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

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March
23, 2008
Weekend Finals
Top Limited Grosses
Domestic Market Share
Easter
Lays an Egg...
The second
weekend of Horton Hears a Who led weekend film going but
not as definitively as it had in its debut. The Seussical sophomore
session rang up an estimated $25.3 million while the debut of
Meet the Browns from niche auteur Tyler Perry was
within striking distance at $20.2 million.
The Easter
weekend (not one of the better holiday viewing periods) also served
up indifferent bows for Drillbit Taylor - a contempo, dumbed-down
version of 1980s My Bodyguard - of $10.1 million and a
predictable $10.7 million for Shutter, a facsimile chiller
adapted from the Asian hit produced in Thailand back in 2004.
More encouraging was the limited release of Hispanic targeted,
Sundance preemed Under the Same Moon that rang up close
to a $9,000 average from 266 theaters.
Also out of
the gate fast was Bollywood entry Race (think Daytona)
with $820,000 from 111 exposures. Self-distributed Rockeyesque
The Hammer with Adam Carolla as an unlikely pugilist
faired well in prelims with a $108,000 tally at 20 rings and there
was encouraging response for exclusive runs of the documentary
Planet B-Boy and the French-U.S. thriller Boarding Gate.
Weekend business
continued 2008's fever chart fluctuations with its $110 million
plus frame providing a 6% decline from seven days earlier and
an 18% erosion with the comparable 2007 frame. It was also 10%
off from the 2007 Easter weekend when the second weekend of Blades
of Glory led with $22.5 million and the top debut was third
ranked Are We Done Yet? with $14.3 million.
What's most
striking about Easter 2008 is an underlying risk adverse attitude
toward programming. Horton had already staked out the family crowd
and other distributors were loath to compete
or compete
head on. So, competition aimed for very specific niches.
Since the
theatrical bow of Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2002, Perry
has claimed a spring slot and his latest, Meet the Browns,
opened with roughly the same box office force as his earlier movies.
That should ultimately translate into a theatrical gross between
$50 million and $60 million. We're told that his films are gradually
extending their appeal outside the African-American community
but that trend has to be glacial based upon the annual consistency
of his revenues and one suspects he'll be making some radical
changes in the next couple of years.
The horror
genre is in desperate need of a creative infusion akin to the
one seen three decades back when Halloween, Chainsaw and Nightmare
changed the landscape. However, for the foreseeable future junior
production execs have their marching orders - check out Asian
movies for potential remakes, ring-a-ding ding.
Also the much
touted Apatow comedy factory is discovering that volume is having
an untoward effect. Drillbit Taylor (and the earlier, better
reviewed Walk Hard) is again high concept but lacks the
distinctive, anarchic spin that set the filmmaker's really popular
movies apart from the pack.
The most compelling
question of the weekend was the on-going potential for the American
indie Under the Same Moon that created a heart-warming
narrative to illustrate the hot button immigration issue. The
film has had a peripatetic history that can be traced back to
split rights involving Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Co. Notwithstanding
it wedged into the top 10 as a result of very strategic screen
selection. The film went wide in Mexico where it ranked third
with a four-day gross of $1.4 million. The quest for a crossover
Hispanic movie has eluded myriad attempts in the past two decades
and despite Moon's very good start, it's likely to push the envelope
without becoming that breakthrough.
-
Leonard Klady
Weekend
Finals - March 21-23, 2008
|
|
|
Title |
Distrib
|
Weekend
|
%
Change*
|
Theaters
|
Cume
|
Wks
|
|
1
|
1
|
Horton
Hears a Who |
Fox
|
24,590,596
|
-45%
|
3961
|
86,010,517
|
2
|
|
2
|
New
|
Meet
the Browns |
Lions
Gate
|
20,082,809
|
-
|
2006
|
20,082,809
|
1
|
|
3
|
New
|
Shutter |
Fox
|
10,447,559
|
-
|
2753
|
10,447,559
|
1
|
|
4
|
New
|
Drillbit
Taylor |
Par
|
10,309,986
|
-
|
3056
|
10,309,986
|
1
|
|
5
|
2
|
10,000
B.C. |
WB
|
8,934,064
|
-47%
|
3454
|
76,401,302
|
3
|
|
6
|
3
|
Never
Back Down |
Summit
|
4,827,250
|
-44%
|
2729
|
16,790,361
|
2
|
|
7
|
4
|
College
Road Trip |
BV
|
4,697,683
|
-40%
|
2575
|
32,073,003
|
3
|
|
8
|
6
|
The
Bank Job |
Lions
Gate
|
4,191,773
|
-17%
|
1613
|
19,521,672
|
3
|
|
9
|
5
|
Vantage
Point |
Sony
|
3,805,541
|
-30%
|
2124
|
65,300,784
|
5
|
|
10
|
New
|
Under
the Same Moon |
Weinstein
Co.
|
2,770,000
|
-
|
266
|
3,496,710
|
1
|
|
11
|
7
|
Doomsday |
Uni
|
2,249,880
|
-54%
|
1938
|
8,976,710
|
2
|
|
12
|
9
|
The
Other Boleyn Girl |
Sony
|
2,038,236
|
-29%
|
1188
|
22,557,175
|
4
|
|
13
|
12
|
Miss
Pettigrew Lives for a Day |
Focus
|
1,481,593
|
-24%
|
531
|
7,542,124
|
3
|
|
14
|
10
|
The
Spiderwick Chronicles |
Par
|
1,205,418
|
-48%
|
1226
|
67,793,487
|
6
|
|
15
|
8
|
Semi-Pro |
New
Line
|
1,152,569
|
-62%
|
1144
|
32,279,215
|
4
|
|
16
|
13
|
Fool's
Gold |
WB
|
953,068
|
-43%
|
1011
|
67,073,779
|
7
|
|
17
|
11
|
Jumper |
Fox
|
939,906
|
-54%
|
862
|
77,553,504
|
6
|
|
18
|
New
|
Race |
UTV
|
802,254
|
|
96
|
802,254
|
1
|
|
19
|
15
|
Juno |
Fox
Searchlight
|
769,842
|
-35%
|
603
|
141,099,121
|
16
|
|
20
|
14
|
Step
Up 2 the Streets |
BV
|
541,008
|
-65%
|
640
|
56,715,909
|
6
|
|
21
|
25
|
The
Counterfeiters |
Sony
Classics
|
496,625
|
18%
|
92
|
1,851,862
|
5
|
|
22
|
23
|
In
Bruges |
Focus
|
472,762
|
-3%
|
216
|
5,920,566
|
7
|
|
23
|
18
|
The
Bucket List |
WB
|
408,265
|
-34%
|
409
|
90,914,213
|
13
|
|
24
|
36
|
National
Treasure: Book of Secrets |
BV
|
390,118
|
135%
|
348
|
217,684,901
|
14
|
|
25
|
16
|
Penelope |
Summit
|
386,547
|
-56%
|
501
|
9,110,144
|
4
|
|
26
|
17
|
Definitely,
Maybe |
Uni
|
372,330
|
-46%
|
378
|
31,395,755
|
6
|
|
27
|
24
|
Alvin
and the Chipmunks |
Fox
|
372,057
|
-47%
|
404
|
215,760,497
|
15
|
|
28
|
19
|
Be
Kind Rewind |
New
Line
|
312,963
|
-47%
|
264
|
10,575,239
|
5
|
|
29
|
28
|
The
Band's Visit |
Sony
Classics
|
267,209
|
1%
|
118
|
1,919,596
|
7
|
|
30
|
22
|
Funny
Games |
WIP
|
244,110
|
-55%
|
289
|
1,045,279
|
2
|
|
31
|
26
|
Hannah
Montana/Miley Cyrus 3-D |
BV
|
212,820
|
-47%
|
40
|
64,547,158
|
8
|
|
32
|
27
|
There
Will Be Blood |
Par
Vantage
|
211,636
|
-39%
|
224
|
39,705,413
|
13
|
|
33
|
29
|
U2
3D |
nWave
|
208,033
|
-14%
|
58
|
6,900,393
|
7
|
|
34
|
30
|
27
Dresses |
Fox
|
187,901
|
-20%
|
244
|
75,820,494
|
10
|
|
35
|
35
|
Sea
Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure |
nWave
|
183,860
|
10%
|
45
|
9,485,530
|
25
|
|
36
|
21
|
No
Country for Old Men |
Miramax
|
175,512
|
-67%
|
229
|
74,062,608
|
20
|
|
37
|
20
|
Welcome
Home Roscoe Jenkins |
Uni
|
150,930
|
-74%
|
258
|
42,018,345
|
7
|
|
38
|
40
|
Married
Life |
Sony
Classics
|
142,677
|
45%
|
32
|
356,858
|
3
|
|
39
|
31
|
I
Am Legend |
WB
|
114,710
|
-50%
|
202
|
256,227,323
|
15
|
|
40
|
37
|
La
Ligne brisee |
Alliance
|
105,275
|
-32%
|
63
|
603,478
|
3
|
|
41
|
33
|
Cloverfield |
Par
|
103,488
|
-45%
|
205
|
79,801,225
|
10
|
|
42
|
New
|
The
Hammer |
Intl
Film Circuit
|
97,137
|
-
|
20
|
97,137
|
1
|
|
43
|
42
|
Paranoid
Park |
IFC/Filmoption
|
94,943
|
9%
|
40
|
283,653
|
3
|
|
44
|
34
|
Enchanted |
BV
|
88,510
|
-51%
|
151
|
128,173,062
|
18
|
|
45
|
RE
|
First
Sunday |
Sony
|
82,350
|
-
|
142
|
38,140,384
|
11
|
|
46
|
32
|
The
Eye |
Lions
Gate
|
74,749
|
-64%
|
135
|
31,155,025
|
| | |