The Weekend Report: October 4, 2009

Zombieland sprung to life to lead weekend ticket sales with an estimated $24.8 million. The session also saw good results of $12.6 million for a 3-D combo of the Toy Story films but there were lesser signs of stamina for the comic The Invention of Lying of $7.3 million and a $4.8 million tally for the roller derby yarn Whip It.

Sales improved from last weekend but lagged behind the comparable 2008 frame. The weekend also saw an effect expansion for Capitalism: A Love Story that grossed $4.6 million and a sturdy $42,330 theater average for A Serious Man from six initial playdates. The debut of the basketball odyssey More Than a Game looked like a contender with $201,000 from 14 courts and on the Bollywood circuit Wake Up Sid was upbeat while Do Not Disturb lived up to its title.

Getting a jump on Halloween, Zombieland hit a bullseye with the young male audience that’s largely been ignored in the past month. A deft combination of spoof and thrills, the low budget romp had been expected to lead in the charts with at minimum a $20 million gross. Strong exit polls hold out the promise for a better than average second weekend drop.

The lack of precedent had pundits guesstimating anywhere from an $8 million to a $15 million launch for the 3-D pairing of the two Toy Story films. Obviously benefitting from the stereoscopic addition, the double bill also served as an advance reminder for the third Toy Story scheduled for next summer. But some mavens felt that part of the equation would have been better accomplished with a first quarter 2010 release date.

Ricky Gervais continued to plot his transition from the small to big screen with The Invention of Lying. And though critical response was tepid, he does appear to be making at least baby steps in that direction. Reviewers were kinder to Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It but the idiosyncratic realm of female roller skaters proved to be not terribly intriguing to the masses.

Weekend sales rang in with roughly $108 million that translated into a 12% boost from seven days past. However, it lagged behind 2008 by 7%. A year ago the debut of Beverly Hills Chihuahua led with $29.3 million and another freshman -- Nick and Nora’s Ultimate Playlist -- ranked third with $11.3 million.

With the awards season in sight, one can see the beginnings of strategic calendar placement. The acclaimed Bright Star continues to expand but already one can see the sort of limited crossover appeal that plagued The Hurt Locker during the summer. One senses that other esteemed early entries including the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man could suffer the same fate as well as The Boys Are Back and Capitalism: A Love Story from provocateur Michael Moore.

The one left field surprise in recent weeks is the chiller Paranormal Activity, an ultra low budget acquisition that Paramount has been effectively exploiting with midnight screening. Plans are for expansion to regular runs next weekend and early buzz and tweets suggest the slow and unconventional roll out strategy will translate commercially.

by Leonard Klady