend. And the rude humor of the first two PG-rated installments was toned down to earn a G rating this time, so that should have drawn even more tykes. So it comes back to sequelitis, which has hit family movies especially hard this year, from 'Happy Feet Two,' to such seemingly unassailable titles as 'Cars 2' and 'Kung Fu Panda 2.'

Yet here's 'Mission: Impossible,' offering up its fourth installment, with a long-in-the-tooth star who's not the domestic box office draw he used to be, and it scores a stunning $30,588 per venue. (Compare that to $10,807 for 'Sherlock Holmes' and $6,312 for 'Chipwrecked.') What's the aging series' secret weapon? No, it wasn't Tom Cruise, nor the six-minute prologue for the even more eagerly-awated Bat-sequel 'The Dark Knight Rises' that accompanied 'Ghost Protocol' on just about 10 percent of its screens; it was the IMAX surcharge, which runs as high as $19 per ticket in Manhattan. Considering that predictions were in the $9 million range, the $13 million opening bodes very well for when the film expands into wide release over the next few weeks. Internationally, 'Ghost Protocol' grabbed almost $70 million.

Rounding out the top five were last week's champ, 'New Year's Eve,' which fell 43 percent (about what was expected) to take in an estimated $7.4 million, and 'The Sitter,' which had an even steeper second-week drop of 55 percent, to an estimated $4.4 million. In 10 days, 'New Year's Eve' has earned $24.8 million, while 'The Sitter' has earned $17.7 million over the same period.

Some pundits expected Charlize Theron's 'Young Adult' to crack the top five, as it expanded onto nearly 1,000 screens (after opening on just eight last weekend), with a possible take of $5 to $6 million. But it, too, underwhelmed, taking in just $3.7 million, according to estimates, finishing at No. 7. Also on the limited-release front, Oscar-hopeful 'Carnage' opened on just five screens but pulled an estimated $17,140 on each of them, for a total of $85,700.

In all, box office has been dismal this month, down a full 39 percent from the same period last December. Barring some unexpectedly huge blockbuster numbers for such upcoming wide releases as 'The Adventures of Tintin' and 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' it seems unlikely that 2011's total box office will close the gap of more than 3 percent (about $330 million) between this year's earnings and last year's.

'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,' $40.0 million (3,703 screens), new release
2. 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,' $23.5 million (3,723), new release
3. 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol,' $13.0 million (425), new release
4. 'New Year's Eve,' $13.7 million (3,505), $24.8 million total
5. 'The Sitter,' $4.4 million (2,752), $17.7 million
6. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $4.3 million (2,958), $266.4 million
7. 'Young Adult,' $3.65 million (986), $4.1 million
8. 'Hugo,' $3.63 million (2,532) $39.1 million
9. 'Arthur Christmas,' $3.60 million (2,929), $38.5 million
10. 'The Muppets,' $3.5 million (2,808), $70.9 million

[Photos: Warner Bros. ('Sherlock Holmes'), 20th Century Fox ('Chipwrecked'), Paramount ('Mission: Impossible'), Sony Pictures Classics ('Carnage')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Would You Pay $5 to Fund a Movie?

Eric Larnick — 2011-12-12T19:00:00+00:00

Fans of stand-up comedian / television auteur Louis C.K. were treated to a unique interaction on Monday with the Emmy-nominated funnyman; he participated in an open Q&A on reddit.com, covering as many topics as possible, from his comedic influences to his religious beliefs. One of the reasons he was participating in the event was to promote his newest stand-up special, 'Live at the Beacon Theater,' which he is distributing on his own, via his website; you can download his new concert for a low price of just FIVE dollars. When a fan asked him if he had any plans to make a movie, C.K. explained that the difficulties of the film industry prevent him from trying to work within the system.

However, he also admitted that he hopes this cheaply-sold, Internet-only concert special is successful enough to change the traditional approach to filmmaking -- and if his idea pays off, it might give you, the audience, even more control at what kind of movies are made by Hollywood.

Louis C.K.'s only cinematic outing so far has been the cult comedy 'Pootie Tang'; when asked if he had any plans to make another movie, the comedian responded:

I would love [to] make more movies. That is a F---ING HARD JOB though, dude. Just to get it made. You can't even do anything else while you're [trying] to get it made and then you probably won't. It's heart breaking. Then it takes a good 2 years to make and finish the movie then it maybe won't come out and then maybe it gets changed and worse than the movie not getting made, you made it, then it got changed into something you hated and then came out.
... if i can get a deal to make a movie the way I do my show, i'll do it. Otherwise... no.

That despair seems pretty commonplace for an industry that is suffering from slumping box office revenue in the wake of a depressed economy; with Hollywood struggling to find profitable hits, they can only afford to make the safest movies possible, designed to appeal to the widest audience possible. But eventually that audience grows tired of having the same type of movie shoveled into the mouths and they just stop going to theaters. In turn, the movie industry has to play it even safer, creating a vicious cycle of diminishing returns.

But in addition to his blunt honesty, C.K. also reveals an audacious plan:

I have a dream, though. You want to hear it? Yeah? Well, okay. I thought about what if I make another special like this one and i put it up for 5 bucks again and it goes gangbusters. It makes, say, 8 million bucks. I don't know that that is even possible. I'm trying to find out what the potential is with this one. But so if I make 8 million, which all goes through paypal right into Pig Newton, my company that makes my show and made the special. Well I would leave the money in there and make a f---ing movie.

In the reddit thread, hundreds of fans pledge to pay five dollars to the special, hoping to pay it forward to give him the money he needs to produce a movie on his own terms. While it's yet to be determined if his still-fledgling plan will pay off, it's worth considering: if this critically acclaimed, but still-under-the-radar comedian can rally enough fans to help pay for the kind of the movie they want to see, will more people start making movies that way?

All you have to do is look on KickStarter any day of the week to see a variety of artistic projects, including movies, successfully achieve funding. Audiences are willing to donate reasonable amounts to an artist/entertainer if they believe in the project and an organization like KickStarter keeps all the finances accountable, allows you to track how many other people are donating (in case you feel nervous parting with your money) and even offers you unique price incentives for helping out.

This upcoming Sundance Film Festival will showcase fourteen films funded through KickStarter audience fundraising. 'Keep the Lights On,' competing in the U.S. Dramatic Feature category, was able to secure its $25,000 goal with a majority of donations priced at no more than 50 dollars.

With the weekend's terrible box office, the sure-things are coming fewer and farther between for actual crowd pleasers. We've heard your comments, and it's clear you don't think the movies are worth the ticket price. If producers, writers and directors were making the exact kinds of movies you wanted to see -- but you had to donate, say five or ten dollars, just to get that movie made, would you fund it?

There's no better way to make your point in a capitalist society than to vote with your dollar.

Would you help fund a movie through online fundraising?
YES! I want to stick it to Hollywood -- they have no idea what kind of movies I like! Support new artists!	29 (59.2%)
Only if it is being made by an already-famous celebrity that I can trust.	6 (12.2%)
Only if I get to read the script.	8 (16.3%)
They would have to offer really unique prizes, like an on-screen credit or tickets to the premiere.	4 (8.2%)
NO! Even one dollar is too much for those overpaid hacks. I hate movies & want them to go away!	2 (4.1%)

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Movie Attendance Down to Post-9/11 Levels

Christopher Rosen — 2011-12-12T11:10:00+00:00

The tenth anniversary year of 9/11 has been marked by tears, the death of Osama bin Laden, and even a new film about the deadly terrorist attacks -- the coming 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. One 9/11 remembrance that was unexpected? Slumping box-office figures, which have seen audiences drop to the lowest attendance levels since the weekends immediately following Sept. 11.

Led by the disappointing returns from 'New Year's Eve' (No. 1 with $13.7 million) and 'The Sitter' (No. 2 with a little over $10 million), ticket sales over the weekend dipped to the lowest cumulative total of 2011. And 2010. And 2009. You have to go all the way back to the weekend of Sept. 5, 2008 to find such paltry figures over a weekend; that's when the immortal 'Bangkok Dangerous' led the box office with $7.7 million.

Added together, the first two weekends in December have seen ticket sales totaling $158 million, which -- divided by the national ticket-price average of $7.96 -- means roughly 19.8 million have attended the movies since the start of the month. As the Associated Press points out, that's nearly 2.5 million less people than attended movies in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when 22.5 million consumers saw films like 'Hardball' and 'Glitter' -- the Mariah Carey punchline. If only 'New Year's Eve' had found room for Keanu Reeves.

"It's unbelievable how bad it is," box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the AP, as studio executives likely dove under their desks.

Kidding aside, there is some hope for the industry. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' is tracking well, and with 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' 'Alvin and the Chipmunks 3' and 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' on the horizon, it's likely that the slumping box office will reignite in coming weeks. Unfortunately, with ticket sales running 4 percent behind where it was in 2010, that might not be enough to save the calendar year.

[via AP]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-137125%

[Photo: Warner Bros.]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook

Weekend Box Office: 'New Year's Eve' Drops the Ball, Wins Anyway

Gary Susman — 2011-12-11T14:10:00+00:00

'New Year's Eve' was supposed to bring the party this weekend, but it played more like a New Year's Day hangover. It mustered an estimated $13.7 million, about half what it was expected to earn. Still, on one of the most lackluster box office weekends all year, that was enough for a victory.

'New Year's Eve' was director Garry Marshall's follow-up to his similar holiday-themed, all-star ensemble romantic comedy 'Valentine's Day,' which debuted with a huge $56 million two Februarys ago. Of course, that was on the biggest date weekend of the year; this was not (plus, it had the still-strong ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' to contend with for female ticketbuyers). No one expected it to open as big as 'Valentine's Day,' but most expected an opening around half the size, not a mere fourth the size. Besides the 'Twilight' vampires, blame scathing reviews and poor word-of-mouth.

Opening in second place, 'The Sitter' also performed below its already underwhelming expectations. Jonah Hill has never carried a comedy all by himself, and judging by the mild reception for the recent 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,' this isn't a time of year with a strong market for raunchy comedies. So pundits predicted an opening of around $12 to $13 million, but Sunday estimates came in at just $10.0 million. Director David Gordon Green, who has yet to regain the highs of 'Pineapple Express,' now enjoys the dubious distinction of having released two flops this year (the other was this spring's 'Your Highness').

After three weekends atop the chart, 'Breaking Dawn' finally slipped to third place, with an estimated $7.9 million. A decline of 52 percent from a week ago isn't that unusual for a four-week-old blockbuster. The supernatural romance has earned $259.5 million in North America to date.

'The Muppets' also dropped two spots, down to fourth place with an estimated take of $7.1 million. That represents a modest decline of 32 percent in the movie's third weekend. To date, Kermit & Co. are seeing green to the tune of $65.8 million.

The only Christmas-themed movie currently playing, 'Arthur Christmas,' saw the smallest decline among wide-release movies, just 11 percent in its third weekend. At No. 5, it earned an estimated $6.6 million, for a three-week total of $33.5 million.

Also opening this week were two movies that did very well in limited release, according to studio estimates. Charlize Theron's black comedy 'Young Adult' earned an enormous $40,000 per screen on eight screens (by comparison, 'New Year's Eve drew $3,505 per screen), and its total debut of $320,000 landed it at No. 15 on the chart. One notch below was Gary Oldman's espionage thriller 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' which earned an even more astonishing $75,250 per screen at four venues, for a total of $301,000. Holding up well in limited release were 'The Artist' (up 38 percent this week with the addition of 10 screens, for a total of 16, with a per-screen average of $18,250 and an estimated weekend take of $292,000) and 'Shame' (down just 21 percent, to an estimated $276,000, or $13,143 per screen). All potential year-end awards contenders, these films should continue to do well as they expand into wider release.

Overall, the top 12 movies earned just $69.7 million this weekend, marking the third straight week of declining box office. Grosses for the year are more than 3 percent below where they were this time a year ago ($9.5 billion, compared to $9.8 billion), but that gap could widen if this month continues to see such lackluster performance.

'New Year's Eve' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'New Year's Eve,' $13.7 million (3,505 screens), new release
2. 'The Sitter,' $10.0 million (2,750), new release
3. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $7.9 million (3,604), $259.5 million total
4. 'The Muppets,' $7.1 million (3,328), $65.8 million
5. 'Arthur Christmas,' $6.6 million (3,272), $33.5 million
6. 'Hugo,' $6.1 million (2,608) $33.5 million
7. 'The Descendants,' $4.8 million (876), $23.6 million
8. 'Happy Feet Two,' $3.8 million (2,840), $56.9 million
9. 'Jack and Jill,' $3.2 million (2,787), $68.6 million
10. 'Immortals,' $2,4 million (2,286), $79.9 million

[Photos: Warner Bros. ('New Year's Eve'), 20th Century Fox ('The Sitter'), Paramount ('Young Adult')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Breaking Dawn' Bests 'Muppets' for Threepeat Victory

Gary Susman — 2011-12-04T13:40:00+00:00

Don't underestimate vampires and werewolves when they go up against various frogs, pigs, and bears. That's this weekend's box office lesson. With no new wide-release movies in theaters, the box office competition was supposed to be a closely fought battle between holdovers ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' and ''The Muppets,' but it didn't end up close at all. 'Breaking Dawn' easily defended its crown for a third straight week at the top, while 'The Muppets' plummeted faster than expected to a distant second place.

After last weekend's repeat victory, 'Breaking Dawn' was expected to follow the path of past years' Thanksgiving blockbusters (including previous 'Twilight' installment 'New Moon' two years ago) and drop about 65 percent this weekend, which would have put it around $14.5 million. But it slipped just 59 percent, for an estimated weekend take of $16.9 million. In 17 days, the supernatural romance sequel has earned $247.3 million in North America and even more overseas, for a worldwide total of $532.3 million.

For 'The Muppets,' a 50 percent drop from last weekend's debut would have meant about $14.5 million and a neck-and-neck battle with the 'Twilight' neck-biters. Some pundits were even predicting a Muppet victory this weekend, given the film's enthusiastic reviews and word-of-mouth. Yet the movie fell a full 62 percent, to an estimated $11.2 million, nearly $6 million below 'Breaking Dawn.' Why the steeper than expected drop? It could be that more kids than expected went to see 'Hugo,' which expanded its release by about 50 percent this weekend, or to 'Arthur Christmas,' which is the only seasonal-themed holiday film currently in wide release. Still, 'Muppets' remained the top choice for family viewing, and its take so far comes to $56.5 million over 12 days.

'Hugo's second-week decline was a modest 33 percent, since it added 563 more screens, for a total of 1,840. Its estimated take of $7.6 million was good for a third-place finish. It had a per-screen average of $4,144, the largest of any of the current family films. ('The Muppets' earned $3,256 per venue.) That suggests strong word-of-mouth, which, along with rapturous reviews, should keep the Martin Scorsese 3D adventure afloat through the rest of the holidays. In 12 days, 'Hugo' has earned $25.2 million.

'Arthur Christmas' also held up well, sliding just 39 percent to an estimated $7.4 million. That landed the cartoon in fourth place, though its take is close enough to 'Hugo's that they may find their ranks reversed when final numbers are released on Monday. Its two-week total is slightly ahead of 'Hugo' at $25.3 million.

'Happy Feet Two' has the most tepid reviews and word-of-mouth among current family releases, but it held on to a spot in the top 5 with a take estimated at $6.0 million. That's down 55 percent from last week, not unusual for a cartoon in its third week of release, especially given the heavy competition in the family marketplace. In three weeks, the penguin pic has danced off with $51.8 million.

Elsewhere on the chart, 'The Descendants,' like fellow awards-season hopeful 'Hugo,' expanded its run by about 50 percent (to 574 screens) and was rewarded with a box office boost. It rose from 10th place to 7th and earned another estimated $5.2 million, for a three-week total of $18.1 million. And the much-buzzed-about 'Shame' opened on 10 screens and did very well, earning $36,100 per screen for a total of $361,000, good for a 16th-place debut. That per-screen average suggests stronger-than-usual commercial appeal for this NC-17 movie; if this weekend's numbers can persuade enough additional theater owners to book the film, it has a good chance of breaking the $5 million ceiling that no NC-17-rated film has cracked since 2004. Awards interest for Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan's performances in the sex-addiction drama won't hurt.

As the year winds down, box office is still about 3.2 percent behind where it was at this point in 2010. This year's estimated grosses to date are $9.4 billion, compared to $9.7 billion a year ago.

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $16.9 million (4,046 screens), $247.3 million total
2. 'The Muppets,' $11.2 million (3,440), $56.1 million
3. 'Hugo,' $7.6 million (1,840) $25.2 million
4. 'Arthur Christmas,' $7.4 million (3,376), $25.3million
5. 'Happy Feet Two,' $6.0 million (3,536), $51.8 million
6. 'Jack and Jill,' $5.5 million (3,049), $64.3 million
7. 'The Descendants,' $5.2 million (574), $18.1 million
8. 'Immortals,' $4,4 million (2,627), $75.6 million
9. 'Tower Heist,' $4.1 million (2.404), $70.8 million
10. 'Puss in Boots,' $3.1 million (2,750), $139.5 million

[Photos: Summit ('Breaking Dawn'), Disney ('The Muppets'), Fox Searchlight ('Shame')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Breaking Dawn' Still Rules, But 'Muppets' Win Family Movie Melee

Gary Susman — 2011-11-27T14:50:00+00:00

It's a new holiday pageant: a Thanksgiving feast where the Indians are werewolves and the white settlers don't even eat. During a weekend with three highly touted new family films, the family that a plurality of moviegoers chose to visit was the undead Cullen clan of 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.' In its second weekend, the vampire romance easily held onto the top spot at the box office, while 'The Muppets' won the three-way battle for family film supremacy.

According to studio estimates, 'Breaking Dawn' earned another $62.3 million over the five-day holiday, or $42.0 million from Friday to Sunday. That's a sharp decline of 70 percent from last week's debut, but it's still on a par with the performance of earlier installment 'New Moon.' The film is playing in more venues than any other (4,066 screens) and is doing a smashing $10,330 per screen over the three-day weekend. In 10 days, it's earned $221.3 million.

Debuting in second place, 'The Muppets' made off with an estimated $29.5 million over the three-day weekend. Most pundits had expected a weekend haul above $30 million, given the multi-generational appeal of the fuzzy felt folks and the year-long parade of hype for the feature. Still, 'The Muppets' has earned a total of $42.0 million since Wednesday's debut, which is more in five days than every previous Muppet film except the first one earned throughout its entire theatrical run. (Of course, that's not adjusting for inflation; the $65.2 million take from 1979's 'The Muppet Movie' would amount to $210.1 million at today's ticket prices.) Besides positive reviews and strong word-of-mouth, 'The Muppets' also earned $8.576 per screen for the weekend, so the movie seems popular enough that it'll show some legs, even if the filmed-from-the-waist-up characters seldom do.

Including the two family films already playing, there are five movies in wide release vying for that same market; given that, it's no wonder that 'Happy Feet Two' slid 37 percent this weekend to an estimated $13.4 million. The penguin sequel, which opened weakly last weekend, has the weakest reviews of any of the current family releases. Still, it managed to finish in third place this weekend and has earned $43.8 million to date.

Opening at No. 4, 'Arthur Christmas' faced a few tough breaks. Besides competing with all the other family movies, it also had to open in 3,376 venues while fighting against four other wide-release movies for 3D screens. So while pundits expected it to open between $14 and $19 million, 'Arthur' settled for a three-day opening estimated at $12.7 million, for a total of $17.0 million over the five-day holiday. Sony issued a statement saying it expected the film to hold up well over the next few weeks because it's the only seasonal-themed family movie in the bunch, but a per-screen average of $3,762 (nearly identical to 'Happy Feet Two''s $3,711, after 10 days) doesn't bode well.

Conversely, 'Hugo' opened much better than its modest expectations. While critics adored Martin Scorsese's first stab at kiddie fare, some observers thought that a movie that's largely an homage to silent-film pioneer Georges Méliès might play above kids' heads. Predictions for the movie, which opened on just 1,277 screens, were in the $8 to $10 million range for the weekend. Yet the film earned an estimated $11.4 million from Friday to Sunday, for a five-day total of $15.4 million and a fifth-place finish. Its per-screen average of $8,888 is even higher than that of 'The Muppets,' meaning 'Hugo' could ride out the holiday season if it expands to a wider release.

On the indie front, three new movies did very well in limited release. 'My Week with Marilyn,' featuring Michelle Williams' much-buzzed-about performance as Marilyn Monroe, earned $1.8 million on 244 screens, with a respectable $7,266 per-screen average that suggests the movie will hold up well through awards season. Opening on just four screens each were silent-film tribute 'The Artist' and David Cronenberg's psychosexual period drama 'A Dangerous Method.' 'Artist' pulled in $210,414 (a whopping $52,604 per screen), while 'Method' did nearly as well with $181,852 ($45,463 per screen). Watch for these to become awards-season standouts at the box office as well.

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $42.0 million (4,066 screens), $221.3 million total
2. 'The Muppets,' $29.5 million (3,440), $42.0 million
3. 'Happy Feet Two,' $13.4 million (3,606), $43.8 million
4. 'Arthur Christmas,' $12.7 million (3,376), $17.0 million
5. 'Hugo,' $11.4 million (1,277) $15.4 million
6. 'Jack and Jill,' $10.3 million (3,029), $57.4 million
7. 'Immortals,' $8.8 million (2,677), $68.6 million
8. 'Puss in Boots,' $7.5 million (3,005), $135.4 million
9. 'Tower Heist,' $7.3 million (2.474), $65.4 million
10. 'The Descendants,' $7.2 million (433), $10.7 million

[Photos: Disney ('The Muppets'), Paramount ('Hugo')]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Breaking Dawn' Breaks Big, While 'Happy Feet Two' Stumbles

Gary Susman — 2011-11-20T14:40:00+00:00

Okay, we all knew that 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' was going to be huge; the only real suspense was: would it be record-breaking huge? (Early answer: Apparently not.) The bigger shockers were the failure of 'Happy Feet Two' to open anywhere near the heights of its smash predecessor, and the stunning success (for a glum indie Oscar hopeful playing on a handful of screens) of George Clooney's 'The Descendants.'

'Breaking Dawn' did break the franchise's own record for its opening midnight screening, which earned $30.25 million in the wee hours of Friday morning (edging out the $30 million benchmark set by 'Eclipse'). And its total take Friday of $72 million was the third largest single-day gross ever, behind the franchise's own 'New Moon' ($72.7 million) and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($91 million).

Still, numbers like that should have resulted in a weekend total of about $148 million. Instead, distributor Summit is estimating an opening at $139.5 million. That's short of the $142.8 million franchise record set two installments ago by 'New Moon.' It's possible that word-of-mouth on this one isn't as strong as expected. (At this writing, Moviefone's own informal survey finds 'Breaking Dawn' viewers either exuberantly enthusiastic or bitterly disappointed, with raves outnumbering pans about 2-to-1.) It's also possible that some parents and kids took the PG-13 rating seriously and stayed away, given that this installment is much more frank, disturbing, and gory than the first three movies when it comes to topics of sex, pregnancy, and childbirth.

Now, $139.5 million is hardly a disappointment, especially when added to overseas grosses for a worldwide debut totaling $283.5 million. Nonetheless, with several big holiday movies opening in the next couple of weeks, 'Breaking Dawn' isn't positioned as well as it could be for the sharp dropoff likely to come over the Thanksgiving holiday.

By the way, Taylor Lautner's thriller 'Abduction' has earned an estimated $27.6 million to date, grossing about as much over nine weeks as 'Breaking Dawn' did by the time Lautner first took his shirt off during Friday's first screening.

No one expected the dancing penguins of 'Happy Feet Two' to be any kind of competition for first place, but many pundits did expect it to compete favorably with the original, which debuted at $41.5 million five years ago. After all, this one had much of the same cast, similarly striking Antarctic visuals, and 3D surcharges going for it. On the minus side, five years is a long time between sequels for a family movie; many kids who adored the flightless fowl back then have graduated to the relatively chaste vampires and werewolves of 'Twilight.' Also, the penguin craze has cooled since 'March of the Penguins' and 'Happy Feet' ruled the box office. Reviews weren't as strong this time out. Finally, the sequel faced stiff competition not just from 'Breaking Dawn,' but also from fellow family toon 'Puss in Boots,' still holding its own after four weeks in theaters. As a result, 'Happy Feet Two' had to settle for a second-place debut estimated at $22.0 million, about half the opening take that the original enjoyed.

Last week's winner, 'Immortals,' faced a steep drop, as action epics tend to do on their second weekends. It lost 62 percent of last week's business and took third place with an estimated $12.3 million. (You wouldn't think the macho 'Immortals' and the estrogen-heavy 'Breaking Dawn' would be competing for the same audience, but the guys who dragged their dates to see the gruesome Greek epic last week probably returned the favor this week for the similarly bloody birth of Bella's baby.) In 10 days, 'Immortals' has grossed $53.0 million.

Adam Sandler movies also typically lose half their business the second week; so it was with 'Jack and Jill,' which declined 52 percent dropped to fourth place on estimated earnings of $12.0 million. In two weeks, the comedy has taken in $41.0 million.

In its fourth week, 'Puss in Boots' came in fifth with an estimated $10.7 million, down 57 percent from last weekend. In four weeks, the 'Shrek' spinoff has earned $122.3 million.

Clooney's 'The Descendants' managed to crack the top 10 even though it's a heavy-themed grown-up movie playing on just 29 screens. It earned an estimated $1.2 million over the weekend, which means an enormous $42,150 per venue. Add that to its earnings since its solid early opening on Wednesday, and you have a total take of $1.3 million.

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' $139.5 million (4,061 screens), new release
2. 'Happy Feet Two,' $22.0 million (3,606), new release
3. 'Immortals,' $12.3 million (3,120), $53.0 million total
4. 'Jack and Jill,' $12.0 million (3,438), $41.0 million
5. 'Puss in Boots,' $10.7 million (3,415), $122.3 million
6. 'Tower Heist,' $7.0 million (2.942), $53.4 million
7. 'J. Edgar,' $5.9 million (1,947), $20.7 million
8. 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,' $2.9 million (1,808), $28.3 million
9. 'In Time,' $1.7 million (1,367), $33.4 million
10. 'The Descendants,' $1.2 million (29), $1.3 million

[Photos: Summit, Warner Bros., Fox Searchlight]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Immortals' Overwhelm Sandler and Eastwood

Gary Susman — 2011-11-13T15:20:00+00:00

Is there such a thing as a movie that's too violent? At the box office, apparently not. Exhibit A: 'Immortals,' which, despite extreme gore that includes bloody entrails flying at the viewer in 3D, opened at no. 1 with an estimated $32.0 million. That's a stunning feat for a movie that faced competition from a new Adam Sandler comedy, had little star power of its own, belonged to a genre of sword-and-sandals movies that hasn't been popular lately, and comes from an indie distributor with only one other big hit under its belt. Oh, and did we mention the flying entrails?

Actually, the intentionally repulsive combat scenes were probably a big selling point. Given such recent movies as 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'The Eagle' (movies in the same genre as 'Immortals' that failed to dent the box office), you have to go all the way back to 'Clash of the Titans' and '300' for ancient-world action blockbusters, and 'Immortals' director Tarsem Singh dismissed those movies as overly tame. It's doubtful that anyone would find 'Immortals' tame, which must have helped overcome the movie's box office negatives - its biggest stars were Mickey Rourke and future Superman Henry Cavill, its marketing didn't really hint at the movie's over-the-top visual spectacle, and its distributor, Relativity, has previously struck box office gold only with 'Limitless.'

It's no wonder that pundits thought they were generous predicting an opening for 'Immortals' in the low 20s. The $32 million estimated gross comes as a welcome surprise for Relativity, but even that isn't all good news. After all, Friday's opening take of $15 million should have heralded a total weekend gross of $36 million, but the film was already slipping by a third as of Saturday. That quick decline suggests that the movie may not have strong legs, especially if teen girls drag their boyfriends to see 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' when it opens this coming weekend. At that rate, 'Immortals' may have a hard time recouping its estimated $75 million budget from domestic receipts alone, though overseas, the movie has already earned at least $36 million more.

Moviegoers apparently found the combat carnage in 'Immortals' less stomach-churning than the spectacle of Adam Sandler in drag being wooed by Al Pacino. 'Jack and Jill' opened in second place with an estimated $26.0 million. That makes it the first of Sandler's adult comedies in almost 14 years (since 'The Wedding Singer') to open with less than $30 million. Yet it actually did a little better than pundits predicted, which was about $24 million. The lowballing came not from the almost universally negative reviews, since Sandler movies are critic-proof, but from the fact that the multiplex already has two other comedies competing for the same audience in 'Tower Heist' and 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas'

Given the weaknesses on paper of 'Immortals' and 'Jack and Jill,' many box office prognosticators expected last week's champ, 'Puss in Boots,' to threepeat. Indeed, the cartoon did very well, losing just 23 percent of last week's audience and nabbing another estimated $25.5 million. That landed the film in third place, though at just $500,000 behind 'Jack and Jill,' 'Puss' could wind up in second place once final numbers are released on Monday. In three weeks, the 'Shrek' spinoff has earned $108.8 million.

'Tower Heist' slipped two spots to fourth place, marking a 45 percent decline to an estimated $13.2 million. That's about what was expected for the middling comedy release, whose two-week total stands at $43.9 million.

Opening in fifth was Clint Eastwood's 'J. Edgar,' with an estimated $11.5 million. That was also right on track for the Oscar-hopeful biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The leading man's star power and the director's prestige were supposed to sell the picture to adult audiences, but the film's weak reviews made that difficult. The movie's limited-release opening in seven theaters on Wednesday (before expanding to 1,910 theaters over the weekend) pulled in an initial $53,000; last year, Eastwood tried a similar ploy with 'Hereafter' and netted $60,000, toward an eventual lifetime gross of just $32.7 million. 'J. Edgar' could beat that, but with four more prestige movies opening in the next two weeks, Eastwood's top G-man has his work cut out for him.

Overall, box office was up about 25 percent from a week ago. Still, figures for the year remain more than 3 percent behind last year, with 2011 domestic grosses to date at about $8.75 billion, compared to $9.05 billion a year ago.

'Immortals' - Trailer No. 3

The full top 10:
1. 'Immortals,' $32.0 million (3,112 screens), new release
2. 'Jack and Jill,' $26.0 million (3,438), new release
3. 'Puss in Boots,' $25.5 million (3,903), $108.8 million total
4. 'Tower Heist,' $13.2 million (3,370), $43.9 million
5. 'J. Edgar,' $11.5 million (1,910), $11.6 million
6. 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,' $5.9 million (2,875), $23.2 million
7. 'In Time,' $4.2 million (2,591), $30.7 million
8. 'Paranormal Activity 3,' $3.6 million (2,776), $100.8 million
9. 'Footloose,' $2.7 million (2,215), $48.9 million
10. 'Real Steel,' $2.0 million (1,758), $81.7 million

[Photos: Relativity, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros.]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-137924%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Puss in Boots' Stomps 'Tower Heist,' 'Harold & Kumar'

Gary Susman — 2011-11-06T14:30:00+00:00

Both of this week's new wide releases, 'Tower Heist' and 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,' have an Occupy Wall Street, proles-vs.-fat-cats subtext, but it was one particular fat-cat who seized a surprise win at the box office. 'Puss in Boots' not only managed to outduel both newcomers, but also shocked by holding on to almost all of the business it scored during last weekend's record-breaking debut.

'Puss in Boots' was expected to have long legs; not only did the 'Shrek' spinoff have strong word-of-mouth, but it also faced no new family-film competition this weekend. Pundits expected a standard second-weekend drop of about 35 percent, to $22 million. Instead, 'Puss' fell behind last week by only a whisker, with estimates showing a 3 percent drop to $33.0 million. That's the lowest non-holiday drop since 2003, when 'Brother Bear' dipped just 4.5 percent during its second weekend in November. In 10 days, 'Puss' has collared $75.5 million.

Conversely, 'Tower Heist' was expected to open much stronger than it did, in the $30 million range where Ben Stiller's wide release movies tend to open. Besides, this one also boasted director Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy (in a role widely touted as a return to comic form). Yet it opened in second place and mustered just $25.1 million, according to studio estimates. Blame middling reviews, 'Harold & Kumar' and too little youth appeal. Studio polling found that 62 percent of the audience was over 30, which means that people not old enough to remember when Eddie Murphy was funny didn't show up.

Chronic underachievers Harold and Kumar also underperformed. Pundits predicted an opening of around $17 million, based on the hit franchise's popularity, surprisingly good reviews, and the surcharges from 3D (used here in a way that's actually integral to the film and not superfluous). Yet the pair's latest joint effort clipped only an estimated $13.1 million and finished in third place. Maybe audiences still have 3D fatigue after a summer of undistinguished 3D releases, or maybe 'Tower Heist' swiped much of the buddy-comedy audience.

Rounding out the top five: In fourth place, 'Paranormal Activity 3' scared up another $8.5 million, according to estimates, down 53 percent from last week, for a total of $95.3 million. At No. 5, sci-fi thriller 'In Time' slipped 36 percent to an estimated $7.7 million, for a two-week total of $24.2 million.

Outside the top 10, speculative Shakespeare saga 'Anonymous' expanded to 513 theaters and pulled in an estimated $1.3 million, finishing at No. 13 and scoring a two-weekend total of $2.7 million. Long-distance romance 'Like Crazy' made $270,000 at just 16 locations, for an enormous per-screen average of $16,875 and a two-week total of $448,000. And outside the U.S., 'The Adventures of Tintin' grabbed another estimated $40.8 million, brining its two-week total to $125.3 million. At this rate, the eventual U.S. release next month of this Steven Spielberg special seems almost an afterthought.

Box office for the year remains off by about 4 percent, or $356 million, with 2011 grosses to date at $8.6 billion, compared to $8.9 billion by this time last year.

'Puss in Boots' - Trailer No. 3

The full top 10:
1. 'Puss in Boots,' $33.0 million (3,693 screens), $75.5 million total
2. 'Tower Heist,' $25.1 million (3,367), new release
3. 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,' $13.1 million (2,865), new release
4. 'Paranormal Activity 3,' $8.5 million (3,286), $95.3 million
5. 'In Time,' $7,7 million (3,127), $24.2 million
6. 'Footloose,' $4.6 million (2,811), $44.8 million
7. 'Real Steel,' $3.4 million (2,438), $78.7 million
8. 'The Rum Diary,' $3.0 million (2,292), $10.4 million
9. 'The Ides of March,' $2.0 million (1,391), $36.8 million
10. 'Moneyball,' $1.9 million (1,278), $70.3 million

[Photos: DreamWorks Animation, Universal, Warner Bros.]

RELATED
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-138379%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

RELATED

Weekend Box Office: 'Puss in Boots' Sets Halloween Record

Gary Susman — 2011-10-30T14:30:00+00:00

These 'Boots' were made for walking -- all over the box office competition. 'Shrek' spinoff 'Puss in Boots' easily won the weekend, not only outpacing two other new wide releases by a wide margin, but also setting a record for the biggest Halloween weekend opening ever.

The fencing feline voiced by Antonio Banderas purred his way to an estimated $34 million opening. That was a lot less than expected, given the popularity of the 'Shrek' franchise, the fanbase the character earned in three previous installments, a boost from 3D surcharges and decent reviews and word-of-mouth. But a World Series whose clinching seventh game was played on Friday night and a Northeastern snowstorm on Saturday threw a wet blanket on predictions that had been in the $40 to $44 million range. Still, if Sunday's estimate holds, 'Puss' will beat the Halloween weekend record of $33.6 million set by the debut of 'Saw III' five years ago.

By opening earlier than initially scheduled (the DreamWorks Animation film was slotted for Nov. 4 before moving up one week), 'Puss' may have dealt a fatal blow to last week's winner, 'Paranormal Activity 3,' which lost a hefty 65 percent of its business in its second weekend. The horror prequel slipped to second place with an estimated $18.5 million -- about $2 million more than 'Paranormal Activity 2' earned in its second weekend, but with a much greater depreciation (65 percent to 59 percent). Like the previous two installments, the movie is earning love-it-or-hate-it response from moviegoers. In two weekends, it's scared up $81.3 million.

Opening in third place was 'In Time' with an estimated $12.0 million. That's not far below the $13 million or so that pundits predicted for the Justin Timberlake/Amanda Seyfried sci-fi thriller. Despite only so-so reviews, distributor 20th Century Fox must be pleased; the film did even better overseas, earning $14.5 million.

In its third week, 'Footloose' stepped down one rung to fourth place. Losing nearly half of last week's business, the dance remake walked off with an estimated $5.4 million, for a total so far of $38.4 million.

Just behind 'Footloose' was 'The Rum Diary,' opening in fifth place with an estimated $5.0 million. Johnny Depp's labor-of-love comedy, based on a semi-autobiographical tale that his friend Hunter S. Thompson left unpublished for nearly 40 years, was expected to open around $6 or $7 million, with its literary eccentricity trumping Depp's usual box office appeal. With a per-screen average of $2,205 on just 2,272 screens, 'Rum' isn't likely to have sturdy legs.

With its release plan scaled back to just 265 screens, the speculative period drama 'Anonymous' opened outside the top 10 and earned an estimated $1.0 million. That's a modest $3,774 per screen; jury is still out on whether the Shakespeare-didn't-write-Shakespeare drama can drum up strong interest once it opens wider. A movie that should have a stronger wide-release future is long-distance romance 'Like Crazy,' which debuted on just four screens but earned a huge $30,000 on each, for an estimated total of $120,000.

The other big box office story this weekend also happened out of sight of the domestic top 10. It was the international opening of 'The Adventures of Tintin.' We won't see the much-anticipated Steven Spielberg motion-capture saga until Christmas, but overseas, it picked up an estimated $55.8 million in 19 countries. By the time it drops down our chimney on Dec. 21, it'll already be a huge international hit.

'Puss in Boots' - Trailer No. 3

The full top 10:
1. 'Puss in Boots,' $34.0 million (3,952 screens), new release
2. 'Paranormal Activity 3,' $18.5 million (3,329), $81.3 million total
3. 'In Time,' $12.0 million (3,122), new release
4. 'Footloose,' $5.4 million (3,224) $38.4 million
5. 'The Rum Diary,' $5.0 million (2,272), new release
6. 'Real Steel,' $4.7 million (2,914), $73.9 million
7. 'The Three Musketeers,' $3.5 million (3,017), $14.8 million
8. 'The Ides of March,' $2.7 million (1,572), $33.5 million
9. 'Moneyball,' $2.4 million (1,631), $67.4 million
10. 'Courageous,' $1.8 million (1,134) $27.6 million

[Photos: DreamWorks Animation, 20th Century Fox, FilmDistrict]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

RELATED

Weekend Box Office: 'Paranormal Activity 3' Sets Horror Movie Record

Gary Susman — 2011-10-23T15:10:00+00:00

Horror threequel/prequel 'Paranormal Activity 3' scared up a frightful amount of money this weekend, setting a record for the biggest horror movie opening ever. With an estimated $54.0 million opening, it handily defeated this weekend's other two new wide releases, 'The Three Musketeers' and 'Johnny English Reborn.'

Even before it opened, 'Paranormal 3' had scared off most of the usual October horror competition. It was expected to open big, in the range of $36 to $41 million, based on the $40.6 million opening for last October's installment. But that lack of competition (including from the now-completed 'Saw' franchise, which overlapped with the first two 'Paranormal' movies in 2009 and 2010), clever marketing, strong advanced buzz, and an audience starved for reliable brand-name franchise entertainment combined to create a massive demand for the latest picture in the found-footage franchise. (On the downside, 'Paranormal Activity 3' earned a "C+" grade on Cinemascore, meaning the film could tumble during weekend two; 'Paranormal Activity 2' had a "B" rating last fall, and still dropped 59 percent in its second frame.)

Last week's winner, 'Real Steel,' ended its two-week reign at the top, slipping to second place with an estimated $11.3 million. That's down just 31 percent from last week, as the movie managed to remain the top choice for both action audiences and families with older kids. In three weekends, 'Real Steel' has earned $67.2 million.

'Footloose' is also proving to have legs. Coming in third with an estimated $10.9 million, it lost just 30 percent of last week's business. Its two-week total is $30.9 million.

Opening in fourth place, the latest in a long line of remakes of 'The Three Musketeers' drew only an estimated $8.8 milliion. That's well below tracking numbers, which hovered around $13 million. Star (and director Paul W.S. Anderson's wife) Milla Jovovich pre-emptively blamed the movie's marketers, but the film had problems no marketer could fix. Reviews and audience interest were both poor, with most ticket buyers these days are ambivalent at best about 3D. Despite Jovovich trying to spin the PG-13 picture as a "family adventure," it had little appeal to young audiences: studio polling found 64 percent of the audience was over 25. Maybe young viewers aren't familiar with the classic tale, or maybe they were all just getting their jolts from 'Paranormal Activity 3.'

In fifth place, 'The Ides of March' remained relatively strong, taking in another estimated $4.9 million. As with 'Steel' and 'Footloose,' that represents a decline of just 30 percent from last week. The Oscar-hopeful drama's three-week total is $29.2 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, 'Johnny English Reborn,' barely opened in the top 10, earning an estimated $3.8 million to finish in eighth place. No one had high expecations for this sequel to Rowan Atkinson's 2003 spy spoof, but Universal is probably not too disappointed. The movie has already been open for a month overseas, where it's earned about $100 million. That's similar to the way the first movie performed. So the American release is almost an afterthought.

On the indie front, 'The Mighty Macs' was supposed to follow 'Dolphin Tale' and 'Courageous' in attracting a faith-based audience to its tale of a women's basketball team at a Catholic college. It did not, opening with just $1.1 million on 975 screens. That's just $1,090 per screen, numbers that are far from mighty. On the other hand, the similarly alliterative 'Martha Marcy May Marlene,' the Sundance favorite about a young woman who's a member of a scary cult, earned a stunning $34,385 per screen. Playing on four screens, that's just $137,541 so far, but an average like that bodes well for the movie's future as it expands into more theaters. Meanwhile, the financial drama 'Margin Call' grossed $582,000 from 56 venues, good for a per-screen average of $10,393. That was the fourth highest average in the top-30, behind only 'Martha Marcy May Marlene,' 'Paranormal Activity 3' and weekend two of Pedro Almodovar's 'The Skin I Live In.'

'Paranormal's smash success wasn't enough to reverse the slump of recent weeks. Box office for October is still nearly 12 percent off the same month last year. Box office for the year is down nearly four percent from last year, at $8.63 billion, compared to $8.299 billion a year ago.

'Paranormal Activity 3' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Paranormal Activity 3,' $54.0 million (3,321 screens), new release
2. 'Real Steel,' $11.3 million (3,412), $67.2 million total
3. 'Footloose,' $10.9 million (3,555) $30.9 million
4. 'The Three Musketeers,' $8.8 million (3.017), new release
5. 'The Ides of March,' $4.9 million (2,042), $29.2 million
6. 'Dolphin Tale,' $4.2 million (2,858), $64.4 million
7. 'Moneyball,' $4.1 million (2,353), $63.7 million
8. 'Johnny English Reborn,' $3.8 (1,552), new release
9. 'The Thing,' $3.1 million (2,995), $14.1 million
10. '50/50,' $2.8 million (1,932), $28.8 million

[Photos: Paramount, Universal]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136714%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Weekend Box Office: 'Real Steel' Stomps 'Footloose,' Thwacks 'The Thing'

Gary Susman — 2011-10-16T14:40:00+00:00

Watch out, upcoming 'Dirty Dancing' remake and 'Rock of Ages'; if this week's box office is any indication, the '80s nostalgia wave is over. Last week's winner, 'Real Steel,' beat all three newcomers, including reboots of two Reagan Era titles. According to Sunday's studio estimates, the robot-boxing saga edged out the re-do of 'Footloose' and beat the tar out of horror prequel 'The Thing.' Meanwhile, not even a trio of comic heavyweights could make a birdwatching comedy fly, so 'The Big Year' debuted in ninth place with a paltry $3.3 million.

With its father-son drama as well as boxing-'bot action, 'Real Steel' is proving a stronger family draw than pundits initially predicted. This week, it performed as expected, declining a modest 40 percent from last week's debut to finish with an estimated $16.3 million. To date, the film has earned a total of $51.7 million in North America and another $22 million overseas. Not bad, but still a long way to go to recoup its reported $110 million budget.

'Footloose' was expected to give 'Real Steel' a run for its money. Indeed, many pundits predicted that the remake would come out on top this weekend. (In fact, it still could; its estimated total is just $200,000 behind 'Real Steel,' close enough that they could switch places on the chart when final figures are released on Monday.) Still, despite the popularity of dance films among young audiences, this virtual shot-for-shot remake of the 1984 film seemed designed to appeal more to middle-aged fans of the original than to kids the same age as the movie's teenage rebels; studio polling found that just 27 percent of the audience was under 18. Young men were especially uninterested, as the audience turned out to be 75 percent female.

'The Thing' proved to be the latest in a series of horror flops. The prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter classic (itself a remake of a 1951 creature feature) came in third with an estimated $8.7 million, well below predictions of $12 to $16 million. Blame lackluster reviews, weak buzz, and confusing marketing. (Many viewers may not have known it was a prequel, since it had the same title, plot and setting as Carpenter's film, so moviegoers may have dismissed it as just another remake.)

Holding strong at fourth and fifth place were 'The Ides of March' and 'Dolphin Tale.' In its second week, 'Ides' slipped just 28 percent, to an estimated $7.5 million, for a total so far of $22.2 million. That's pretty good for an Oscar-hopeful drama about the thorny subject of presidential politics; having George Clooney and Ryan Gosling as leads certainly doesn't hurt.

As for 'Dolphin,' it continued to hold its own despite family audience competition from 'Real Steel' and competition for religious viewers from 'Courageous' (holding up well at No. 8 after three weeks). In its fourth week, 'Dolphin' slid just 31 percent to an estimated $6.3 million, for a total of $58.7 million to date.

This weekend's other new wide release, 'The Big Year,' boasted an all-star comic cast -- Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson -- yet it could muster no better than a ninth-place debut and an estimated $3.3 million. Not that pundits expected much: a comedy about birdwatching is a hard sell, but the movie's indifferent marketing didn't even try, leaving viewers with no clue what the film was about. Still, a cast this noteworthy could have drawn between $6 and $9 million on the movie's 2,150 screens. That it performed only half as well as its most pessimistic predictions suggests that 'Big Year' has little chance of earning back its reported $41 million budget.

All told, this was a bleak weekend at the box office, with a total take of only about $90 million. This October's take is about 11 percent off from last October's, while earnings for the year to date are still 3 percent off from 2010 ($8.15 billion compared to $8.45 billion).

'Real Steel' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'Real Steel,' $16.3 million (3,440 screens), $51.7 million total
2. 'Footloose,' $16.1 million (3,549), new release
3. 'The Thing,' $8.7 million (2,996), new release
4. 'The Ides of March,' $7.5 million (2,199), $22.2 million
5. 'Dolphin Tale,' $6.3 million (3,286), $58.7 million
6. 'Moneyball,' $5.5 million (2,840), $57.7 million
7. '50/50,' $4.3 million (2,391), $24.3 million
8. 'Courageous,' $3.4 million (1,214), $21.4 million
9. 'The Big Year,' $3.3 million (2,150), new release
10. 'The Lion King,' $2,7 million (1,970), $90.5 million

[Photos: DreamWorks, Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox]

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-136405%

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

RELATED

'Real Steel' Proves Its Mettle: Box Office Report October 7-9

Gary Susman — 2011-10-09T14:15:00+00:00

'Real Steel' may be your typical underdog tale (aside from the giant robots), but it didn't behave like an underdog at the box office. Hugh Jackman's brawling-'bots saga came out swinging and easily knocked all rivals out of contention, surprising no one with its estimated $27.3 million victory. George Clooney's Oscar-baiting drama 'The Ides of March' also did about as well as expected, debuting in second place with an estimated $10.4 million.

'Real Steel' entered the ring a heavy favorite. Its plot combined the macho robotics of 'Transformers' with the tear-jerking heart of boxing dramas like 'Rocky' and 'The Champ,' it was directed by Shawn Levy (whose 'Night at the Museum' movies display his expertise with both family films and special-effects blockbusters), it had no real competition for the mainstream action audience, it had a handful of IMAX screens in its corner and it reminded nostalgic adults of the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots toys they had as kids. The only questions were whether the movie's just-okay reviews could overpower its strong word-of-mouth and whether Jackman could open a movie without unsheathing Wolverine's claws. Turns out they couldn't, and he could.

'Ides of March' also had to weather less-than-ideal reviews, which are much more important to a smaller-scale, Oscar-hopeful drama seeking to attract an older adult audience. Plus, the movie is about presidential campaign politics, a topic that can make eyes glaze over and throats gag. Still, the movie did well in the popular vote, earning positive word-of-mouth. And there's no denying the heartthrob appeal of Clooney and Ryan Gosling (in his third movie in three months). Studio exit polling showed the film's audience was 58 percent female.

Last week's winner, 'Dolphin Tale,' was still the biggest family movie around that didn't feature aggressive androids. In its third weekend, the film slipped a modest 34 percent to an estimated $9.2 million, landing in third place and bringing its total to date to $49.1 million.

'Moneyball' also held up well in its third weekend. Despite competition from 'Real Steel' for sports movie fans and from 'Ides of March' for thoughtful Oscar-type drama fans, Brad Pitt's brainy baseball movie fell just 38 percent to an estimated $7.5 million. The fourth-place finisher's three-week total is $49.3 million.

The closest thing to an upset was in the battle for the No. 5 spot. According to pundits, it was going to be a cage match between the four-week-old re-release of 'The Lion King' (grabbing the family viewers for whom 'Real Steel' was too violent) and the two-week-old 'Courageous' (grabbing the faith-based audience for whom 'Real Steel' had too many cuss words). Apparently, both canceled each other out, allowing cancer comedy '50/50' to sneak in and grab fifth place with an estimated $5.5 million. That's down just 36 percent from last week's premiere and gives the film a total of $17.3 million to date. 'Courageous' settled for sixth place with an estimated $4.6 million, edging out 'Lion King' by just $48,000.

After a strong September, box office for October is just a hair (about $3 million) behind last October's take, even though this weekend's movies earned a combined $2 million more than the same weekend last year. The total take so far for 2011 is still about $300 million (3.2 percent) behind the same period in 2010 ($8.0 billion to $8.3 billion).

'Real Steel' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Real Steel,' $27.3 million (3,440 screens), new release
2. 'The Ides of March,' $10.4 million (2,199), new release
3. 'Dolphin Tale,' $9.2 million (3,478), $49.1 million total
4. 'Moneyball,' $7.5 million (3,018), $49.3 million
5. '50/50,' $5.5 million (2,479), $17.3 million
6. 'Courageous,' $4.60 million (1,161), $15.9 million
7. 'The Lion King,' $4.55 million (2,267), $86.0 million
8. 'Dream House,' $4.50 million (2,664), $14.5 million
9. 'What's Your Number?', $3.1 million (3,011), $10.3 million
10. 'Abduction,' $2.9 million (2,591), $23.4 million

[Photos: DreamWorks, Sony Pictures]

Follow Moviefone on Twitter
Like Moviefone on Facebook
Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

'Dolphin Tale' Dethrones 'Lion King': Box Office Report, September 30-October 2

Gary Susman — 2011-10-02T15:30:00+00:00

Winter the dolphin may have no tail, but she has legs at the box office. 'Dolphin Tale,' which opened at No. 3 last week, swam to first place with an estimated $14.2 million. That was enough not only to dethrone the 3D re-release of 'The Lion King' after two weeks, but also to outperform all four of this weekend's new wide release movies: '50/50,' 'Courageous,' 'Dream House' and 'What's Your Number?'

'Dolphin Tale' did a little better than the $13 million or so that pundits had predicted. In retrospect, its victory isn't that surprising. It's playing in more venues (3,515) than any other movie, its only competition for family viewers is 'Lion King,' and it has excellent reviews and word-of-mouth. Its decline from last week's business is just 26 percent. Its two-weekend total is $37.5 million.

'Moneyball' held on to second place with an estimated $12.5 million, down just 35 percent from last weekend. Like 'Dolphin Tale,' Brad Pitt's baseball drama is enjoying strong reviews and word-of-mouth. Its ten-day total is $38.5 million. (Click here to read Moviefone's review.)

'Lion King' swapped places with 'Dolphin Tale' to land at No. 3 with $11.1 million, half of last weekend's take. The stunningly successful re-release has earned $79.7 million in three weeks. The Disney classic's lifetime domestic total is $408.2 million; another $7 million, and it'll surpass 'Toy Story 3' to become the second most successful animated movie of all time.

In a three-way race for fourth place were new movies '50/50,' 'Courageous,' and 'Dream House,' which finished so close together that their actual rankings may not be known until final figures are released on Monday. Weekend studio estimates placed '50/50' in fourth place with $8.85 million. Predictions had the movie opening around $10 million, thanks to good reviews and relentless promotion by stars Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Still, $8.85 million isn't bad for a comedy about such a grim topic as cancer.

'Courageous' claimed receipts just $50,000 behind those of '50/50.' Made by the filmmakers who made a hit out of 'Fireproof' three years ago, it's a similar low-budget indie drama about cops and fatherhood, targeted to a faith-based and regional audience. Already, the film, which premiered on just 1,161 screens, has opened stronger than 'Fireproof' (which debuted with $6.8 million, toward an eventual $33.4 million). Its per-screen average of $7,580 was the best of any wide-release movie this week.

'Dream House' opened with an estimated $8.2 million. Like '50/50,' 'Dream House' was expected to open above $10 million, but it suffered from poor advance buzz, weak reviews, negative word-of-mouth, and the failure of its stars (newlyweds Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz) and its studio (Universal) to do much to promote it.

The weekend's fourth new movie, 'What's Your Number?' opened in eighth place with only $5.6 million, according to estimates. (The No. 7 movie, 'Abduction,' came in only $50,000 higher, so the movies may swap places when final figures are released on Monday.) The Anna Faris comedy underperformed even its pessimistic predictions of $7 million, likely because of mediocre reviews and word-of-mouth.

Overall, this was a slack weekend at the box office, with just $102 million in total receipts, though that's 4.4 percent better than the same weekend last year. For the first nine months of the year, 2011 is still 3.3 percent behind the same period last year ($7.8 billion, compared to $8.1 billion).

'Dolphin Tale' - Trailer No. 2

The full top 10:
1. 'Dolphin Tale,' $14.2 million (3,515 screens), $37.5 million total
2. 'Moneyball,' $12.5 million (2,993), $38.5 million
3. 'The Lion King,' $11.1 million (2,340), $79.7 million
4. '50/50,' $8.85 million (2,458), new release
5. 'Courageous,' $8.80 million (1,161), new release
6. 'Dream House,' $8.2 million (2,661), new release
7. 'Abduction,' $5.65 million (3,118), $19.1 million
8. 'What's Your Number?', $5.60 million (3,002), new release
9. 'Contagion,' $5.0 million (2,744), $64.7 million
10. 'Killer Elite,' $4.9 million (2,986), $17.3 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: Warner Bros. ('Dolphin Tale'), Summit Entertainment ('50/50'), TriStar Pictures ('Courageous'), Universal ('Dream House'), 20th Century Fox ('What's Your Number?')

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-135216%

Box Office Report: 'Lion King' Rules 'Moneyball' and 'Dolphin Tale'

Gary Susman — 2011-09-25T14:10:00+00:00

As the number-crunching characters in 'Moneyball' could tell you, a player's stats don't always mesh with his actual earning power. Indeed, 'Moneyball' was favored to win the box office competition this weekend, but the contest saw the 3D version of 'The Lion King' repeat at No. 1, earning an estimated $22.1 million and fending off the Brad Pitt-led baseball flick and three other newcomers -- 'Dolphin Tale,' 'Abduction,' and 'Killer Elite.'

Still, it was a close game. Studio estimates put 'Lion King' just $1.5 million ahead of 'Moneyball,' which, in turn, was just $300,000 ahead of 'Dolphin Tale.' In fact, the game may have to go into extra innings (meaning, we may have to wait until final figures are released Monday) before a clear ranking of first, second and third place becomes apparent.

'Lion King' had been expected to drop about 40 percent from last weekend's 3D debut, to about $17 or $18 million, given the family-audience competition from 'Dolphin Tale.' But it slipped just 27 percent after having dominated the box office all week. In 10 days, the re-release has earned $61.7 million. Over its lifetime, the 1994 Disney classic has earned $390.2 million in North American theaters and a worldwide total of $858.1 million, making it the top hand-drawn animated movie of all-time and the third highest-grossing animated feature ever.

'Moneyball' had been expected to win the weekend with around $18 or $19 million, so despite its second-place finish, its $20.6 million take is actually better than expected. Brad Pitt can usually open a movie to the tune of about $24 million, but there were fears that a movie largely about baseball statistics might seem dry and esoteric to mass audiences. Nonetheless, the film earned some of the best reviews of the year for a wide-release movie, even drumming up Oscar buzz for Pitt. It's also the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie about baseball, outscoring 2006's 'The Benchwarmers' ($19.7 million).

'Dolphin Tale' also outperformed predictions, which were in the $14 to $16 million range. Credit its $20.3 million finish to better-than-expected reviews, excellent word-of-mouth, a release pattern that included many 3D screens and a targeted marketing campaign that focused on religious moviegoers and families that home-school their kids.

Opening in fourth place with an estimated $11.2 million (a bit lower than predictions of $12 to $13 million), 'Abduction' continued to prove that the 'Twilight' franchise stars are risky box office draws in movies that don't feature sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves. Granted, Taylor Lautner goes shirtless in this teen spy thriller often enough to put the abs in 'Abduction,' but the movie's strong word-of-mouth among teen girls was not enough to overcome almost unanimously negative reviews.

Besides, it had competition for the action/thriller crowd from 'Killer Elite,' which opened in fifth place with an estimated $9.5 million. That's about what was expected, even though the movie boasts the star power of Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Despite being loosely based on a true story (and not on the Sam Peckinpah film 'The Killer Elite'), a movie in which Statham plays an assassin seeking payback probably seemed a little too been-there-done-that for action moviegoers. Mediocre pre-release buzz kept the movie from opening even as high as Statham's similar 'The Mechanic' ($11.4 million) from a few months ago.

Watch the trailer for 'The Lion King 3D'

The full top 10:
1. 'The Lion King,' $22.1 million (2,330 screens), $61.7 million total
2. 'Moneyball,' $20.6 million (2,993), new release
3. 'Dolphin Tale,' $20.3 million (3,507), new release
4. 'Abduction,' $11.2 million (3,118), new release
5. 'Killer Elite,' $9.5 million (2,986), new release
6. 'Contagion,' $8.5 million (3,136), $57.1 million
7. 'Drive,' $5.8 million (2,904), $21.4 million
8. 'The Help,' $4.4 million (2,695), $154.4 million
9. 'Straw Dogs,' $2.10 million (2,408), $8.9 million
10. 'I Don't Know How She Does It,' $2.05 million (2,490), $8.0 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: Disney ('The Lion King'), Sony Pictures ('Moneyball'), Warner Bros. ('Dolphin Tale'), Lionsgate ('Abduction'), Open Road ('Killer Elite')

Related: 16 Upcoming Movie Remakes

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-134298%

'The Lion King' Roars Again: Box Office Report September 16-18

Gary Susman — 2011-09-18T15:00:00+00:00

Can you feel the love this weekend? The 3D re-release of 'The Lion King' turned out to be a roaring success beyond anyone's expectations. The updated version of the 1994 Disney classic debuted at No. 1, snatching the box office throne from 'Contagion' and clawing past three other newcomers ('Drive,' 'Straw Dogs,' and 'I Don't Know How She Does It') to rule at the cineplex.

According to studio estimates, 'Lion King' (which is earning a brief re-release in order to promote the film's debut on Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray in a couple weeks) earned an estimated $29.3 million, about twice what experts were predicting. The precedent was Disney's re-release of 'Toy Story' and 'Toy Story 2' in 3D in 2009, a double feature that opened with $12.5 million on 1,745 screens. But that program's length meant fewer plays in theaters (and was probably daunting to parents of younger kids with short attention spans), and it opened on almost 600 fewer screens than 'Lion King.'

Plus, there's the extra emotional resonance of 'Lion King,' a more mythic story and an even more beloved franchise than 'Toy Story,' one that parents who loved the original when they were kids could now take their own young children to see. This is, after all, a film that was, for a long time, the most successful animated feature ever made, and it's still the most highest-grossing hand-drawn cartoon ever. This weekend's release pushes it to No. 3 among all-time animated features in domestic release, surpassing the lifetime total earned by 'Finding Nemo.' (Only 'Shrek 2' and 'Toy Story 3' have earned more in American theaters.) 'Lion King's domestic total now stands at $357.8 million, and its worldwide total is $817.5 million.

Last week's champ, 'Contagion,' slipped to second place with an estimated $14.5 million. That's a modest decline of just 35 percent from last weekend's debut. In 10 days, the epidemic thriller has earned $44.2 million.

'Drive' debuted in third place with a solid $11.0 million, according to estimates, which is about what was expected. That's actually pretty good considering the crime drama's relative lack of star power (Sorry, Ryan Gosling, but you're not a big box office name... yet) and its polarizing word-of-mouth (particularly over its extreme violence, which is not hinted at by the movie's somewhat misleading marketing campaign). Still, the film had tremendous buzz, strong reviews and appeal for grown-ups who prefer their action thrillers on the more thoughtful side.

In fourth place, 'The Help' was still going strong with an estimated $6.4 million. In its sixth week of release, it added 79 more theaters to its run, resulting in a decline of just 28 percent from last weekend. The period dramedy has earned $47.4 million to date.

Opening at No. 5 was 'Straw Dogs' with an estimated $5.0 million. Predictions had the remake opening around $8 to $10 million, but it suffered from some of the same box office weaknesses as 'Drive,' which was a stronger contender for the same set of moviegoers. (Both films have limited star power, a blend of philosophical musings and extreme violence, and an ad campaign that doesn't really hint at how extreme the violence actually is.)

The weekend's final wide release, 'I Don't Know How She Does It,' opened outside the top five. Its estimated $4.5 million opening, good for sixth place, falls well below even the modest predictions that suggested a $7 to $8 million opening. The Sarah Jessica Parker chick flick had limited appeal for men, while the working moms it was meant to attract were apparently all taking their kids to see 'Lion King.'

Overall, box office for the year is still down 3.8 percent for the year, at $7.6 million vs. $7.9 million at this time in 2010. September is usually a lackluster month for ticket sales, but this September is already up 6.3 percent over last September ($380.3 million vs. $357.6 million).

Watch the trailer for 'The Lion King 3D'

The full top 10:
1. 'The Lion King,' $29.3 million (2,330 screens), new release
2. 'Contagion,' $14.5 million (3,222), $44.2 million total
3. 'Drive,' $11.0 million (2,886), new release
4. 'The Help,' $6.4 million (3,014), $147.5 million
5. 'Straw Dogs,' $5.0 million (2,408), new release
6. 'I Don't Know How She Does It,' $4.5 million (2,476), new release
7. 'The Debt,' $2.9 million (1,831), $26.5 million
8. 'Warrior,' $2.8 million (1,883), $9.9 million
9. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $2.6 million (2,340), $171.6 million
10. 'Colombiana,' $2.3 million (1,933), $33.3 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: FilmDistrict ('Drive'), The Weinstein Company ('I Don't Know How She Does It')

6 Possible Reasons 'Warrior' Got Knocked Out at the Box Office

Christopher Rosen — 2011-09-12T10:00:00+00:00

When movies like the critically savaged duo of 'Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star' and 'Creature' bottom out at the box office, it's an excuse for a quick joke and little else. (Example: "Double the $220 per-screen average for 'Creature' and you still couldn't even buy an iPad!") When a movie like 'Warrior' underperforms, however, box office prognosticators are left to wonder where it went wrong. After all, with near-uniform critical praise and pre-release Oscar buzz, 'Warrior' should have earned significantly more money during its opening weekend than $5.3 million. That it didn't raises the question: What happened? Ahead, six reasons why 'Warrior' tapped out at the weekend box office.

1. No One Went to the Movies
To put how few people went to theaters this past weekend in perspective, consider that the solid $23.1 million opening for 'Contagion' was nearly as much as the other films in the top-five grossed... combined. This was the least-attended weekend of the year at the box office; even less people trekked to their local multiplex over the last three days than during the weekend of Aug. 26 -- better known as Hurricane Irene. Whether the low attendance figures can be blamed on the long shadow cast by the 10th anniversary of 9/11 or the dregs of late August ('Shark Night,' 'Apollo 18,' 'Colombiana,' etc.) finally wearing out their limited welcome is unclear. What is clear, though, is people simply didn't have any interest in sitting in a dark theater for two hours. Unless, of course, the dark theater featured a movie with massive stars like Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne and Marion Cotillard. Which brings us to issue two...

2. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton Are Not Movie Stars
It's hard to get upset with Lionsgate for how they marketed 'Warrior': the trailers were slick and exciting (even if they gave away the third act confrontation) and the posters showed off beefcake stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, sans shirts. The only problem? Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton aren't stars. Yet. For most audience members, Hardy is best known as the fifth lead in 'Inception,' while Edgerton is barely known at all. Had 'Warrior' come out in September 2012 -- after Hardy showed his teeth as Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' and Edgerton had seen his own stock grow on the anticipation of 'The Great Gatsby' and Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden film -- it's likely the piddling gross 'Warrior' earned would have doubled. Or tripled. As the saying goes, timing is everything.

3. Women Didn't Show Up
At least one prominent blogger felt that 'Warrior' was better suited for women and "men who wished they were tough." Unfortunately, the audience breakdown didn't quite agree: a mere 34 percent of 'Warrior' ticket buyers were female. Maybe the trailers needed more Jennifer Morrison -- underrated and underused in a great performance as Joel Edgerton's supportive-but-tough onscreen wife?

4. Men Showed Up, But Not Nearly Enough of Them
With 'Warrior' stumbling with the women in the audience, it would have needed to rely on a huge push from men. Percentage-wise, that occurred, but not in big enough numbers -- something likely damped down by the start of the NFL season. In that regard, 'Warrior' couldn't have picked a worse calendar position (unless, of course, it came out on Super Bowl Sunday). The film also struggled to find young men: only 51 percent of the audience for 'Warrior' was under the age of 25. Were MMA fans turned off by the fact that the trailers didn't showcase enough pulverizing action? Conversely...

5. MMA Is Still a Niche Sport
Despite continually being heralded as the sport of the future, MMA is still sorta fledgling. Television ratings for the UFC have shown little growth over the past five years, and while the sport generates big numbers via Pay-Per-View events and at arenas, it isn't uniformly accepted. (Competitions are still banned in New York.) It's also hella violent. For 'Warrior,' this mattered: it's easy to envision a scenario where some audience members were turned off by the barbaric nature of mixed martial arts, which features violence that makes a boxing film like 'The Fighter' seem like 'Bambi.'

6. Forget It, Jake; It's September
As films like 'Taken,' 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' have proved, a well-marketed movie can open at any time on the calendar. Except maybe the first few weeks in September. Traditionally, the early portion of the month is a dumping ground for also-rans, and without major stars or an easy-to-sell subject matter, 'Warrior' probably looked to be on par with Lionsgate's 2009 September ~~release~~ dump 'Gamer' -- only it performed worse. (The forgotten Gerard Butler actioner grossed $9 million during its opening weekend.) Word of mouth will be great with this one -- 'Warrior' received an A grade on Cinemascore -- but when so few people are spreading said words, will that matter to the bottom line come weekend two? Fingers crossed, if only because 'Warrior' deserves a better fate than being one of the bigger box office disappointments of the year. Don't be afraid to root for the underdog.

Photo: Opulence Studios / Lionsgate

'Contagion' Spreads in Theaters: Box Office Report September 9-11

Gary Susman — 2011-09-11T14:55:00+00:00

The mighty housemaids of 'The Help' were finally felled by a microscopic bug. Steven Soderbergh's new all-too-plausible pandemic thriller 'Contagion' ended the three-week reign of 'The Help,' debuting at No. 1 and earning an estimated $23.1 million. The all-star disaster movie beat three other new wide releases to claim the top spot at the box office.

With predictions running in the $22 to $24 million range, 'Contagion' did about as well as expected. Helping the film coast to an easy victory were such elements as a star-studded cast, a director with a solid track record, good reviews, a wide release (on 3,222 screens), strong adult appeal (81 percent of the audience was over 25, according to studio polling) - and weak competition.

'Contagion' took a lot of grown-ups away from 'The Help,' which suffered a 41 percent decline this weekend to an estimated $8.7 million. That's a steeper fall than expected, as pundits had predicted a take of just over $10 million. Nonetheless, it was good enough for second place and a five-week total of $137.1 million.

The strongest of 'Contagion's' fellow newcomers was 'Warrior,' which opened in third place with an estimated $5.6 million. With its double-underdog plot, decent reviews, comparisons to such brawler-with-a-heart favorites as 'Rocky' and 'The Fighter' and strong word-of-mouth, the mixed martial arts saga had been expected to go toe-to-toe with 'The Help' at around $10 million. But it opened on only 1,869 screens, and for all their rising-star buzz, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are not box office draws yet.

Rounding out the top five were holdovers 'The Debt' and 'Colombiana.' In fourth place, 'The Debt,' underperformed slightly, slipping 51 percent in its second weekend to an estimated $4.9 million, for a two-week total of $22.0 million. The spy drama had been expected to pull around $6 million this weekend, but its adult appeal meant that, like 'The Help,' it was hit hard by 'Contagion.' Revenge thriller 'Colombiana,' however, did about as well as expected, losing 46 percent of last weekend's business and earning an estimated $4.0 million, for a three-week total of $29.8 million.

This weekend's other two wide releases barely registered; neither cracked the top 10. 'Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star,' the latest juvenile-but-raunchy comedy from Adam Sandler's assembly line, opened on 1,500 screens but pulled in just an estimated $1.4 million, debuting at No. 15. Not that anyone was expecting much, but predictions that the movie would earn about $3 million proved overly generous. Weak reviews, middling promotion, and the untested star power of rising comic and Sandler pal Nick Swardson in the lead didn't help.

Faring even worse was 'Creature,' which enjoyed an inexplicably wide opening on 1,507 screens. The horror film, a tongue-in-cheek throwback to the days when drive-in-movie monsters were just guys in rubber suits, 'Creature' opened in 26th place and scored an abysmal $331,000, according to estimates, or about $220 per screen (that's about one or two ticketbuyers per screening), making it the fifth-worst wide release opening ever.

Just for comparison's sake, 'Laugh at My Pain,' Kevin Hart's chronicle of his hugely successful recent comedy tour, opened on just 97 screens but pulled in an estimated $2.0 million, opening in 13th place. That's a huge $20,619 per screen, nearly three times the per-screen average of 'Contagion.'

All told, this was the weakest weekend of 2011 so far, with just $82 million in total receipts.

'Contagion' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'Contagion,' $23.1 million (3,222 screens), new release
2. 'The Help,' $8.7 million (2,935), $137.1 million total
3. 'Warrior,' $5.6 million (1,869), new release
4. 'The Debt,' $4.9 million (1,874), $22.0 million
5. 'Colombiana,' $4.0 million (2,354), $29.8 million
6. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $4.9 million (2,887), $167.8 million
7. 'Shark Night 3D,' $3.5 million (2,848), $14.8 million
8. 'Apollo 18,' $2.9 million (3,330), $15.0 million
9. 'Our Idiot Brother,' $2.8 million (2,396), $21.4 million
10. 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' $2.5 million (2,544), $34.2 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: Lionsgate ('Warrior')

'The Help' Fights Off Sharks, Spies and Aliens: Box Office Report September 2-5

Gary Susman — 2011-09-05T10:39:00+00:00

Aptly, moviegoers celebrated Labor Day weekend by watching a film about underappreciated household workers. For the third-straight weekend, period dramedy 'The Help' was the top movie at the box office, ending the summer season by fending off three more action-packed newcomers: 'The Debt,' 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Night 3D.'

From Friday to Sunday, 'The Help' earned an estimated $14.2 million, a microscopic dip of just 2 percent from last weekend. That's almost unprecedented for a movie in its fourth week of release. Credit the fact that the movie added 65 more screens this weekend (for a total of 2,843), along with the weakness of the competition. Over the full holiday weekend, the film earned an estimated $19.0 million, for a four-week total of $123.4 million.

'The Debt' surprised experts by opening in second place. The Helen Mirren spy thriller had the strongest reviews of the three new wide-release movies, but it also had the fewest screens, just 1,826. Still, as a smart, grown-up thriller, it had strong appeal for older audiences (76 percent of whom were over 35, according to studio polling), which helps explain why it didn't generate the online buzz that's a key predictor for box office tea-leaf readers. They expected 'The Debt' to open in the $7 to $8 million range over the four-day weekend, but it surpassed that by Sunday with an estimated $9.7 million. Over the full holiday weekend, it earned an estimated $12.6 million. Its six-day total, since opening last Wednesday, comes to $14.5 million.

In a close race for third, 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Night 3D' were separated by just $400,000 according to four-day estimates, with 'Apollo 18' having a slight edge as of Monday with $10.7 million, compared to $10.3 million for 'Shark Night.' (The Friday-to-Sunday race was even closer, with the astronauts edging out the maneaters $8.70 million to $8.64 million.) It wasn't supposed to be that close. 'Apollo 18' opened on 500 more screens than 'Shark Night' and was expected to earn as much as $15 million for the weekend. But it was poorly reviewed and lacked the bikini factor of 'Shark Night,' which was competing for essentially the same audience.

Opening in fourth place with an estimated $10.3 million over four days, 'Shark Night 3D' underperformed as well, but not by much; pre-weekend predictions had it opening around $11 or $12 million. Opening in the same late-summer slot where 'Piranha 3D' succeeded last year, 'Shark Night' had a couple of additional advantages. First, it was rated PG-13, not the restrictive R that marked 'Piranha.' (Though some would say the PG-13 rating was just as much a deterrent.) Second, some 80 percent of its screens were 3D, so viewers had little choice but to pay the surcharge.

Rounding out the top five was 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' still holding up well in its fifth weekend. From Friday to Sunday, it earned an estimated $7.8 million, down just 12 percent from last weekend. Its four-day total was $10.3 million - much better than the predictions of about $7 million for the whole holiday. To date, 'Apes' has earned $162.5 million.

The summer ended with domestic box office receipts down half a percentage point from last summer, at $4.19 billion compared to. 2010's $4.21 billion. Attendance was down as well, some 1.6 percent, with sales of 525.5 million tickets sold compared to 534.2 million last summer. That makes four summers in a row of declining attendance.

'The Help': Trailer No. 1

The full top 10 (four-day totals):
1. 'The Help,' $19.0 million (2,843 screens), $123.4 million total
2. 'The Debt,' $12.6 million (1,826), $14.5 million
3. 'Apollo 18,' $10.7 million (3,328), new release
4. 'Shark Night 3D,' $10.3 million (2,806), new release
5. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $10.3 million (3,193), $162.5 million
6. 'Colombiana,' $9.4 million (2,614), $24.0 million
7. 'Our Idiot Brother,' $7.1 million (2,555), $17.3 million
8. 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' $6.6 million (3,007), $31.0 million
9. 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,' $6.1 million (2,780), $17.6 million
10. 'The Smurfs,' $5.6 million (2,706), $133.6 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photos: DreamWorks ('The Help'), Focus Features ('The Debt'), The Weinstein Company ('Apollo 18'), Incentive Film Procudtions ('Shark Night 3D')

New Ways for Fans to Save Money on Movies

Gary Susman — 2011-09-01T10:30:00+00:00

Movie fans complain a lot about the cost of watching films, either in theaters or online. Ticket prices now average about $8 nationwide, and waiting a couple months until they're available on Netflix now costs about twice what it used to, thanks to that service's recent rate hike.

But there are some new alternatives to paying face value for movie tickets or online rentals. In some cases, they involve leveraging the power of social media to get group discounts. Read on to see how some services are offering ways to save money on movies.

One new service entering the fray is MoviePass, which plans a Netflix-like pricing plan for movie tickets; a flat monthly subscription fee of $50 would buy you all the theatrical admissions you wanted each month. It was supposed to launch in June, in partnership with AOL Ventures (which, like Moviefone, is a division of AOL) and MovieTickets.com, but exhibitors balked, as they have at other efforts to use group discount services to decrease prices for consumers by buying tickets in bulk.

Online group-purchase coupon services like Groupon, Living Social, and Daily Candy have all tried, with varying success, to offer discounted movie tickets this year. Theater owners still get full price, with third parties paying the difference. (This spring's opening-weekend Groupon discount of 'The Lincoln Lawyer' was such an effort, with studio Lionsgate paying the difference as a promotional cost.) According to the Los Angeles Times, however, theater owners are leery of letting moviegoers become accustomed to having someone else set ticket prices, especially discounted ticket prices.

Nonetheless, MoviePass is moving forward with a new partner, Hollywood Movie Money, a company whose vouchers have long been accepted by major theater chains. Subscribers will be able to print out their own Hollywood Movie Money vouchers off their computers. (The business model depends, as Netflix does, on a large percentage of subscribers paying cash up front for more services than they end up using.) Variety says theater owners may still bristle at the MoviePass initiative, but the company says it hopes they'll change their mind if they see that MoviePass increases theater attendance -- and snack-counter sales, which is where theaters make most of their money anyway.

Group discounts are available as well for the still-new medium of online movie rentals, where prices are much more in flux than they are under the long-established system of theatrical exhibition. The startup site flickme.com has added a social-media component to its rental library, the Associated Press reports. Standard movie rentals there cost $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for older films, but you can rent for as little as $1.49 if you pick a movie recommended by a friend. (This price break is available on only about a third of flickme's library, which consists of about 1,000 films so far.) If you recommend a movie, you can provide such a discount to up to 10 of your friends, though you'll have to pay full price.

The AP sees the flickme deal as part of a larger trend of social-media rentals, noting that studios are starting to make streaming rentals available directly through Facebook for as little as $3 apiece.

You can effectively download a movie for as little as $1.99 on mSpot, a cloud library for mobile devices and PCs. The company's new service allows you to watch movies DVR-style -- that is, you can start watching while the movie is still downloading or buffering, and you can finish watching offline. This is especially handy for people who watch movies on cell phones or tablets; in fact, according to a company press release, mSpot's new app comes pre-loaded on some new Lenovo tablets.

Whether these initiatives will change the way we watch movies remains to be seen. But they may be the first step in changing the way we pay for them.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

The Smurf Ghetto: Hollywood's New Glass Ceiling for Women Directors

Gary Susman — 2011-08-30T19:40:00+00:00

What's the top-grossing film directed by a woman? (Hint: It's not 'Big' or 'You've Got Mail' or 'It's Complicated,' and it's certainly not 'The Hurt Locker.')

Give up? It's 'Kung Fu Panda 2.' As Entertainment Weekly's Inside Movies blog notes, Jennifer Yuh Nelson's summer 2011 cartoon hit has grossed $637.6 million worldwide, beating the record set by Phyllida Lloyd's 'Mamma Mia!' ($609.8 million) in 2008.

EW crunches the numbers to cite other top-grossing movies by women. Biggest domestic hit is 'Shrek' ($267.7 million), co-directed by Vicky Jenson. For a woman directing solo, the top domestic hit is 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel' ($219.6 million), directed by Betty Thomas.

Notice something about these top hits? Aside from 'Mamma Mia!', they're all animated or animated/live-action mixes and all for kids. Which is fine; it's great that women, who make up just 7 percent of Hollywood's active directors, are getting to make the kind of family films that are practically a license to print money. But where are the plum jobs for women in, oh, all the other genres?

It seems as if animations and animation hybrids offer the friendliest environment for women directors, as if Hollywood feels that that's a safe zone in which to hand women the keys to the car. Maybe that's because animation is an even more intensely collaborative team effort than most live-action movies. To the industry, it's largely seen filmmaking by committee, especially when working on a sequel or well-established pop-culture property. The task is seen as largely managerial, not auteurist or visionary. (Except, of course, when a visionary male animator like John Lasseter, Brad Bird or Hayao Miyazaki is directing.)

Surely, Nelson, Jenson and Thomas deserve more credit than that. After all, 'Kung Fu Panda 2' got better reviews than sequels usually do. Jenson's live-action debut 'Post Grad' was a sweet, underrated comedy. Thomas has specialized in these kinds of pop culture reboots ('The Brady Bunch Movie,' Eddie Murphy's 'Dr. Dolitle,' 'I Spy'). Still, men with a similar track record of success would be offered pretty much anything they wanted to direct. Women, not so much.

As EW notes, the top domestic hit directed by a woman that doesn't involve talking CGI animals is 'Twilight,' which grossed $192.8 million. Sure, Stephenie Meyer's books were already huge, but Catherine Hardwicke's adaptation of the first novel was not only a smash, but it set the tone for the whole franchise through her visuals and casting choices. And what's her reward? She's canned by the studio because she wants to take her time on the second film and make sure it's good instead of rushing it to capitalize on a hot trend.

It's almost as if Hollywood doesn't trust women with big live-action franchises, like the superhero sagas that are now the industry's bread and butter, or even with smaller genres, like horror movies (which tend to appeal to young women, after all), comedies, or prestige dramas of the sort that win Oscars.

Way back when, Penny Marshall held the record now held by Thomas, when 1988's 'Big' earned $115.0 million in the U.S.. (In today's ticket prices, that'd be $222.9 million, comparable to 'Squeakuel's take.) Her 1992 film 'A League of Their Own' made $107.5 million ($206.5 million at today's prices). But her 2001 film 'Riding in Cars With Boys' flopped, and she hasn't released a movie since.

About the only women directors who can write their own ticket in Hollywood are Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers, who have relatively consistent track records over long periods of time. Kathryn Bigelow may be added to that list, now that she's the first (and only) woman to win a directing Oscar, but only as long as she stays in the narrow field of low-budget war movies and international thrillers.

Given such discouraging stats, it's a wonder women take up directing at all. It helps if you already have a well-established foothold in the business, like actresses-turned-directors Vera Farmiga and Angelina Jolie. Farmiga is earning praise for her directing debut, the newly-released religious drama 'Higher Ground,' and anticipation is building for Jolie's forthcoming debut, the wartime romance 'In the Land of Blood and Honey.' But even if both movies succeed with critics and awards voters, no one expects them to make much money, so it'll still be a struggle the next time either star wants to get behind the camera.

Then again, if they wanted to put Smurfs or talking rodents in their movies, doors would open for them.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

When Did America Develop Better Taste in Movies Than the Rest of the World?

Gary Susman — 2011-08-29T17:40:00+00:00

If you live in America, you probably didn't see 'Mr. Popper's Penguins.' Jim Carrey's tepidly-reviewed summer comedy earned just $67 million in theaters here, well below average for the veteran film funnyman. Yet, as the Los Angeles Times notes, it's earned more than $100 million overseas, doing especially well in Britain and Belgium, and it's far from being played out.

As much of a relief as it is to know that Jim Carrey is still bankable enough somewhere that he can continue receiving big paydays and making creepy video love letters to 22-year-old starlets, you still have to wonder: why are foreign audiences flocking to a homegrown Hollywood movie that domestic audiences rejected?

And that's not the only example. Lots of recent movies that underestimated the lowest-common-denominator taste of the American public have been huge hits overseas. Even 3D movies, which U.S. viewers seem to be rejecting as not worth the extra price, do well throughout the rest of the world.

American audiences used to be considered philistines, while moviegoers in Europe, Japan and elsewhere used to be considered sophisticates. How did we come to switch places? How is it possible that we have better taste in movies than foreign audiences do?

Fifty years ago, it was conventional wisdom that audiences abroad had better taste in films than we did. They had movie cultures that spawned Fellini and Kurosawa and Bergman, who made flicks for thoughtful adults and scholars, while Hollywood made shoot-em-up Western matinees for kids and labored under a production code that prohibited filmmakers from addressing serious adult topics with frank language and visuals. Some of Hollywood's best movies were ignored or forgotten at home but were rescued from neglect and obscurity by French movie critics who insisted that the disreputable crime dramas they'd rediscovered were gems, inventing a new genre name to describe them (film noir) and elevating their journeyman directors to auteur status.

By the 1980s, however, the great international art-filmmakers of Fellini's generation were largely retired. The Hollywood blockbuster, as sold by such franchises as 'Star Wars' and such iconic stars as Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise, began to take over the world, even while a homegrown independent film movement, led by the likes of Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Joel and Ethan Coen and Quentin Tarantino arose to replace the foreign art film. The turning point may have come 20 years ago, when Luc Besson released 'La Femme Nikita' and proved that the French could make big, dumb, violent action movies as well as Hollywood could. Suddenly, American filmmakers were the darlings of the Cannes Film Festival, while France's own film industry was happily turning out Hollywood-style junk food. It's as if we got them hooked on Big Macs, and now they've lost the taste for filet mignon, as well as the recipe.

In recent years, Hollywood executives have recognized the importance of the foreign market, to the extent that foreign taste seems to determine what movies are made. Big, loud action movies -- especially ones that don't require much in the way of dialogue translation -- are the order of the day. Vapid, star-driven thrillers, like 'The Tourist' and 'Knight & Day' (especially if they feature attractive stars and postcard-pretty locations) do very well abroad, even while they flop here. ('Knight' star Cruise remains as popular as ever in the rest of the world.) Clever comedies, especially those dependent on wordplay or understanding of American cultural quirks, don't do as well. (Slapstick and fart jokes, however, as in 'Mr. Popper's Penguins,' are just fine.) And adult dramas are the toughest sell of all.

Not that domestic audiences don't still love big, dumb, blockbusters, too. We do, but not as much as the rest of the world does. 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' made a tremendous amount of money in America, $349.5 million so far, but it's made $757 million everywhere else. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' was poorly reviewed here and earned $240.5 million (the smallest domestic take of all four 'Pirates' movies), but it earned $780 million abroad. 'Fast Five,' with its melting-pot cast, earned $209.8 million here and twice as much internationally.

In recent weeks, Americans have made a $96.8 million hit out of 'The Help,' a film that -- whether or not you think it's successful in its treatment of the thorny topic of race relations -- represents a serious attempt to address a painful moment in our own history. The grown-up comedy 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' remains a top 10 hit after more than a month in theaters, with $69.7 million in domestic sales (but just $10.5 million earned overseas). 'Midnight in Paris,' which has stayed in theaters all summer, is not only the highest-grossing domestic hit of Woody Allen's career ($51.6 million and counting), but also the first in recent memory that's done better in America than in Europe. Meanwhile, domestic audiences have rejected such standard-issue summer fare as 'Conan the Barbarian,' 'Fright Night' and 'Final Destination 5,' while offering only a lukewarm welcome to 'Cowboys & Aliens,' 'Green Lantern,' and Besson's 'Colombiana.'

One reason we have less fondness for mediocre big-budget Hollywood movies than moviegoers overseas do may be due to economics. As a recent Variety report notes, 3D movies (even the poorly retro-converted ones that were filmed in 2D) are doing well abroad, while flailing here. But a lot of that has to do with price structure. Other countries have incentives to make 3D movies more affordable, such as 3D-glasses purchases instead of rentals, or cheaper tickets for shorter movies. Here, however, audiences have decided that few movies are worth the hefty 3D surcharge and have chosen to skip 3D screenings when 2D screenings are available.

Another reason may be creative marketing. The upcoming 'What's Your Number' looks like a typically formulaic romantic comedy that will be lucky to gross $40-$60 million here, but a look at the way the French are selling it -- they've retitled it '[S]ex List' -- suggests that it'll be a big hit in Europe. Hard to believe the French are outdoing Hollywood in pandering and crassness, but there you have it.

Which raises a scary thought. After all, the French were right about film noir. They were right about Jerry Lewis. What if they're right about current Hollywood fare? In 50 years, will we look back and realize that 'Mr. Popper's Penguins,''Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' were actually unsung masterpieces of cinema?

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

'The Help' Cleans Up After Irene: Box Office Report August 26-28

Gary Susman — 2011-08-28T15:00:00+00:00

On a weekend when the big box office monster was predicted to be Hurricane Irene, it was the housemaids of 'The Help' who, once again, cleaned up after the mess was over. For the second week in a row, 'The Help' was No. 1, with an estimated $14.3 million, fending off newcomers 'Colombiana,' 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' and 'Our Idiot Brother.'

While Irene's damper affect on moviegoing throughout the East Coast was expected to throw box office predictions to the wind, Sunday's projections suggest that the storm didn't have as much impact as feared. Totals for most of the top films came in about $1 to $2 million lower than mid-week predictors had guessed. Still, no one was surprised by 'The Help''s repeat victory. After three weeks in theaters, it's still playing on more screens than any of the newcomers, and its strong word-of-mouth ensured that it declined only 28 percent from last weekend. To date, the period dramedy has earned $96.6 million.

The strongest newcomer was 'Colombiana,' opening at No. 2. Despite the hurricane, it did as well as predicted, opening with an estimated $10.3 million. The film is a fairly generic, modestly-budgeted action thriller, and despite her prominent roles in 'Avatar' and 'Star Trek,' Zoe Saldana is an unproven box office draw. Even after the storm-resistant premiere, the results for Saldana remain a wash, since no one expects much from these late-August movies. Still, the movie could hold up well through Labor Day, given the absence of serious competition next weekend.

'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' opened in third place, thanks largely to the horror cred of co-screenwriter and producer Guillermo del Toro. (Sorry, Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, but you're not box office draws.) In fact, del Toro's name and the lack of horror competition (sorry, 'Fright Night,' but even though you opened just last week, you're already a non-entity) led pundits to predict a second-place finish for this one at around $10 million. Instead, it had to settle for a storm-lashed $8.69 million, according to studio estimates.

In fact, 'Dark' may end up in fourth place once final weekend numbers are released on Monday. Its estimated take was just $39,000 ahead of that for 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Its $8.65 million estimate is down 46 percent from last weekend, typical for a summer hit in its fourth week of release. Since its debut at the beginning of August, 'Apes' has scored $148.5 million.

Opening in fifth place was 'Our Idiot Brother,' with an estimated $6.6 million. That's about $2 million lower than expected. Despite the appeal of Paul Rudd (who was ubiquitous promoting the film this week), the movie had middling word-of-mouth. It comes at the tail end of this summer's long list of R-rated comedies; after 'The Change-Up' tanked three weeks ago, it became clear that this market has been saturated.

Total box office for the weekend came to $91.0 million, down a full 21 percent from the same weekend last year, which saw the releases of two hits, heist drama 'Takers' and horror film 'The Last Exorcism.' Irene may have walloped the box office, but even without the hurricane, this weekend's offerings just weren't as strong.

'The Help' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'The Help,' $14.3 million (2,778 screens), $96.6 million total
2. 'Colombiana,' $10.3 million (2,614), new release
3. 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,' $8.69 million (2,760), new release
4. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $8.65 million (3,374), $148.5 million
5. 'Our Idiot Brother,' $6.6 million (2,555), new release
6. 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' $5.7 million (3,305), $21.7 million
7. 'The Smurfs,' $4.8 million (2,861), $126.0 million
8. 'Conan the Barbarian,' $3.1 million (3,015), $16.6 million
9. 'Fright Night,' $3.0 million (3,114), $14.2 million
10. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' $2.9 million (1,577), $69.5 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: DreamWorks ('The Help'), Sony ('Colombiana'), FilmDistrict ('Don't Be Afraid of the Dark')

'The Help' Mops Up Competition: Box Office Report August 19-21

Gary Susman — 2011-08-21T15:00:00+00:00

The downtrodden housemaids of 'The Help' cleaned up at the box office. In its second weekend, the film swept away all competition, including last week's winner, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' and four new wide releases - 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' 'Conan the Barbarian,' 'Fright Night' and 'One Day.'

After last weekend's unexpectedly strong opening, 'The Help' added 156 screens this weekend (for a total of 2,690). As a result, the period dramedy drew an estimated $20.5 million, just 21 percent off last weekend's total. Despite the controversy the film has engendered over its depiction of a fraught moment in the Civil Rights era, 'The Help' continues to benefit from excellent word-of-mouth. It's been beating 'Apes' all week, so its victory this weekend was no surprise. In 12 days of release, it's earned $71.8 million, and it should remain a box-office stalwart for the rest of the summer.

'Apes,' too, managed to hold off all newcomers. After two weeks on top, it slipped to second place with an estimated $16.3 million. That's a 41 percent decline from a week ago, which is modest for a movie in its third weekend that's facing competition from at least two new movies for the same audience. To date, 'Apes' has earned $133.7 million.

With four new movies battling for third place, the rest of the weekend race was anybody's guess. The top draw among the newcomers was 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' which opened at No. 3 with an estimated $12.0 million. That's below the predictions, which ran to the upper end of the $13-$18 million range, and well below the $33.4 million that the last installment debuted with in 2003. Of course, that was eight years ago; 3D isn't the novelty it was then, and the audience for the first three movies has long since outgrown the franchise. The only thing this reboot had as selling points to a new generation of kids was its scratch-and-sniff card "Aroma-Scope" gimmick and the lack of other fare targeted at young children, save for the month-old 'The Smurfs.'

The remake of 'Conan the Barbarian' was many pundits' pick for the top new movie of the week, with a predicted take of around $17 million. It was a well-known title; relatively unknown lead Jason Momoa had become semi-famous by playing a similar role on HBO's spring series 'Game of Thrones' and the film had about a year's worth of fanboy hype behind it. But 3D fatigue has set in, and reviews and word-of-mouth were middling. 'Conan' opened in fourth place, pillaging only an estimated $10.0 million from the pockets of moviegoers.

Opening in fifth place was another '80s remake, 'Fright Night,' which had been expected to open around $15 million. Instead, it did just over half that, with an estimated $8.3 million. Maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise. The 1985 original was a cult favorite at best. Colin Farrell is not a box office draw. There was still-strong horror competition from Final Destination 5.' And the 'Fright Night' marketing tried to play it both ways, selling the film as a tongue-in-cheek take on the vampire genre while insisting that Farrell's bloodsucker was a truly terrifying monster who would eat for breakfast the sensitive 'Twilight'-style vamps popular in movies and TV lately. Decent reviews and word-of-mouth weren't enough to overcome all that.

The week's final new release, romantic tearjerker 'One Day,' opened way down in ninth place with an estimated $5.1 million. Early predictions had guessed about $6 million, since the film was opening on just 1,719 screens, and since it was up against 'The Help' for the same audience of young women. The presence in the lead role of Anne Hathaway (who promoted the film on every talk show known to man last week) and the pre-sold literary title (screenwriter David Nicholls adapted his own bestselling novel) didn't do much to sway moviegoers.

The box office for 2011 crossed the $7 billion mark this weekend, but it's still 3.8 percent behind last year, though the gap is a hair smaller than it was last week. Box office for the weekend was about $1.6 million behind the same weekend last year, which saw 'The Expendables' hold onto the top slot against newcomers 'Vampires Suck' and 'Lottery Ticket.'

'The Help' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'The Help,' $20.5 million (2,690 screens), $71.8 million total
2. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $16.3 million (3,471), $133.8 million
3. 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,' $12.0 million (3,295), new release
4. 'Conan the Barbarian,' $10.0 million (3,015), new release
5. 'Fright Night,' $8.3 million (3,114), new release
6. 'The Smurfs,' $8.0 million (3,057), $117.7 million
7. 'Final Destination 5,' $7.7 million, (3,155), $32.3 million
8. '30 Minutes or Less,' $6.3 million, (2,888), $25.8 million
9. 'One Day,' $5.1 million (1,719), new release
8. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' $5.0 million (1,940), $64.4million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Photo credits: DreamWorks ('The Help'), Focus Features ('One Day')

'Apes' Still Top Bananas: Box Office Report August 12-14

Gary Susman — 2011-08-14T15:10:00+00:00

It's still the Apes' planet; we just live on it.

In its second weekend, 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' remained on top at the box office, relegating four new movies to second-banana status. But the film did receive a stronger-than-expected challenge from 'The Help,' while the other three new releases opened well below expectations.

The second-weekend take for 'Apes' was an estimated $27.5 million, about 50 percent of what it earned when it opened. That drop was about what was predicted, given the onslaught of new movies this weekend. Still, it means 'Apes' is holding up very well, having crossed the $100 million mark after 10 days of release.

More surprising was the close-second finish of 'The Help,' with an estimated $25.5 million earned over the weekend. Despite rave reviews and a built-in audience of fans of Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel, early predictions guessed that the movie would open around $18 million, with a likely third-place finish behind 'Apes' and 'Final Destination 5.' After all, it was expected to appeal to an older, female audience, the sort of moviegoers who wait for word-of-mouth before seeing a movie rather than rushing out opening weekend. But 'The Help' generated that positive word-of-mouth by opening on Wednesday. (Adding mid-week receipts, the movie's five-day total is an estimated $35.4 million.) As such past August releases as 'Eat Pray Love' and 'Julie & Julia' have proved, movies about strong women based on literary sources are smart counterprogramming in a late-summer season starved for substance.

'Final Destination 5' had to settle for third, reaping an estimated $18.4 million. That's below predictions that were in the $24 million range and well below the $27.4 million opening of the fourth installment two years ago. Then again, that was the first of the series that was in 3D, at a time when 3D was still a relative novelty and not a source of moviegoer frustration. Reviews for this sequel were generally decent (with some dissenters), but its target audience was still apparently in thrall to the Apes.

Coming in fourth was 'The Smurfs,' down just 35 percent in its third week to $13.5 million. That was to be expected, given how little family fare is currently playing in theaters. Like 'Apes,' 'Smurfs' also crossed the $100 million line this weekend.

Opening at No. 5 was '30 Minutes or Less,' which had the misfortune of straggling in near the tail end of this summer's long line of R-rated comedies. Last week's poor premiere showing for 'The Change-Up' seemed a sign that the market for these movies had finally been saturated. Nonetheless, pundits had predicted a debut of just under $18 million. Instead, it opened with an estimated $13.0 million. Expect it to drop as quickly as 'The Change-Up,' which fell six slots this weekend to tenth place.

The weekend's fourth new wide release, 'Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,' didn't even debut in the top 10. Pundits were predicting just a modest $9 million opening, but the film mustered only an estimated $5.7 million to open at No. 11. The movie had strong word-of-mouth among moviegoing Gleeks, who were primarily teenage girls and women under 25, but most of that demographic was probably spending its weekend movie dollars on 'The Help' or 'Final Destination 5.'

By this time last year, the domestic box office had already passed $7 billion. This year's take is 3.9 percent behind, at $6.8 billion, though that gap closes a little more every week. Receipts for August are up 16.4 percent (or $71.4 million) over the same part of the month last year, which saw such late-summer hits as 'Eat Pray Love,' 'The Expendables,' and 'The Other Guys.'

The full top 10:
1. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $27.5 million (3,691 screens), $104.9 million total
2. 'The Help,' $25.5 million (2,534), $35.4 million
3. 'Final Destination 5,' $18.4 million, (3,155), new release
4. 'The Smurfs,' $13.5 million (3,427), $101.5 million
5. '30 Minutes or Less,' $13.0 million, (2,888), new release
6. 'Cowboys & Aliens,' $7.6 million (3,310), $81.5 million
7. 'Captain America: The First Avenger,' $7.1 million (2,835), $156.9 million
8. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' $6.93 million (2,635), $55.4 million
9. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,' $6.88 million (2,414), $357.0 million
10. 'The Change-Up,' $6.2 million (2,913), $25.8 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Conquest of the 'Planet of the Apes': Box Office Report August 5-7

Gary Susman — 2011-08-07T15:00:00+00:00

The monkeys have overrun the multiplex. Caesar the Chimp came, saw, and conquered the box office, as 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' outperformed expectations to debut with an estimated $54 million.

The primate prequel had been expected to premiere at No. 1, but with projected sales in the low 40s. Clearly, pundits underestimated the fan love for the 43-year-old franchise. Reviews have been surprisingly positive, especially for Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar via motion-capture, as he did when he played King Kong for Peter Jackson six years ago. And viewers have apparently forgiven leading man James Franco for his asleep-at-the-wheel performance as Oscar host, since 'Rise' marks the best weekend debut of his career (not counting the 'Spider-Man' movies, where he played a supporting role).

Holding on to second place was 'The Smurfs,' which declined just 41 percent from last week's surprise smash opening, down to an estimated $21.0 million, for a 10-day total of $76.2 million. The only movie for young kids among recent openings, the tale of the tiny blue people was expected to have long legs.

On the other hand, movies targeting young adults and men over 25 were hit hard by the unexpectedly strong start of 'Apes.' 'Cowboys & Aliens,' which barely edged out 'Smurfs' last week, fell to third with an estimated $15.7 million, down 57 percent from its debut. (It had been expected to fall to about $17 million.) Its 10-day total is $67.4 million. Expect it to continue to slide steeply as fresher genre movies come out over the next couple of weekends.

The movie most tripped up by the 'Apes' banana peel was this week's other new wide release, 'The Change-Up.' With its strong comic pedigree (from the writers of 'The Hangover' and the director of 'Wedding Crashers'), the film was predicted to join this summer's long list of successful, raunchy R-rated comedies with a likely opening of around $19 million. Instead, the Jason Bateman-Ryan Reynolds body-switch comedy opened with a weak $13.5 million, according to estimates. Blame middling-to-weak reviews, blame the still-strong 'Horrible Bosses' (also starring Bateman, and still in the top 10), or blame those damn dirty apes.

(A moment of sympathy, please, for Olivia Wilde. First 'Cowboys,' then 'Change-Up.' That's two underperforming debuts in two weeks.)

In fifth place, 'Captain America: The First Avenger'' also suffered a bit from monkeymania. It fell 49 percent to an estimated $13.0 million. In three weekends, it's earned $143.1 million.

Overall, the box-office gap between 2011 and the first seven months of last year narrowed a little. It's now 4.5 percent, or $308.8 million behind sales this time in 2010. Not even 'Apes' and this month's other potential hits are expected to earn enough to close the gap and catch up to last year before the end of the summer.

'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' - Trailer No. 1

The full top 10:
1. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' $54.0 million (3,648 screens), new release
2. 'The Smurfs,' $21.0 million (3,395), $76.2 million total
3. 'Cowboys & Aliens,' $15.7 million (3,754), $67.4 million
4. 'The Change-Up,' $13.5 million (2,913), new release
5. 'Captain America: The First Avenger,' $13.0 million (3,620), $143.1 million
6. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,' $12.2 million (3,175), $342.8 million
7. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' $12.1 million (3,020), $42.2 million
8. 'Friends With Benefits,' $4.7 million (2,398), $48.5 million
9. 'Horrible Bosses,' $4.6 million (2,025), $105.2 million
10. 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon,' $3.0 million (1,854), $344.2 million

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.