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Oh well. That's when happens when studios and producers make movies because they can, and not because they believe in the script, which I guarantee you is what happened with The Return. Somebody looked at the box office figures for The Grudge and said to some poor assistant: "I want to make a PG-13 ghost story with Sarah Michelle Gellar," and they bought the next script that came through their door that fit the bill. Voila, two years later, here we are having this conversation.
See what I mean about paying attention?
So that's my personal little rant. The big box-office story this weekend is obviously Borat, which won the weekend with $29 million. Fox added 1700 theatres, so it's actually up 9%, even though the per screen average fell sharply from $31,000 last weekend to $11,000 this weekend. That's still pretty good, but I bet repeat business and Midwest figures aren't where the execs want it to be. We'll have to see if the buzz carries it much over $100 million (still extraordinary, but I think a slower release pattern would have earned more in the long run).
The Santa Clause 3 came in second with $16.8 million, showing a solid hold, followed by Flushed Away, which was only down 11% to $16.7 million. This time of year is always good for kid and family flicks. Stranger Than Fiction opened at number four with $14.1 million, and a decent $6,000 per screen average. Short of a miraculous Oscar nod for Ferrell, though, this doesn't have a prayer of reaching Ricky Bobby numbers. Saw III fell off another 55% for $6.6 million and a $69.8 million cume, and should finish up very close to Saw II's $87 million. Babel made $5.6 million from 1200 theatres, and will need great word of mouth and award recognition to hit Constant Gardner numbers. The Departed continues to kick ass, making another $5.2 million and raising its cume $109.7 million, Marty's highest grosser by a lot. Numbers like that are making a Best Picture nod all but a sure thing. Clinging to the number 7 spot was Buffy the Box Office Slayer in the aforementioned The Return with a whopping $4.7 million. The Prestige may overtake it in Tuesday's final numbers, as it's right behind with $4.6, down 38%. Nolan's pic isn't doing bang-up business, but it's held up well enough. Clocking in at number ten is Ridley Scott's A Good Year, which is a certifiable bomb for him and Russell Crowe, taking in just $3.7 million. Gladiator seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?
And poor David Ayer's Harsh Times opened well out of the top ten (number 13, to be exact) with $1.8 million and a per screen average of just under $2,000, even lower than analysts already-dismal expectations. The guy mortgaged his house to make the movie, which isn't getting stellar reviews but is supposed to feature a blistering performance by Christian Bale. Ayer sold it to an independent distributor that apparently turned out to be a nightmare, and was quoted in a New York Times article as saying he longs for "the warm, loving embrace of the studios." Jesus- how bad does your experience have to be that you're begging for a studio to cut anything interesting out of a movie you mortgaged your house to make and then market it like The Punisher?
That's it for this week. Tune in next Monday when we find out just how durable 007 is, and if anyone cares about a movie about talking penguins.
Comments (4)
Sutter Cane,
Welcome to TVGasm. I am excited to be able to talk movies here as well as TV.
Interesting analysis, but is it fair to compare box office for "Stranger Than Fiction" with "Ricky Bobby"? We're talking oranges and apples here, and unless someone's been hitting the crack pipe, I doubt anyone at the studio had those kinds of expectations for "Fiction", which I saw this weekend and loved. Wouldn't it be fairer to compare it with similar movies, such as "The Truman Show", "Adaptation", or "Being John Malkovich"?
1 of 4 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on November 13, 2006 12:47 PM
Jason,
You make a good point about Adaptation and Malkovich, which both topped out at $22 million, but The Truman Show did $125, and I bet that's more in line with the studio expected, especially with Ferrell hot off of Talladega Nights. I love Jonze and Kaufman, but their stuff is much further off the commercial radar than Peter Weir and Marc Forster. But the budget for Fiction is only about $38 million, so it'll still be profitable.
2 of 4 | Posted by sutter kane
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Posted on November 13, 2006 3:21 PM
It was great to read your piece here, and it is welcomed to this site. I believe that not only marketing is important, but also if the actors participate in the "sell" of the movie. So many times you don't hear from the actors, like they don't care about what they just did - or they don't like the finished product.
Anyway, I look forward to hearing more of what you have to say. Thanks.
3 of 4 | Posted by may1
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Posted on November 15, 2006 7:35 AM
I agree, Sutter -- much rather see imaginative horror that draws inspiration from Italian and J-horror than the parade of "teenagers menaced by a psychopath" movies that seem to be far more numerous. The J-horror remakes didn't get the exhaustive run that slashers have and I wonder if they're as played out as much as lacking a champion of Ring (1, not 2) quality, the way Saw, Hostel and to a lesser extent, Texas Chainsaw have carried the torture subgenre.
4 of 4 | Posted by Wake Up Sucker
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Posted on November 15, 2006 11:56 PM