..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

May 24, 2009 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share Exhibitionists Rivet Robots It was a trip to the Smithsonian rather than a date with doomsday that prevailed with American audiences at the multiplex. Night at the Museum 2 posted an estimated $53.4 million while Terminator Salvation brought in $43.3 million during the first three days of the Memorial weekend holiday. The impressive showdown nonetheless fell slightly short of last year’s tally. The session also saw an OK result of $10.9 million for the teen Terpsichore's spoof Dance Flick, which ranked fifth overall. Among incoming alternative fare the best in show was the stylish Easy Virtue, which grossed $102,400 from 10 screens. Also displaying niche appeal was The Girlfriend Experience with a shade under $150,000 from 30 exposures. As in recent weekends expectations proved greater than reality with industry pundits and insiders projecting a tight race between the two highly anticipated franchises with final four-day figures between $70 million and $80 million. Night at the Museum 2 appears headed toward a $65 million-plus holiday gross while Terminator Salvation should generate $50 million (plus an additional $13.4 million from Thursday box office). Recent history forces one to conclude that early holiday starts spread out box office rather than creating a snowball effect. Total weekend box office should generate roughly $215 million but fall short of the 2008 gross by about 3%. Last year Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had the field to itself and exploded with a $126.9 million debut. A month into the summer movie season it’s been nothing but retreads and reinventions of past movie stalwarts and while that’s generated record lucre it’s also a cause for some upcoming queasiness. Historically the greatest seasonal box office boosts have derived from playlists where the tilt is toward new franchises and original fare. The last time summer was front-loaded with sequels and their ilk the season got off to its fastest start and then sputtered along as it approached Labor Day. The summer film season was once described to me by a studio executive as a trip to an amusement park with a lot of nifty thrill rides. He somewhat disdainfully painted the major’s strategy as rooted in the belief that filmgoers will buy tickets for every last attraction on the midway (excuse the mixed metaphor). The reality is closer to a burn out no doubt exacerbated by too many corn dogs and cotton candy. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - May 22-24, 2009 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume Night at the Museum 2 Fox 53.4 (13,030) - 4096 53.3 Terminator Salvation WB 43.3 (12,270) - 3530 59.7* Star Trek Par 21.8 (5,380) -49% 4053 177.1 Angels and Demons Sony 21.2 (6,020) -54% 3527 81.3 Dance Flick Par 10.9 (4,470) - 2450 10.9 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fox 7.5 (2,360) -49% 3183 162.8 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past WB 3.6 (1,610) -45% 2255 45.8 Obsessed Sony 1.9 (1,200) -58% 1603 65.8 Monsters vs. Aliens Par 1.3 (910) -59% 1434 192.9 17 Again WB 1.0 (890) -71% 1107 60.3 The Soloist Par .83 (1,260) -65% 654 29.2 Next Day Air Summit .57 (1,050) -75% 542 8.9 Hannah Montana: The Movie BV .46 (730) -71% 628 76.8 Earth BV .43 (690) -75% 619 30.4 The Brothers Bloom Summit .38 (7,400) 309% 52 0.5 State of Play Uni .33 (1,190) -66% 278 36.2 Fast & Furious Uni .31 (820) -61% 378 153.5 Under the Sea 3D WB .28 (6,950) 0% 40 8.3 Race to Witch Mountain BV .27 (880) 82% 310 65.3 Rudo y Cursi Sony Classics .26 (1,760) -41% 149 1.1 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $167.20 - - - % Change (Last Year) -- -3% -- -- -- % Change (Last Week) -- 26% -- -- -- Also debuting/expanding The Girlfriend Experience Magnolia .15 (4,910) - 30 0.15 Management IDP .13 (1,240) -65% 106 0.64 Easy Virtue Sony Classics .10 (10,240) 10 0.1 Limits of Control Focus 39,800 (1,990) -14% 21 0.26 O'Horten Sony Classics 22,400 (2,800) -- 8 0.02 The Boys: Sherman Brothers BV 12,600 (6,300) -- 5 0.01 Burma VJ Oscilloscope 4,800 (4,800) -- 1 0.01 *Cume reflects Thursday opening           Top Limited Releases - January 1 - May 21, 2009 Title Distributor (releases) Gross (millions) The Wrestler * Fox Searchlight 25,068,864 Milk * Focus 17,246,974 Sunshine Cleaning Overture 11,313,290 Under the Sea 3D WB 8,058,136 Entre les murs (The Class) Sony Classics 3,748,977 Two Lovers Magnolia 3,099,149 Rachel Getting Married * Sony Classics 2,696,170 Waltz with Bashir * Sony Class/E1 2,174,364 Sin Nombre Focus 2,174,123 Che * IFC/E1 2,027,381 Gomorrah IFC/E1 1,780,341 Magnificent Desolation * Imax 1,617,058 Dede a travers les brumes Seville 1,502,220 Space Station * Imax 1,461,004 Polytechnique Alliance 1,436,053 Is Anybody There? Story Island 1,319,161 La Sonnambula Fathom 1,265,196 Sea Monsters - Prehistoric Adventure * nWave 1,216,910 One Week Mongrel 1,106,425 Madama Butterfly Fathom 1,088,022 * does not include 2008 box office