..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
Pandering to the Masses...
June 8, 2008
Weekend Finals
A pair of unusual martial arts movies kicked up interest in movie going by double digits. The animated adventure Kung Fu Panda led the frame with an estimated $59.8 million debut session followed by Adam Sandler's political comedy spin Don't Mess with the Zohan that grossed $40.3 million in its opening weekend.
The session was also rife with niche and limited releases including the Bollywood circuit Sarkar Raj that rang up one of the best openings of the year of $550,000. Also potent was foreign-language Oscar nominee the historic epic Mongol that scored a $25,360 average from five theaters. Brit import When Did You Last See Your Father grossed $37,200 in eight engagements, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento's Mother of Tears bowed with $29,800 from seven screens and American indie The Promotion left six offices with $26,500.
Expectations were close to target for the two freshmen entries though Thursday advance ticketing for Panda via movietickets.com were running close to seven times stronger. The animated fable's opening day $20.3 million box office anticipated a $60 million plus result but Saturday business spiked just 11% indicating summer movie going arcs had commenced now that more than 50% of schools have let out for the year. It was also unusual to see that Friday exit polls showed that 51% of the audience was older than 25 and 55% was female.
Sandler's Zohan had virtually identical age and gender demographics (women represented 51%) but his splits were more typical of past performances for both comedies and his movies. The yarn of an Israeli agent turned Manhattan hairdresser was largely met with critical incredulity or damned with grudging praise.
Overall business climbed to roughly $177 million that translated into a 5% boost from the prior weekend. It had a more demonstrable 33% uptick from 2007 when Ocean's Thirteen opening led the frame with $36.1 million and the bow of animated penguins in Surf's Up ranked fourth with $17.6 million.
Last weekend's top choice Sex and the City experienced a steeper than expected 63% decline. With the summer session barely started, industry mavens are at a loss to explain faster fades for comedies and family fare such as Prince Caspian. The film industry traditionally gets the yips whenever there's a blip in traditional movie going patterns and prays to the box office gods that such occurrences are anomalies that require no explanation.
Changes in movie going habits have been shifting at a glacial pace for more than two decades; mostly at some expense to the exhibition community. Response to the slow erosion for the theatrical experience has been equally sluggish as the industry, as ever, responds best to catastrophe.
Weekend Finals - June 6-8, 2008
Title Kung Fu Panda You Don't Mess with the Zohan Indiana Jones & Kingdom of Crystal Sk Sex and the City The Strangers Iron Man Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian What Happens in Vegas Baby Mama Made of Honor Sarkar Raj Forgetting Sarah Marshall The Visitor Speed Racers Horton Hears a Who The Fall 21 Nim's Island Then She Found Me Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure Harold & Kumar Escape Guantanamo Prom Night Young@Heart Mongel Son of Rambow College Road Trip Dolphins and Whales 3-D Roman de Gare Forbidden Kingdom Meet the Browns The Children of Huang Shi Drillbit Taylor U2 3D Reprise The Counterfeiters Priceless Bigger, Stronger, Faster The Foot Fist Way War Inc.