Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Douglas Pratt
Ray Pride

..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Doug Pratt
..Ray Pride

October 14, 2007 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share We Own the Altar.... Why Did I Get Married?, the latest from actor-filmmaker Tyler Perry, led weekend movie going in its debut with an estimated $22.9 million. The frame also saw the thriller We Own the Night bow third overall with $10.8 million and an OK bow for Elizabeth: The Golden Age of $6.1 million. However, the independent sports themed The Final Season was left off base with $690,000. Niche preems included a hefty single screen launch of $26,400 for Control about the Brit band Joy Division and a good golly Miss Dolly $12,600 theater average for Lars and the Real Girl in seven exposures. There was also good response to a couple of new Bollywood releases but only tepid returns for the remake of Sleuth. Overall business bumped up 18% to roughly $101 million but slipped back 10% from the comparable 2006 session. A year ago the debut of The Grudge 2 edge out the second weekend of The Departed in a close finish that netted grosses of $20.8 million and $19 million. The year to date is now running a bit less than 6% ahead of last year's pace. Since his 2002 film debut Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Tyler Perry has been effectively mining a core Afrocentric audience with tales of the middle class contemporary Black experience. Why Did I Get Married? is again based on one of his plays already available on DVD. Perry has emerged quite rapidly as a potent commercial filmmaker even though he's only inched slightly beyond his base audience. The crime drama We Own the Night earned generally positive reviews and good if unspectacular box office. The same could be said for Elizabeth: The Golden Age though critical response tilted toward the negative when it was compared to the 1998 film on the monarch's early reign. The question for both is how well they will withstand the ceaseless wave of upcoming releases targeted at adult audiences. Last weekend's toe tester for the legal thriller Michael Clayton didn't appear to have any impact - pro or con - on the picture's national launch. Its $10.7 million weekend was certainly credible and title star George Clooney's popularity appears to be an asset for sustaining interest in the coming weeks. The more traditionally platformed Across the Universe finally expanded to national proportions and appears to be situated in a comfortable niche somewhere between niche and mainstream appeal. Still, the costly venture has a long road ahead of theatrical, CD and DVD exposure to return the roll of the dice. The slow, steady roll outs of both The Darjeeling Limited and Lust, Caution continue to be on track while one can see The Assassination of Jesse James losing steam. Positive response to Lars and the Real Girl translated well commercially for the black comic tale of a boy and his blow up doll girlfriend. Nonetheless the outré comedy will definitely have to earn its playdates. That uphill drive will be considerably harder for the re-envisioned Sleuth that's darker and less playful than its prior screen incarnation from 1972. The sheer volume of movies both currently in theaters and scheduled through the end of the year has already created a Darwinian environment in which it's difficult to ascertain why some survive and others succumb. The heartier types include The Game Plan and 3:10 to Yuma while Eastern Promises, The Seeker and The Heartbreak Kid are disappearing into the tar pit and In the Valley of Elah never quite stepped up to the plate. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - October 12-14, 2007 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume Why Did I Get Married? Lions Gate 22.9 (11,400) - 2011 22.9 The Game Plan BV 11.2 (3,590) -32% 3128 59.2 We Own the Night Sony 10.8 (4680) - 2362 11.47 Michael Clayton WB 10.7 (4,260) 1384% 2511 11.8 The Heartbreak Kid Par 7.4 (2,280) -47% 3233 26 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Uni 6.1 (3,070) - 2000 6.1 The Kingdom Uni 4.6 (1,620) -53% 2836 40 Across the Universe Sony 3.8 (3990) -9% 954 8.91 Resident Evil: Extinction Sony 2.5 (1,110) -47% 2249 45.42 The Seeker: The Dark is Rising Fox 2.1 (660) -44% 3173 7.1 Good Luck Chuck Lions Gate 1.9 (980) -48% 1951 30.72 3:10 to Yuma Lions Gate 1.4 (780) -56% 1820 51.4 Feel the Noise Sony 3.4 (3,310) - 1020 3.77 Mr. Woodcock New Line 1.1 (810) -52% 1373 24.4 The Darjeeling Limited Fox Searchlight 1.1 (11,650) 91% 95 2.1 Into the Wild Par Vantage .92 (6,010) -28% 153 3.9 Eastern Promises Focus/Alliance .80 (1,020) -62% 781 16.2 Transformers Par .71 (1,970) -24% 360 317.6 The Final Season FreeStyle .69 (680) - 1011 0.69 The Brave One WB .65 (520) -72% 1255 36 The Bourne Ultimatum Uni .63 (1,030) -47% 611 225.6 Lust, Caution Focus .59 (7,660) 62% 77 1.2 The Jane Austen Book Club Sony Classics .51 (510) -62% 1001 3 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $79.64 - - - % Change (Last Year) - -26% - - - % Change (Last Week) - -11% - - - Also debuting/expanding In the Valley of Elah WIP .40 (550) -70% 725 6.3 Assassination of Jesse James … WB .39 (2,390) -7% 163 1.4 Laaga Chunari Mein Daag Yash Raj .31 (4,320) - 72 0.31 Bhool Bhulaiyaa Eros .29 (5,210) - 55 0.29 Lars and the Real Girl MGM 89,200 (12,600) - 7 0.09 Sleuth Sony Classics 47,100 (5,230) - 9 0.05 Control Weinstein Co. 26,400 (26,400) - 1 0.03 Terror's Advocate Magnolia 9,900 (3,300) - 3 0.01 King Corn Balcony 7,500 (7,500) - 1 0.01 Berkeley Jung 3,900 (1,950) - 2 0.01 Canada Box Office - To October 5-11, 2007 Title  Distributor Gross Cume The Heartbreak Kid Par 1,881,697 1,881,697 The Game Plan BV 1,576,831 3,194,183 The Kingdom Uni 1,547,444 3,655,526 Resident Evil: Extinction Sony 751,073 4,678,958 Good Luck Chuck Maple Pictures 607,171 3,065,803 Eastern Promises Odeon 542,404 2,574,641 The Seeker: The Dark is Rising Fox   537,628 537,628 Across the Universe Sony 443,121 1,206,710 Sydney White Uni 392,959 1,832,350 The Brave One WB 347,885 3,124,954 3:10 to Yuma Maple Pictures 340,567 3,916,969 Shakes Hands with the Devil Seville 316,117 640,247 Superbad Sony 303,882 15,105,832 Mr. Woodcock Alliance 297,749 2,894,450 The Bourne Ultimatum Uni 227,390 24,128,598 Transformers Par   217,437 26,687,887 Silk Odeon 173,162 754,677 The Jane Austen Book Club Mongrel  153,605 169,531 In the Valley of Elah WB 142,664 432,439 Into the Wild Par Vantage 134,821 160,481 Feel the Noise Sony 123,603 123,603 Les 3 p'tits cochons Christal 121,794 4,293,526 Michael Clayton WB 113,739 113,739 Hors de prix Christal 111,375 111,375 Odette Toulemonde Equinoxe 109,465 244,273   Domestic Market Share - October 11, 2007 Distributor (releases) Gross Percentage Paramount (17) 1242.5 16.40% Sony (24) 1084.7 14.40% Warner Bros. (27) 1042.2 13.80% Buena Vista (16) 999.2 13.20% Universal (17) 896.9 11.90% Fox (18) 744.1 9.90% New Line (10) 402.3 5.30% MGM (20) 289.1 3.80% Lions Gate (17) 241.9 3.20% Focus (7) 103.2 1.40% Fox Searchlight (12) 92.1 1.20% Miramax (7) 63.2 0.80% Picturehouse (7) 56.9 0.80% Other * (241) 298.7 3.90% - 7557 100.00%