| April 13, 2008 |
| April 6, 2008 |
| March 30, 2008 |
| March 23, 2008 |
| March 16, 2008 |
| March 9, 2008 |
| March 2, 2008 |
| Feb 24, 2008 |
| Feb 18, 2008 |
| Feb 10, 2008 |
| Feb 3, 2008 |
| Jan 27, 2008 |
| Jan 21, 2008 |
..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
Fagetaboutit!
April 20, 2008
Weekend Finals
The anticipated dust up between the Jackie and Jet in Forbidden Kingdom and the naughty bits of Forgetting Sarah Marshall saw the martial artists draw in an estimated $20.8 million and the latest comedy from the Apatow corral gross $17.4 million. The opening strength of the two films left poor seconds for the Al Pacino thriller 88 Minutes that ranked fourth with $6.8 million and a better than expected $2.9 million bow for the curmudgeonly Ben Stein in the quasi-documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.
The session's limited freshmen were largely a commercial wash. Audiences didn't appear to care Where is the World is Osama Bin Laden?; providing a limp $1,500 screen average from 102 darkened locales. There was proportionally more interest for the race track doc First Saturday in May with a $48,200 gross from 20 turfs and the portrait of composer Phillip Glass (in Twelve Parts) generated $5,200 from a single venue. Pathology failed to infect with a $52,300 from 46 labs and the critically heralded The Life Before Her Eyes failed to stir with a $17,600 gross from eight screens that likely to jeopardize the film's expansion plans.
Overall box office experienced a slight b.o. bump from 2007 and while no one is going to begrudge improved results, closer inspection hardly suggests rosy rebounds or a reversal of fortune from recent viewing downturns.
In addition to the first pairing of martial art's royalty, Forbidden Kingdom concocted an East meets West scenario with a Boston youth (and devoted genre fan) magically transported to ancient times to fulfill a legendary legacy. Reminiscent in story to The Last Action Hero, the new entry fared better artistically and commercially with superior action set pieces. It remains to be seen whether its popularity will be extended as a family picture or how Asians will respond when it opens in that arena next weekend.
The vultures swarmed around Forgetting Sarah Marshall, suspecting vulnerability in the raunchy comedy fare that's become the staple of hyphenate Judd Apatow. While it ranked high among R-rated comedy debuts pundits are likely to see only that it ranked second and ignore that it's apt to win the tortoise-hare race it confronts with its rival.
Revenues for the weekend edged toward $93 million and a slim 3% decline from seven days ago. They bumped up 3% from 2007 when the second weekend of Disturbia led with $13 million and the opening of Fracture followed at $11 million.
The 58% improvement for the top two respective titles obviously experienced fierce erosion as one expanded the viewing palette. Expectations were low for 88 Minutes that has already had sporadic and indifferent theatrical exposure internationally though prognosticators anticipated grosses closer to $10 million. Similarly there was no surprise in the 56% decline for Prom Night.
However, sophomore drops for Street Kings and especially Smart People were much greater than has been the trend. The latter film with its adult appeal and positive initial response is a head scratcher the industry hopes is just an anomaly. But indifferent response to the exclusive runs of The Life Before Her Eyes attest to a growing doubts and reticence among specialized audiences.
The sunnier anomaly is the surprising strength of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed in which creationism finds a surprising tour guide in Ben Stein. The film effectively targeted the converted and committed and while it's unlikely to cross over, initial returns and subsequent ancillary activity add up to niche success.
Weekend Finals - April 18-20, 2008
Title Forbidden Kingdom 21,401,121 - 3151 21,401,121 1 Forgetting Sarah Marshall 17,725,330 - 2798 17,725,330 1 Prom Night 8,670,364 -58% 2700 32,133,926 2 88 Minutes 6,957,216 - 2168 6,957,216 1 Nim's Island 5,687,072 -38% 3277 32,894,115 3 21 5,520,362 -47% 2903 70,004,505 4 Street Kings 4,179,505 -66% 2469 20,058,143 2 Horton Hears a Who 3,511,834 -41% 2670 144,418,495 6 Leatherheads 3,049,465 -51% 2798 26,605,235 3 Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed 2,970,848 - 1052 2,970,848 1 Superhero Movie 1,608,072 -50% 1880 23,604,200 4 Smart People 1,600,687 -61% 1119 6,805,392 2 The Ruins 1,209,263 -64% 1857 15,828,143 3 Drillbit Taylor 894,990 -56% 1367 29,782,431 5 Meet the Browns 700,271 -55% 675 41,159,982 5 10,000 B.C. 603,380 -59% 855 92,826,810 7 Under the Same Moon 585,132 -39% 454 11,187,306 6 Shine a Light 567,933 -41% 220 3,755,976 3 Dans une galaxie pres de chez vous 2 503,922 - 123 503,922 1 The Bank Job 412,851 -58% 473 29,206,841 7 College Road Trip 406,528 -53% 650 42,918,585 8 Shutter 280,285 -74% 433 25,428,675 5 The Bucket List 260,019 -30% 350 92,589,760 17 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 254,783 -50% 332 11,767,372 7 The Counterfeiters 240,753 -32% 170 3,742,262 9 Vantage Point 234,042 -55% 336 72,266,306 9 Stop-Loss 232,112 -79% 534 10,641,262 4 The Spiderwick Chronicles 230,635 -30% 370 70,601,440 10 Run Fat Boy Run 191,055 -67% 227 5,796,720 4 U, Me Aur Hum 171,503 -73% 89 903,680 2 The Visitor 166,499 92% 18 283,400 2 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure 164,814 -15% 47 11,527,270 29 Never Back Down 160,239 -66% 297 24,212,330 6 National Treasure: Book of Secrets 157,717 -18% 225 219,191,729 18 Young@Heart 151,998 198% 33 232,912 2 Juno 151,908 -49% 230 143,253,943 20 Where in the World is Osama …? 148,698 - 102 148,698 1 Jumper 145,883 1% 200 79,166,197 10 Fool's Gold 142,340 -44% 220 69,222,160 11 Priceless 109,647 -28% 42 680,024 4 Step Up 2 the Streets 106,928 -33% 191 57,743,881 10 The Other Boleyn Girl 106,190 -64% 198 26,814,957 8 In Bruges 103,436 -42% 123 7,276,922 11 My Blueberry Nights 103,137 136% 59 267,573 3 Flawless 79,788 -43% 65 705,017 4 Alvin and the Chipmunks 71,469 -49% 176 217,172,612 19 Dolphins and Whales 3-D 70,713 3% 13 1,067,183 10 Emma Smith: My Story 68,760 -27% 37 234,901 2 Krazzy 4 68,248 -79% 59 433,472 2 Penelope 67,694 -9% 142 9,841,968 7 27 Dresses 63,202 -36% 102 76,624,274 14 The Band's Visit 59,796 -43% 85 2,709,751 11 Married Life 55,592 -57% 76 1,297,066 7 First Sunday in May 54,553 - 20 54,553 1 Pathology 54,244 - 46 54,244 1 U2 3D 52,659 -20% 19 7,503,609 13 Space Station 3-D 50,560 -12% 10 74,613,329 313 Bella 50,348 -53% 31 7,937,783 26 Madame Butterfly 48,111 - 120 48,111 1