January 1, 2008

Box Office Update 12/28-12/30: National Treasure: Book of Secrets Holds on to the Top Spot

The final weekend of 2007 proved to be a profitable one for the industry, with a take that is up well over last year and even more dramatically higher than 2006. The top three films of the week all topped $25 million, and you have to go all the way down to seventh place to find a gross that fell beneath $10 million. Yes, it was a good weekend. Movie lovers turned out in droves to patronize a generally solid group of films.

The top film this weekend was also last week's champion. National Treasure: Book of Secrets is proving to be a bona fide hit. It has crossed the $124 million plateau and would seem to be well on its way to a final tally north of $200 million. Is the movie worthy? Yes and no. On one hand, this is a fun adventure that is safe for the whole family and provides plenty of big screen flash. On the other hand, it is rather silly, ludicrous, and much of the history is suspect. It truly falls under the category of popcorn flick.

Following up the Nicolas Cage vehicle is the surprise family hit Alvin and the Chipmunks. I have to assume that the studio was hoping for a take in the neighborhood of the first Garfield film ($75 million). What they are getting is much, much larger. It opened strong, north of $45 million, and is now heading across $150 million mark. I don't think anyone could have predicted the positive response. Even more surprising is that the movie is not all that bad, it could even be called good.

The third top film is currently on the cusp of $200 million. I Am Legend has proven to be another huge hit for Will Smith. The movie is quite good, at least until the too fast finish, and features an impressive performance from Smith. A final take north of $250 million is not out of the question.

While the strength of the returning films is all well and good, there were two new films entering the top ten. First, in sixth place, is Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, sequel to the 2004 hit. It is an entertaining film that is a small step up from the original yet comes nowhere near the best of the source franchises. It opened on Christmas day with more than $9 million, but it appears to be fading fast and will likely struggle to match the $80 million take of the original. However, it will likely do well on DVD and recoup its losses there.

The other new release is The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. It is a family film based on a novel from the author if Babe. I cannot comment on its quality, not having seen it yet. However, it has reviewed well and could demonstrate decent legs to carry it to a respectable tally.

There is also a returning film whose performance should be noted. Juno is fast becoming the 2007 version of Little Miss Sunshine. It is an indie film that has received strong reviews and is doing very well due to strong word of mouth. It is still in the process of rolling out to a wide release and has already spent a couple of weeks on the top ten as its gross increases. It is an absolutely wonderful film (and Roger Ebert's pick for best of 2007) that you cannot help but fall in love with.

This Friday sees one new film head into wide release, the remake of the Japanese thriller One Missed Call. Also, Atonement adds another 500 locations and Juno reaches a full-fledged wide release, so expect them to have strong showings as well.

Two movies dropped off the top ten this week: The Golden Compass (12) and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (13).

At the time of this writing final figures were not available, the figures used are the studio estimates.
This WeekLast WeekTitleWknd GrossOverallWeek in release
11National Treasure: Book of Secrets$35,632,000$124,035,0002
23Alvin and the Chipmunks$30,000,000$142,375,0003
32I Am Legend$27,500,000$194,575,0003
44Charlie Wilson's War$11,768,000$34,506,0002
510Juno$10,300,000$25,681,0004
6NAliens Vs. Predator: Requiem$10,050,000$26,880,0001
7NThe Water Horse$9,200,000$16,821,0001
86PS I Love You$9,100,000$23,398,0002
95Sweeney Todd$8,000,000$26,719,0002
107Enchanted$6,500,000$110,650,0006



Box Office Predictions Recap
To say this was a bad week for my picks would be an understatement. This week's results make my choices nothing short of disastrous. Yes, I was able to get two of the positions correctly, but I think that was more luck than anything else. On the money side of the coin, I was even worse off. The less said, the better.

Anyway, here is how I picked the field:

ActualPredictionTitleWknd GrossPrediction
11National Treasure: Book of Secrets$35,632,000$29 million
62Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem$10,050,000$20 million
33I Am Legend$27,500,000$17 million
74The Water Horse$9,200,000$16 million
25

Alvin and the Chipmunks

$30,000,000$15 million
116The Great Debaters$6,304,000$9 million
97Sweeney Todd$8,000,000$6 million
58Juno$10,300,000$4.5 million
49Charlie Wilson's War$11,768,000$4 million
810PS I Love You$9,100,000$3.5 million

0 comments:

Post a Comment