..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

November 18, 2007 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share Wulf at the Door The venerable Nordic saga Beowulf handily led the frame with a debut estimated at $27.5 million. However, other premieres proved less fulsome including just fair results of $9.9 million for the family friendly Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and a dull $1.9 million for the long gestating adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera. Overall business continued to experience audience erosion. Niche debuts also reflected feast or famine results with the latter exemplified in the $80,000 tally for Margot at the Wedding in two locations. Conversely the omnibus drama Southland Tales and the Iraq war vignette Redacted struggled unsuccessfully to draw in an audience with both falling short of a $2,000 theater average from respectively 63 and 13 playdates. Expectations were high for Beowulf bolstered by the surprise potency of 300 earlier in the year. Tracking prognostications ranged between $30 million and $35 million but the bygone tale of blood and passion fell slightly short of anticipation. Less surprising was the grossing chasm between the roughly 650 theaters in 3-D and/or Imax and the 2,500 plus conventional engagements. According to the distributor the enhanced versions accounted for roughly 40% of the picture's box office. Weekend revenues should clock in at close to $107 million that rolled back 7% from the prior weekend. That was a more extreme 27% plummet from 2006 when Happy Feet and Casino Royale duked it out for respective openings of $41.5 million and $40.8 million. The steady decline since Labor Day coupled with current and anticipated talent strikes has rattled the industry and the current yearly cume of $8.38 billion has whittled down to a 4.8% advance (and flat attendance) from 12 months ago. Holdover fare generally experienced slightly sharper drops than has been the norm. American Gangster became the first fall release to garner a $100 million domestic gross and Bee Movie will pass that mark next weekend but no other film currently in the marketplace will hit that benchmark. Fred Claus had one of the better holds of the frame and that contributed to the less than stellar debut of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium that's targeted kids and parents for the upcoming Thanksgiving box office burst. Both films will square off against Enchanted that's expected to reign in the turkey trot. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's beloved novel Love in the Time of Cholera has daunted film adaptation for two decades and most critics would argue the eventual screen adaptation squandered the source's power and emotion. Audiences largely gave it a pass, opting instead for the first platform of No Country for Old Men. Most of the early fall platforms have peaked early and the few that include Bella and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead that remain on the ascendant cannot see the start of December award accolades too soon. In the coming weeks I'm Not There, Atonement, The Kite Runner, Youth Without Youth and There Will Be Blood will also jump on the kudos bandwagon. Controversial festival favorite Redacted that's culled from current Iraq War experiences failed to turn the tide for recent hot button movies. As with last year's acclaimed United 93, audiences here and abroad are loath to see contemporary tales that hit close to home emotionally and politically. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - November 9-11, 2007 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume Beowulf Par 27.5 (8,730) - 3153 27.5 Bee Movie Par 14.4 (3,610) -44% 3984 93.9 American Gangster Uni 13.4 (4,310) -44% 3110 101.2 Fred Claus WB 12.3 (3,410) -34% 3603 36.1 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Fox 9.9 (3,123) - 3164 9.9 Dan in Real Life BV 4.4 (2,320) -26% 1901 37 No Country for Old Men Miramax 3.0 (20,540) 148% 148 4.9 Lions for Lambs MGM 2.7 (1,200) -60% 2216 11.4 Saw IV Lions Gate 2.2 (1,030) -56% 2097 61.7 Love in the Time of Cholera New Line 1.9 (2,180) - 852 1.9 The Game Plan BV 1.2 (850) -52% 1374 87.4 Bella Roadside Attract. 1.1 (2,350) 17% 456 5.1 Michael Clayton WB 1.0 (1,420) -42% 695 37.1 Om Shanti Om Eros .94 (8,030) -47% 117 3.1 30 Days of Nights Sony .91 (1,000) -58% 915 39.1 P2 Summit .86 (440) -59% 1938 3.6 Into the Wild Par Vantage .82 (1,600) -26% 511 13.9 Gone Baby Gone Miramax .81 (1,530) -44% 530 18.4 Why Did I Get Married? Lions Gate .78 (1,240) -47% 629 54.4 Across the Universe Sony .58 (1,250) -36% 464 23.3 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Thinkfilm .55 (3,640) -17% 151 2.1 Lars and the Real Girl MGM .53 (2,170) -25% 244 4.2 The Darjeeling Limited Fox Searchlight .52 (1,820) -41% 285 10.2 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $102.30 - - - % Change (Last Year) -- -27% - - - % Change (Last Week) - -7% -- -- -- Also debuting/expanding Southland Tales IDP .12 (1,780) - 63 0.12 Margot at the Wedding Par Vantage 79,600 (39,800) - 2 0.08 Dialogue avec mon jardinier Equinoxe 33,200 (3,690) - 9 0.03 Redacted Magnolia 22,800 (1,760) - 13 0.02 Breakfast with Scot Mongrel 9,820 (3,270) - 3 0.01 Smiley Face First Look 5,700 (5,700) - 1 0.01 Eleven Men Out Regent 1,010 (1,010) - 1 0.01 Domestic Releases - To November 15, 2007 Title Distributor Gross Spider-Man 3 Sony 336,635,065 Shrek the Third Par 323,109,978 Transformers Par 319,272,199 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End BV 309,481,737 Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix WB 291,829,680 The Bourne Ultimatum Uni 227,077,350 300 WB 210,702,543 Ratatouille BV 205,978,785 The Simpsons Movie Fox 183,017,628 Wild Hogs BV 168,602,747 Knocked Up Uni 148,835,304 Rush Hour 3 NLC 140,125,968 Live Free or Die Hard Fox 134,529,403 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Fox 131,921,738 Night at the Museum * Fox 125,041,114 Superbad Sony 121,733,216 I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry Uni 120,039,902 Hairspray NLC 119,382,487 Blades of Glory Par 118,628,332 Ghost Rider Sony 117,257,346   Domestic Market Share - November 15, 2007 Distributor (releases) Gross (millions) Mrkt Share Paramount (18) 1346.3 16.30% Sony (27) 1174.9 14.20% Warner Bros. (28) 1107.7 13.40% Buena Vista (18) 1087.1 13.10% Universal (19) 1016.9 12.30% Fox (19) 761.7 9.20% New Line (12) 423.6 5.10% Lions Gate (20) 363.1 4.40% MGM (23) 303.1 3.70% Focus (8) 108.3 1.30% Fox Searchlight (12) 100.9 1.20% Miramax (9) 82.7 1.00% Picturehouse (7) 56.9 0.70% Paramount Vantage (6) 48.5 0.60% Other * (275) 289.7 3.50% - 8271.4 100.00%