Travicity
01-29-2011, 04:08 PM
FRIDAY PM: The big news this weekend isn't just seeing whether domestic grosses are depressed on the post-blizzard East Coast, but also which movies receive Oscar bumps given that the Academy Award nominations were announced this past Tuesday. The King's Speech, 127 Hours, Blue Valentine (because of Michelle Williams' Best Actress nom), Rabbit Hole (due to Nicole Kidman's), and Winter's Bone, all expanded their runs as a result. True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter, are still in the thick of their releases and held very well Friday, with only Golden Globe Best Drama winner The Social Network in limited release for a return engagement to improve on its $96M domestic cume. By mid-week, Fandango's top daily ticketseller was Producers Guild Awards winner The King's Speech even though The Weinstein Co released the film 9 weeks ago. The pic saw a healthy 76% increase in online ticket sales. (But attendance could really soar if The Weinstein Co succeeds in creating a PG-13 version to respond to exhibitors and educators who want the R-rated movie available to a bigger audience.)
As for this weekend, studios expect that the East Coast's record snowfall will have "a substantial effect" on some markets to depress grosses. But after house-bound blizzard victims dig out, the majors expect a great football-less Sunday at the box office. Sources tell me that Warner Bros' exorcism genre pic The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and playing in 2,985 theaters came in #1 Friday and should win the weekend with approximately $15 million. CBS Films released hit man flick The Mechanic with 2,703 runs for #3 Friday. But rival studios expect the Jason Statham starrer to fall to a distant 5th by Sunday with no more than $10M. CBS Films paid $5M for the distribution rights and the pic supposedly will be in profit if its domestic run gets to the mid-$20sM. "It's coming in where we expected," one insider tells me. "I'd rather our bottom line than The Rite's any day of the week." (Oh Snap!) I've been hearing a "reconfiguring" is coming to the still struggling movie unit. CBS Films will make more acquisitions to fill the pipeline. It needs to find a big fat hit fast. Even CBS Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson took cheap shots at CBS Films tonight.
Last week's #1 film, Paramount's R-rated rom-com No Strings Attached, had an excellent -38% hold from the previous Friday with a shot at #1 by Sunday. "Let's see if the young females can get their idle boyfriends out on Sunday," an exec tells me. Anyway, here's the Top 10:
1. The Rite (Warner Bros) NEW [2,985 Theaters]
Friday $5.5M, Estimated Weekend $15M
2. No Strings Attached (Paramount) Week 2 [3,022 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M (-38%), Estimated Weekend $14.5M, Estimated Cume $40M.
3. The Mechanic (CBS Films) NEW [2,703 Theaters]
Friday $3.5M, Estimated Weekend $9.5M
4. The King's Speech (The Weinstein Co) Week 10 [2,557 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $12M, Estimated Cume $73M
5. The Green Hornet 3D (Sony) Week 3 [3,022 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $11M, Estimated Cume $78.3M
6. True Grit (Paramount) Week 6 [3,120 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Estimated Weekend $6.5M, Estimated Cume $147.3M
7. The Dilemma (Universal) Week 3 [2,901 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M, Estimated Weekend $6.1M, Estimated Cume $41.2M
8. Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Week 9 [2,315 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Estimated Weekend $4.6M, Estimated Cume $90.2M
9. The Fighter (Relativity/Paramount) Week 8 [1,914 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Estimated Weekend $3.4M, Estimated Cume $77.7M
10. Little Fockers (Universal) Week 5 [2,042 Theaters]
Friday $800K, Estimated Weekend $2.7M, Estimated Cume
DL
As for this weekend, studios expect that the East Coast's record snowfall will have "a substantial effect" on some markets to depress grosses. But after house-bound blizzard victims dig out, the majors expect a great football-less Sunday at the box office. Sources tell me that Warner Bros' exorcism genre pic The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins and playing in 2,985 theaters came in #1 Friday and should win the weekend with approximately $15 million. CBS Films released hit man flick The Mechanic with 2,703 runs for #3 Friday. But rival studios expect the Jason Statham starrer to fall to a distant 5th by Sunday with no more than $10M. CBS Films paid $5M for the distribution rights and the pic supposedly will be in profit if its domestic run gets to the mid-$20sM. "It's coming in where we expected," one insider tells me. "I'd rather our bottom line than The Rite's any day of the week." (Oh Snap!) I've been hearing a "reconfiguring" is coming to the still struggling movie unit. CBS Films will make more acquisitions to fill the pipeline. It needs to find a big fat hit fast. Even CBS Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson took cheap shots at CBS Films tonight.
Last week's #1 film, Paramount's R-rated rom-com No Strings Attached, had an excellent -38% hold from the previous Friday with a shot at #1 by Sunday. "Let's see if the young females can get their idle boyfriends out on Sunday," an exec tells me. Anyway, here's the Top 10:
1. The Rite (Warner Bros) NEW [2,985 Theaters]
Friday $5.5M, Estimated Weekend $15M
2. No Strings Attached (Paramount) Week 2 [3,022 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M (-38%), Estimated Weekend $14.5M, Estimated Cume $40M.
3. The Mechanic (CBS Films) NEW [2,703 Theaters]
Friday $3.5M, Estimated Weekend $9.5M
4. The King's Speech (The Weinstein Co) Week 10 [2,557 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $12M, Estimated Cume $73M
5. The Green Hornet 3D (Sony) Week 3 [3,022 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $11M, Estimated Cume $78.3M
6. True Grit (Paramount) Week 6 [3,120 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Estimated Weekend $6.5M, Estimated Cume $147.3M
7. The Dilemma (Universal) Week 3 [2,901 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M, Estimated Weekend $6.1M, Estimated Cume $41.2M
8. Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Week 9 [2,315 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Estimated Weekend $4.6M, Estimated Cume $90.2M
9. The Fighter (Relativity/Paramount) Week 8 [1,914 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Estimated Weekend $3.4M, Estimated Cume $77.7M
10. Little Fockers (Universal) Week 5 [2,042 Theaters]
Friday $800K, Estimated Weekend $2.7M, Estimated Cume
DL