..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

December 14, 2008 Weekend Finals Domestic Market Share Top Domestic Releases The Day the Box Office Stood Still A sturdy debut estimated at $31.4 million for The Day the Earth Stood Still wasn’t enough to stave an overall box office downturn as 2008 creeps toward closure. The session also featured an okay bow of $3.7 million for the seasonal Nothing Like the Holidays, which ranked sixth in the lineup. However, it was no show for the animated Delgo as it squeaked to a $470,000 gross from 2160 theaters. With Christmas looming the action was centered on niche and platform releases keyed to the award season. One of the most anticipated titles on the Bollywood scene -- Rab Ne Bana di Jodi -- did not disappoint with an opening salvo of $1.1 million. Similarly, a clutch of pedigree titles displayed potent initial strength. On a per engagement basis, Clint Eastwood’s “Geezer Harry” in Gran Torino was tops with a $45,300 average at six shootouts; the guilt-laden Doubt registered a $33,800 average from 15 confessionals; Che revolutionized $28,150 each at two venues and The Reader parsed a $21,500 average gross at eight sittings. Even in this crowded field the independent drama Wendy and Lucy managed a respectable $17,200 from two exclusive engagements. But overall weekend revenues of roughly $92 million translated into a 44% decline from 2007 when the openings of I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks generated industry smiles with respective debuts of $77.2 million and $44.3 million. The year-to-date maintains a slim 0.8% edge from last year and the possibility that economic malaise could translate into annual box office that’s flat with admissions declining by at least 5%. The remake of the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still had shown considerable interest in tracking studies in the past month. Online advance ticketing on Fandango had the cautionary tale dominating with 51% of sales leading up to opening day and its appeal to young males was seen as a contributing factor in the push-back of the Will Smith vehicle Seven Pounds. TDTEST also bowed internationally to an estimated $39 million tally including openings in 11 major countries where it ranked first in the marketplace. Providing a Hispanic twist to seasonal cheer in Nothing Like the Holidays didn’t quite provide the intended crossover boost but the film could benefit from word of mouth in the coming weeks. Delgo -- a rather adult tale of urban justice -- simply failed to reach any sort of audience. Once again Milk and Slumdog Millionaire -- both recent award winners from critics groups -- added theaters and maintained strong interest. They were joined by Frost/Nixon, which has also been enlivened by early kudos. And that upscale field has ballooned in the current session with entries from Eastwood, Soderbergh, John Patrick Shanley and Stephen Daldry. The quartet of freshmen entries all posted better-than-encouraging returns but each faces considerable hurdles in the weeks ahead and the odds of all of them successfully platforming into mainstream successes is, frankly, unlikely. In addition to upcoming mainstream competition, the films will be butting heads with other demanding niche titles including Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler, as well as such straddlers as Valkyrie and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. - Leonard Klady Weekend Finals - December 12-14, 2008 Title Distrib Weekend % Change* Theaters Cume Wks 1 New The Day the Earth Stood Still Fox 30,480,153 - 3560 30,480,153 1 2 1 Four Christmases WB 13,074,470 -22% 3540 87,775,974 3 3 2 Twilight Summit 7,951,131 -39% 3649 150,045,826 4 4 3 Bolt BVI 7,464,282 -24% 3133 88,849,005 4 5 4 Australia Fox 4,169,277 -41% 2703 37,767,253 3 6 5 Quantum of Solace Sony   3,715,522 -45% 2635 157,583,232 5 7 New Nothing Like the Holidays Overture 3,531,664 - 1671 3,531,664 1 8 6 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Par 3,181,231 -37% 2768 169,937,394 6 9 11 Milk Focus 2,598,638 42% 328 7,590,976 3 10 7 Transporter 3 Lions Gate 2,351,229 -50% 2541 29,377,088 3 11 12 Slumdog Millionaire Fox Searchlight 2,175,518 55% 169 8,048,764 5 12 9 Cadillac Ranch Sony   1,585,407 -54% 688 5,909,492 2 13 10 Role Models Uni 1,543,625 -40% 1328 64,133,465 7 14 8 Punisher: War Zone Lions Gate 1,383,898 -68% 2508 7,011,427 2 15 New Rab Ne Bana di Jodi Yash Raj 911,711 - 83 911,711 1 16 13 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Miramax 685,465 -33% 679 7,763,062 6 17 23 Frost/Nixon Uni 626,377 247% 39 873,836 2 18 New Delgo FreeStyle 511,920 - 2160 511,920 1 19 New Doubt Miramax 507,226 - 15 507,226 1 20 New Gran Torino WB 271,720 6 271,720 1 21 14 Changeling Uni 256,840 -49% 393 35,161,607 8 22 17 Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics 221,323 -22% 151 9,560,874 11 23 25 The Polar Express (reissue) WB 198,404 27% 26 720,745 4 24 30 Eagle Eye Par 198,135 75% 320 100,639,704 12 25 16 Babine Alliance 179,016 -44% 74 1,231,645 3 26 New The Reader Weinstein Co. 168,051 - 8 179,970 1 27 18 Fireproof IDP 147,543 -41% 346 32,938,242 12 28 21 The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight 114,061 -48% 271 37,208,667 9 29 22 The Dark Knight WB 112,253 -40% 205 530,723,626 22 30 24 Synecdoche, New York Sony Classics 104,777 -36% 97 2,430,402 8 31 26 I've Loved You So Long Sony Class/Metro 102,590 -29% 46 1,842,789 13 32 19 High School Musical 3: Senior Year BV 101,527 -58% 260 89,302,354 8 33 20 Zack and Mira Make a Porno Weinstein Co. 100,786 -55% 163 31,047,926 7 34 27 Happy-Go-Lucky Mrmx 86,872 -38% 144 3,014,482 10 35 31 Let the Right One In Magnolia 76,549 -27% 53 1,132,898 8 36 29 Beverly Hills Chihuahua BV 70,981 -38% 173 92,338,383 11 37 32 A Christmas Tale IFC 61,982 -32% 43 719,193 5 38 New Che IFC 61,070 - 2 61,070 1 39 33 Lakeview Terrace Sony 52,260 -31% 140 40,091,053 13 40 28 Soul Men MGM 49,944 -63% 95 11,966,888 6 41 36 Max Payne Fox 45,734 -18% 121 40,589,549 9 42 34 Igor MGM 45,700 -30% 118 19,389,266 13 43 54 Vicky Christina Barcelona Weinstein Co. 40,479 72% 28 80,864 1 44 38 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure nWave 40,333 -20% 21 20,086,485 63 45 35 Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist Sony 32,737 -44% 101 31,894,655 11 46 40 Burn After Reading Focus 32,481 -28% 57 60,301,580 14 47 RE Santa vs. the Snowman (reissue) Imax 31,184 - 13 190,776 5 48 39 Wall-E BV 30,820 -34% 123 223,749,872 25 49 53 RockNRolla WB 28,624 14% 123 5,665,302 10 50 48 JCVD Peace Arch 27,441 -47% 26 382,923 6 51 44 Body of Lies WB 24,176 -35% 37 39,015,553 10 52 45 Religulous Lions Gate 21,664 -39% 42 12,995,673 11 53 41 The Duchess Par Vantage 20,169 -55% 66 13,859,147 13 54 46 The Family That Preys Lions Gate 19,742 -44% 62 37,599,924 14 55 57 Magnificent Desolation Imax 19,543 -5% 5 26,706,092 169 56 60 Deep Sea 3-D WB 19,374 4% 10 37,085,889 146 57 43 Appaloosa WB 18,789 -53% 65 20,030,803 13 58 61 My Name is Bruce Image Ent. 18,238 6% 2 173,064 7 59 New Wendy and Lucy Oscilloscope 18,218 -- 2 25,443 1 60 51 City of Ember Fox 16,760 -40% 63 7,807,276 10 61 15 Nobel Son FreeStyle 16,603 -95% 99 529,934 2 Source: MCN/EDI   Estimates - December 12-14, 2008 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume The Day the Earth Stood Still Fox 31.4 (8,820) - 3560 31.4 Four Christmases WB 13.1 (3,690) -33% 3540 87.8 Twilight Summit 7.8 (2,130) -40% 3649 149.9 Bolt BV 7.6 (2,430) -22% 3133 89 Australia Fox 4.2 (1,540) -41% 2703 37.8 Nothing Like the Holidays Overture 3.7 (2,240) - 1671 3.7 Quantum of Solace Sony 3.7 (1,400) -46% 2635 157.6 Madagascar: Back 2 Africa Par 3.2 (1,160) -37% 2768 170 Milk Focus 2.5 (7,620) 36% 328 7.5 Transporter 3 Lions Gate 2.2 (860) -53% 2541 29.2 Slumdog Millionaires Fox Searchlight 2.1 (12,480) 50% 169 8 Cadillac Records Sony 1.5 (2,230) -56% 688 5.8 Role Models Uni 1.5 (1,130) -41% 1328 64.1 Punisher: War Zone Lions Gate 1.3 (510) -70% 2508 6.9 Rab Ne Bana de Jodi Yash Raj 1.1 (10,760) - 105 1.1 Boy in the Striped Pajamas Miramax .69 (1,020) -33% 679 7.8 Frost/Nixon Uni .63 (16.050) 246% 39 0.88 Doubt Miramax .51 (33,800) - 15 0.51 Delgo FreeStyle .47 (220) - 2160 0.47 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - $88.70 - - - % Change (Last Year) - -44% - - - % Change (Last Week) - 13% - - - Also debuting/expanding Gran Torino WB .27 (45,330) - 6 0.27 Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics .22 (1,460) -59% 151 9.6 The Reader Weinstein Co. .17 (21,500) - 8 0.17 Che IFC 56,300 (28,150) - 2 0.06 Wendy and Lucy Oscilloscope 17,200 (8,600) - 2 0.02 Dark Streets IDP 9,600 (530) - 18 0.01 What Doesn't Kill You Yari 5,100 (2,550) - 2 0.01 Timecrimes Magnolia 3,900 (1,950) - 2 0.01 Where God Left His Shoes IFC 2,600 (2,600) - 1 0.01 While She Was Out Anchor Bay 2,400 (480) - 5 0.01 Domestic Market Share - To December 4, 2008 Distributor (releases) Gross Mrkt Share Warner Bros. (27) 1660.8 18.40% Paramount (16) 1516.2 16.80% Sony (25) 1215.9 13.50% Universal (21) 1072.8 11.90% Buena Vista (17) 929.8 10.30% Fox (22) 862.8 9.60% Lions Gate (20) 419.2 4.60% Summit (5) 197.7 2.20% Fox Searchlight (8) 196.8 2.20% Focus (7) 130.1 1.40% MGM (16) 119.3 1.30% Overture (6) 95.7 1.10% Paramount Vantage (11) 86.8 1.00% Miramax (9) 68.1 0.70% Picturehouse (7) 63.3 0.70% New Line (4) 61.8 0.70% Other * (312) 324.6 3.60% * none greater than 0.5% 9021.7 100.00% Top Limited Grossers - To December 11, 2008 Title Distributor Gross Vicky Christina Barcelona MGM 22,524,653 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure nWave 14,360,905 Religulous Lions Gate 12,974,009 Under the Same Moon Weinstein Co. 12,590,147 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Focus 12,413,165 Fly Me to the Moon Summit 12,385,637 U2 3D nWave 9,642,039 The Visitor Overture 9,427,089 Rachel Getting Married Sony Classics 9,339,551 In Bruges Focus 7,800,824 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Mrmx 7,077,597 The Orphanage Picture/Christal 6,894,612 Tell No One Music Box/E1 6,468,156 Brideshead Reisited Mrmx 6,448,127 Slumdog Millionaire Fox Searchlight 5,873,246 Mongol Picturehouse 5,705,761 The Counterfeiters Sony Classics 5,488,570 Shine a Light Par Vantage 5,421,098 Dolphins and Whales 3D 3D Entertainment 5,163,693 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Mrmx 5,064,793 Milk Focus 4,992,338