..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Kim
Voynar
..Michael
Wilmington
Good Knight and Good Luck
July 20, 2008
Weekend Estimates
Movie going went batty as The Dark Knight exploded on the scene with an estimated $153.7 million in a record-breaking session. The frenzy almost obscured the feisty and impressive debut of Mamma Mia! that ranked second with $27.6 million while the monkey shines of Space Monkeys were largely ignored with a $7.3 million bow.
Specialized and limited openers included a good Bollywood circuit launch of Kismat Konnection of $260,000 and an encouraging $34,200 start on two for Transsiberian. Other exclusives ranged from good to poor with the best of the bunch repped by the French import Before I Forget that soloed to $8,600.
The enormity of The Dark Knight tracking was largely disbelieved within the industry with some initial estimates predicting slightly less than a $100 million opening weekend gross. However, as showtime loomed, the ante steadily climbed to a more representative range of between $140 million - $160 million. Advance ticket sales were moving at close to an all-time record with the picture representing a tad more than 80% of all pre-sales while the film itself corralled roughly 61% of the weekend box office tally.
Warner Bros. was projecting a marginally stronger 1% domestic start but regardless of what Monday actuals reveal, the margin should be sufficient to give the superhero sequel the best gross for both opening day and the biggest individual weekend debut. It also set an opening weekend high for Imax engagement of $6.2 million with those 94 engagements posting averages twice as potent as those at conventional sites. The studio is also anticipating that it will out-perform the previous Batman Returns in its first six days in domestic release.
Internationally The Dark Knight stepped out selectively in 20 Latin American and Austral-Asia nations to an estimated $40 million. Highlights included grosses of $13.5 in Australia, $5.7 million in Mexico and $3.5 million in Brazil. It also debuted in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The potential potency of Mamma Mia! was signaled by international debuts in 12 countries last weekend that generated close to $25 million. Critics were grudgingly appreciative if derisive of the musical melodrama propelled by the sappy emotional beat of the bygone Abba repertoire. Regardless it proved to be effective counter-programming; drawing heavily on an older female crowd that failed to see the charm of Batman or The Joker.
Weekend box office ballooned to a record non-holiday tally of about $253 million. It was a 70% improvement from seven days earlier; 68% better than this frame last year; and 16% more than the prior peak set during the 2007 launch of The Pirates of the Caribbean finale. One year back the debut of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry led all titles with $34.2 million while the debut of Hairspray ranked third with a Mamma Mia!-like bow of $27.5 million.
Space Chimps was also courting traction as a counter-programmer targeted at pre-teens and families. However, despite some positive critical response the result generated chump change.
The Dark Knight/Mamma Mia! wave only left hold over titles with 25% of the marketplace and that translated into most continuing titles experiencing more than 50% box office declines. Last weekend's leader Hellboy II dipped a steeper 71% with niche titles such as Tell No One and The Wackness bucking the trend as they effectively orchestrated slow roll out strategies.
Weekend Finals - July 18-20, 2008
Title The Dark Knight 158,411,483 - 4366 158,411,483 Mamma Mia! 27,751,240 - 2976 27,751,240 Hancock 14,040,178 -56% 3776 191,543,979 Journey to the Center of the Earth 12,340,435 -41% 2830 43,504,712 Hellboy II: The Golden Army 10,117,815 -71% 3212 56,526,885 Wall-E 10,070,396 -46% 3310 182,732,709 Space Chimps 7,181,374 - 2511 7,181,374 Wanted 5,072,805 -57% 2433 123,322,635 Get Smart 4,125,021 -43% 2135 119,608,695 Kung Fu Panda 1,860,854 -58% 1505 206,616,381 Meet Dave 1,659,424 -68% 3011 9,398,409 Indiana Jones & Kingdom of Crystal Sk 955,846 -58% 757 312,569,461 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl 951,358 -59% 769 13,769,304 Sex and the City 721,152 -55% 515 149,870,455 The Incredible Hulk 626,515 -73% 656 131,767,165 Iron Man 451,838 -52% 375 314,376,968 Tell No One 400,947 61% 55 1,057,050 You Don't Mess with the Zohan 365,667 -66% 261 97,736,720 Kismat Konnection 282,122 - 62 282,122 Mongel 257,411 -52% 195 4,867,490 Cruising Bar 2 170,554 -39% 78 2,563,784 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure 168,658 -6% 46 16,011,239 What Happens in Vegas 167,027 -37% 252 79,516,406 The Happening 165,770 -63% 242 63,736,525 The Visitor 160,251 -40% 133 8,817,732 The Wackness 150,676 -31% 34 742,785 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 140,139 -46% 167 139,640,838 Gonzo: Life & Work of Hunter Thomps 121,748 -24% 57 679,262 Asterix aux jeux Olympiques 119,914 -44% 63 627,711 Speed Racer 112,698 -30% 200 43,740,375 The Strangers 103,670 -42% 192 52,534,295 Dolphins and Whales 3-D 87,278 -11% 13 3,261,094 The Love Guru 86,466 -84% 183 31,805,527 Brick Lane 83,330 -25% 48 547,649 Baby Mama 77,240 -32% 150 60,269,340 Nim's Island 74,945 -18% 127 47,825,500 Made of Honor 67,111 -41% 191 46,676,555 The Last Mistress 66,579 -8% 26 392,896 Encounter at the End of the World 65,900 -17% 39 479,501 Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na 57,122 -65% 29 539,857 Horton Hears a Who 54,939 -22% 122 154,300,828 Forbidden Kingdom 54,715 -25% 145 52,896,830 U2 3D 52,690 20% 8 8,880,139 Magnificent Desolation 47,802 -3% 3 24,648,845 College Road Trip 47,665 -15% 72 45,527,847 Edge of Heaven 46,063 -21% 17 693,119 Roman de Gare 45,564 -22% 30 1,448,734