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

December 16, 2007 Weekend Estimates Limited Releases Domestic Market Share Will Power They'rrre baaack! Film going rebounded with a vengeance as debuts of the sci-fi classic I Am Legend and the animated Alvin and the Chipmunks entered the marketplace with greater drawing power than expected. The chart toppers opened respectively with estimates of $78.1 million and $44.8 million; paving the way for business that more than doubled last weekend's attendance. The frame saw one other release, but the holiday comedy The Perfect Comedy was indifferently received with $2.2 million. Limited bows including Francis Coppola's Youth Without Youth were soft save for The Kite Runner that opened with a $14,490 theater average from 35 locations. Expectations for I Am Legend were hefty with pundits anticipating a potent $50 million launch. Opening day grosses of $30.7 million ramped up prospects and estimates wound up breaking the all-time bow for a December release. It also contributed to setting a new high mark for a non-holiday session with overall box office of roughly $162 million. Weekend revenues expanded by 105% from the doldrums of seven days earlier and were about 37% improved from 2006. A year ago Legend headliner Will Smith also topped the charts with Pursuit of Happyness debuting to $26.5 million. Openers Eragon and Charlotte's Web followed with respective grosses of $23.2 million and $11.5 million. If Legend was a surprise Alvin and the Chipmunks was a shocker. Prognostications generally saw it debuting to at best $25 million. Some are embracing the movie going surge as a dramatic reversal of fortune that bodes well for the two remaining weekends of 2007. However closer examination of weekend results clearly show the ravages on holdover titles with most taking precipitous falls and none quite as severe as The Golden Compass. That film - clearly envisioned as a trilogy - may just squeak by on international response that has been twice as potent as the domestic record. There was also good news for platforms in a season that has not been kind to films charting strategic expansions. Both the black comic Juno and the epic period drama Atonement added markets and theaters and maintained healthy respective theater averages of $35,500 and $15,720. The first step for The Kite Runner, a bestseller about the resonances of recent Afghan history was also encouraging with a $507,000 tally. Critical response was mixed for Francis Coppola's Youth Without Youth, a uniquely conceived romantic-thriller and its $27,800 box office at six venues was equally ambivalent. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - December 14-16, 2007 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume I Am Legend WB 77.1 (21,380) - 3606 77.1 Alvin and the Chipmunks Fox 44.8 (12,880) - 3475 44.8 The Golden Compass New Line 8.7 (2,470) -66% 3528 40.7 Enchanted BV 5.9 (1,920) -45% 3066 92.2 No Country for Old Men Miramax 2.8 (2,110) -31% 1348 33.4 This Christmas Sony 2.3 (1,180) -54% 1921 46 Fred Claus WB 2.2 (810) -52% 2750 68.9 The Perfect Holiday FreeStyle 2.2 (1,690) - 1307 2.9 Atonement Focus 1.8 (15,720) 131% 117 3 August Rush WB 1.8 (880) -50% 2007 28 Juno Fox Searchlight 1.4 (35,500) 243% 40 2.1 Beowulf Par 1.4 (820) -70% 1659 79.3 Awake MGM 1.2 (840) -64% 1442 13.1 American Gangster Uni 1.1 (890) -58% 1217 127.6 Hitman Fox 1.0 (610) -70% 1687 38.1 Bee Movie Par .73 (450) -72% 1609 122.3 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium Fox .59 (430) -70% 1371 30.1 The Mist MGM .57 (420) -78% 1362 24.9 The Kite Runner Par Vantage .51 (14,490) - 35 0.51 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $158.10 - - - % Change (Last Year) 37% - - - % Change (Last Week) 105% - - - Also debuting/expanding I'm Not There Weinstein Co. .20 (1,340) -43% 149 2.4 Margot at the Wedding Par Vantage .18 (1,460) -25% 121 1.4 The Savages Fox Searchlight 95,200 (9,520) -33% 10 0.53 Youth Without Youth Sony Classics 27,800 (4,630) - 6 0.03 Look Liberated 10,300 (5,150) - 2 0.01 Nanking Thinkfilm 6,200 (6,200) - 1 0.01 Top Limited Releases - To December 13, 2007* Title  Distributor  Gross Waitress Fox Searchlight 19,074,800 Notes on a Scandal Fox Searchlight 16,889,774 Into the Wild Par Vantage 16,326,562 The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (reissue) BV 14,486,897 The Last King of Scotland Fox Searchlight 13,987,084 The Namesake Fox Searchlight 13,569,248 Deep Sea 3-D WB 11,554,409 The Darjeeling Limited Fox Searchlight 11,466,870 The Lives of Others Sony Classics 11,286,112 La Vie en Rose TVA/Picturehouse 10,021,232 Once Fox Searchlight 9,434,509 Volver Sony Class/Seville 8,667,708 Death at a Funeral MGM 8,553,151 El Cantante Picturehouse 7,556,712 The Painted Veil WIP 7,552,537 Bella Roadside Attract. 7,352,156 Away from Her Mongrel/Lions Gate 5,747,729 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Thinkfilm 5,551,127 Rescue Dawn MGM 5,484,401 Lars and the Real Girl MGM 5,391,661 * none greater than 727 playdates   Domestic Market Share - December 13, 2007 Distributor (releases) Gross (Millions) Mkt Share  Paramount (20) 1466.6 16.50% Sony (28) 1223.1 13.80% Buena Vista (19) 1190.3 13.40% Warner Bros. (29) 1181.5 13.30% Universal (19) 1057.3 11.90% Fox (21) 828.8 9.30% New Line (14) 461.7 5.20% Lions Gate (20) 369.1 4.20% MGM (25) 347.6 3.90% Miramax (13) 114.1 1.30% Focus (9) 110.1 1.20% Fox Searchlight (14) 103.9 1.20% Picturehouse (7) 56.9 0.70% Par Vantage (7) 53 0.60% Other * (299) 310.7 3.50% - 8766.2 100.00%