The Weekend Report: November 15, 2009

Critics were derisive of 2012 but the new age apocalyptic disaster saga was warmly embraced by the public to an estimated debut of $63.7 million. The competition largely steered clear of the cinematic tsunami though the oft-delayed rock valentine Pirate Radio went limited wide to OK returns of $2.9 million.

The frame also saw a near capacity response to the stop-motion romp The Fantastic Mr. Fox of $253,000 from four venues and continuing potency for Precious as it expanded from 18 to 174 theaters. A couple of American independents dramas bowed to encouraging box office in exclusive release. The critically lauded war-related The Messenger posted an $11,350 average in four situations while Uncertainty grossed $14,100 from a Manhattan solo. Also good in a single exposure was the non-fiction An End to Poverty? With $10,600 while a pair of new Bollywood entries turned in dull response.

Overall the session experienced a nice bump from last weekend but saw another decline from the 2008 playbook.

Reviewers likened the combination of special effects and melodrama in 2012 to the work of bygone genre specialist Irwin Allen. Pundits were cautiously optimistic about the picture’s commercial prospects with a few expecting the worst … commercially. But the slightly retro tilt proved to be an audience magnet with opening day sweeping in with roughly $23.5 million.

However, if domestic was boffo, international was multi bene with initial estimates of $160 million from 105 countries (Japan was the only major territory not in the first vanguard). The film ranked among the biggest international debuts of all time with such heady grosses as $17.5 million in France, $15.3 in Russia and $12.3 million in Mainland China.

Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked) -- inspired by the likes of illegal off-shore floating broadcaster Radio Caroline from the 1960s -- has been treated like a hot potato since its debut in Europe in May. It’s Brit-centricness saw it bounce from Universal to Focus and its opening was incrementally delayed from an initial August launch. Some expected a more potent opener but insider expectations were pretty much on target.

The frame generated revenues just shy of $140 million for an upturn of 14% from seven days earlier. However, it was 6% off the 2008 pace when Quantum of Solace debuted to $67.5 million and the second weekend of Madagascar 2 added $35 million.

The second weekend of A Christmas Carol held up well with a 25% erosion while the rest of the national holdovers saw slippage generally ranging from one-third to one-half.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox put its paw in the water and found the temperate quite soothing. Its $63,350 average from four screens bodes well for its expansion in 10-days cued to the Thanksgiving holiday. Though it’s hardly been an uninterrupted strong of hits for recent platform releases, the success of everything from Paranormal Activity to Precious is likely to see more such strategies; especially during what have become non-traditional periods in the release calendar. Everything old is definitely new again.

by Leonard Klady