..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
Torpid Racer!
May 11, 2008
Weekend Finals
Iron Man rigidly held sway in the marketplace despite a 49% box office decline with an estimated $50.2 million gross. That proved to be bad news for the bow of Speed Racer that was expected to rank a close second but wound up fighting a hard race with the romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas. Estimates place Vegas marginally ahead at $20.1 million but within a statistical margin of error that could reverse the order when actuals are reported Monday.
The frame also saw a number of expansions as well as a clutch of newcomers in regional and niche exploitation. The fantasy adventure The Fall racked up very good initial response of $72,700 from nine venues while the literary adaptation of The Stone Angel on a comparable number of screens grossed $53,200 in Canada. There was also a buoyant bow for the indie drama After the Rains of $44,300 at six sites and OK returns of $24,500 for the French spy parody OSS 117 - Cairo, Nest of Spies in seven exploits. The non-fiction Surfwise crested the wave with $9,650 from a single screen and pre-Juno Ellen Page in The Tracy Fragments generated $3,500 from one Manhattan screen following a $50,000 gross in Canada.
Overall revenues bumped up 17% from 2007 on estimates of $125 million while declining 23% from last week's Iron Man launch. Twelve months back Spider-Man 3 ruled with a $58.2 million sophomore session with freshmen entries 28 Weeks Later and Georgia Rule eating the dust with respective tallies of $9.8 million and $6.8 million.
Apart from the frame's new entries, industry eyes were focused on how steep a decline Iron Man would experience. Pundits braced for a 60% hit but in light of diminished competition the comic book fugitive could boast of a slightly better than 50% rigor.
It's unclear what messages Speed Racer's studio was receiving but clearly they were not positive and one suspects both tracking studies and preview responses contributed to lowered expectations leading up to opening day. The ad campaign presumed little more than its title was necessary as a lure and that proved ill-founded as the film struggled to $20 million in its debut. Officially, Warner Bros. is "disappointed" and concerned that its audience is "very young" and those kids that adored the television anime appear to have focused their nostalgia on another pulp hero.
What Happens in Vegas conversely made all the right moves including a sneak preview to build up word of mouth. While critics were not particularly impressed, audiences found sufficient humor and chemistry in the mix to surpass target projections.
The situation internationally reflected an even sharper contrast between Speed and Vegas. Both films bowed in such countries as Spain, Germany and the U.K. and in each instance Vegas outpaced the hotrodder by three to five times. Vegas also beat Iron Man for weekend bragging rights in Germany and Spain but Speed Racer ranked second to the sturdy superhero in Mexico and Brazil.
Slow roll outs for such specialized fare as The Visitor, Young@Heart and Son of Rambow continue to weather well in these early days of summer. However, the rapid expansion of Redbelt proved to be a dud as it expanded from six to 1,379 venues and instantly discovered despite its martial arts backdrop that it had decidedly niche limitations.
Among new entries The Fall that had been much ballyhooed at Toronto in 2006 finally found distribution and initial response was encouraging for its commercial struggle. OSS 117 - Cairo, Nest of Spies also had its travails finding an outlet following enthusiastic response on the festival circuit. One imagines its mix of slapstick and parody will compare favorably when agent Max Smart hits screens next month.
Weekend Finals - May 9-11, 2008
Title Iron Man 51,190,629 -48% 4111 177,825,024 What Happens in Vegas 20,172,474 - 3215 20,172,474 Speed Racers 18,561,337 - 3606 18,561,337 Made of Honor 8,116,323 -45% 2734 26,791,494 Baby Mama 6,225,790 -38% 2627 40,836,370 Forgetting Sarah Marshall 3,837,240 -37% 2376 50,781,745 Harold & Kumar Escape Guantanamo 3,106,424 -49% 2264 30,667,308 Forbidden Kingdom 2,169,323 -48% 1724 48,530,104 Nim's Island 1,463,622 -45% 1601 44,395,857 Prom Night 1,012,986 -58% 1465 42,785,107 Redbelt 1,012,435 - 1379 1,109,674 21 851,385 -57% 978 80,434,035 The Visitor 729,212 20% 217 2,475,492 Horton Hears a Who 605,347 -55% 770 150,699,120 88 Minutes 534,104 -65% 625 16,460,014 Drillbit Taylor 508,095 -30% 267 31,760,807 Then She Found Me 467,577 103% 153 890,591 Young@Heart 388,928 23% 145 1,444,646 10,000 B.C. 347,407 128% 409 94,042,448 Bhoothnath 330,246 - 64 330,246 Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed 328,836 -51% 402 7,235,324 Street Kings 240,553 -66% 297 25,649,703 Leatherheads 239,445 -58% 424 30,730,820 Son of Rambow 154,151 187% 36 227,154 The Counterfeiters 148,775 -27% 122 4,661,883 The Spiderwick Chronicles 139,068 -35% 218 71,334,121 Smart People 137,843 -58% 163 9,204,863 Fool's Gold 137,264 -18% 216 70,057,055 Jumper 127,459 56% 124 79,617,110 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventur 125,148 -22% 47 12,475,078 The Bucket List 105,380 -21% 169 93,223,440 Under the Same Moon 98,682 -49% 138 12,273,323 Dans une galaxie pres de chez vous 2 91,143 -65% 79 1,448,144 Fugitive Pieces 86,402 -15% 38 219,576 U2 3D 85,013 7% 10 7,867,852 The Fall 79,611 - 9 79,611 Priceless 76,895 -20% 38 1,085,673 Vantage Point 74,090 -42% 152 72,914,605 Superhero Movie 73,170 -64% 131 25,380,619 Meet the Browns 71,761 -52% 103 42,047,149 Dolphins and Whales 3-D 71,472 -11% 14 1,489,666 Shine a Light 70,456 -75% 61 5,031,562 Never Back Down 69,460 -52% 120 24,685,255 National Treasure: Book of Secrets 66,543 -10% 115 219,548,127 Roman de Gare 64,516 186% 15 134,098 Deception 63,219 -93% 126 4,427,267 College Road Trip 62,778 -46% 147 43,572,241 The Ruins 62,651 -56% 100 17,037,079 Mama est chez les coiffeurs 61,848 -60% 42 277,835 My Blueberry Nights 56,806 21% 57 551,857 The Stone Angel 55,182 - 8 55,182 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 49,873 -29% 98 12,229,144 Flawless 49,256 -14% 48