2009 at the Box Office (1 Viewer)

[TerryRL]

chemist, WB is expecting TDK to at most earn another $10 million during its reissue. The studio isn't expecting gigantic numbers, but the suits would be ecstatic if the movie had enough juice to get to the $550 million (or more) plateau.

By the way, "Gran Torino" (which goes wide this weekend) is tracking stronger than all three of next weekend's new releases. There could be a bit of a surprise at #1 this weekend. Should be very interesting.

 

[Brook K]

That would be great to see. I loved Gran Torino...still need to see Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, Benjamin Button and a few others, but it's my movie of the year pick so far.

 

[mattCR]

I've told damn near everyone I know that "Gran Torino" is worth the price of admission.

 

[JediFonger]

i hear it's the 'dirty harry' clint back onscreen for one last time =P. hope to see it soon it is playing here =P

 

[Michael Elliott]

It's a shame that THE READER seems to be falling off the map. I believe it goes "wide" this weekend yet it's not playing at any new theaters around here in a 60 mile area. I saw the film last weekend and it's so far #1 on my list.

 

[Mr. Film]

This will definetly be a great year for movies. Here's the ones that i'm exited about, or the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Watchmen (if it comes out)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Terminator: Salvation
Monsters and Ailens
Up
9

That's to name just a few.

 

[mattCR]

It appears as though Gran Torino will take the weekend. Over $30M. While they won't say it, that definitely has to help it's academy creds, as most of the other contenders just haven't found an audience.

1. Gran Torino 9.8M Estimated $30M Weekend
2. Bride Wars 8.0M Estimated $23M Weekend
3. Unborn 7.8M Estimated $18M Weekend
4. Marley And Me (Fox) $3M Friday, estimated $9.5M weekend
5. Benjamin Button (Paramount) $2.7M Friday, est $9.2M weekend
6. Bedtime Stories (Disney) $2.1M Friday, est $7.5M weekend
7. Not Easily Broken 2.0M Friday, Estimated 6.0M Weekend
8. Valkyrie (MGM/UA) $1.9M Friday, est $6.5M weekend
9. Yes Man (Waner Bros) $1.9M Friday, est $6.0M weekend
10. Seven Pounds (Sony) $1.1M Friday, est $4M weekend

 

[TerryRL]

Friday-to-Friday drops

"Marley & Me" 66%
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" 59%
"Bedtime Stories" 73%
"Valkyrie" 61%
"Yes Man" 63%
"Seven Pounds" 68%
"Slumdog Millionaire" 36%
"Twilight" 47%

"Gran Torino" (great movie) and the three new releases dominated business on Friday leading to the significant drops of most of the other holdovers. Still, expect all of them to find their footing during Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is on course to end up being one of the biggest ever for the month of January. For the first time ever, January will produce back-to-back top 12 finishes of more than $130 million. As stated last weekend, this is exactly the kind of start to '09 the studios were hoping for.

 

[Ray H]

That opening for Gran Torino is surprisingly strong. Don't know how much it'll help the movie with the Oscars since nominations ballots are due on Monday - maybe a little though.

 

[TerryRL]

Right now the only "sure thing" nod "Gran Torino" is expected to receive is in the Best Original Song category. The Best Actor race is so rich this year that Mr. Eastwood may not end up among the five nominees. As it stands now Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon"), Sean Penn ("Milk"), and Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") are considered locks to get nominated, while Leonardo DiCaprio ("Revolutionary Road"), Benicio del Toro ("Che"), Clint Eastwood ("Gran Torino"), Richard Jenkins ("The Visitor"), and Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") all battle over the final two slots.

 

[JediFonger]

just watched the wrestler at a local indie place and MAN it's awesome. when is it planned to go wide (if ever)? has darren aronosky's box office done well at all?

 

[TerryRL]

"The Wrestler" isn't going to be playing in anything near a wide release until after the Oscar nominations are announced. Currently, the movie has done very well in limited play and Fox Searchlight is hoping this trend continues as it continues to slowly expand. If so, the stronger the possibility will be for the movie to go into wider release down the line.

From Brett B
I found this information on the official site (Fox Searchlight - The Wrestler - Official Site)

PLEASE NOTE: This is plan is subject to change.

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[Colin Jacobson]

"The Fountain" was his biggest "hit" with a massive $10 million gross. Both "Requiem..." and "Pi" made about $3 million. Not exactly rewriting record books, eh?

Apparently he's directing a "RoboCop" remake, though - that'll be interesting...

 

[chemist]

Impressive weekend for GT and Eastwood. Haven't seen a ton of advertising so I didn't think a $30M wide opening was possible. Talk about aging gracefully; Eastwood's career since turing 60 has been one that most in Hollywood would love to have in their prime.

As an aside, Quantum of Solace is less than $300K from topping Casino Royale as the top domestic Bond film.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I've seen a lot of ads on TV for Gran Torino. The marketing folks knew that they just had to show Clint "mock" pointing a gun at the young thugs driving away to get people to come to the show.

 

[teapot2001]

That's impressive for Gran Torino. I'm not sure what attracted people towards that movie based on the marketing and it's not like an Eastwood movie has been a big box office draw in years.

The Wrestler is playing in a lot more cities than listed; I think those are just the general areas where it will show up. Even though it's fantastic, I'm not sure how well it'll do at the box office.

Is Slumdog in wide release yet? If so, its take so far is kinda disappointing. It's an audience pleaser and word-of-mouth movie, and it's critically acclaimed. Compared to all the other top of the year movies, it seems like it should gross the highest.

~T

 

[Edwin-S]

Talk about a perfect mismatch if this is true. Somehow, I just cannot picture this guy at the helm of a SciFi action film.

 

[TerryRL]

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Gran Torino" $29.0 million ($40.1 million) +888%
#2 "Bride Wars" $21.5 million
#3 "The Unborn" $21.1 million
#4 "Marley & Me" $11.4 million ($123.7 million) -53%
#5 "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" $9.5 million ($94.3 million) -49%
#6 "Bedtime Stories" $8.6 million ($97.2 million) -58%
#7 "Valkyrie" $6.7 million ($71.5 million) -53%
#8 "Yes Man" $6.2 million ($89.4 million) -56%
#9 "Not Easily Broken" $5.6 million
#10 "Seven Pounds" $3.9 million ($66.8 million) -61%
#11 "Slumdog Millionaire" $3.7 million ($34.1 million) -21%
#12 "Twilight" $2.8 million ($181.4 million) -40%

For the first time in history, the month of January enjoyed back-to-back top 12 earnings of more than $120 million. This weekend's haul of nearly $130 million ($129.8 million) ranks as the third best ever for the month, following what was the second best mark last week. This weekend's gross represents a stellar 25% improvement over last year, as well as a massive 36% bump over '07.

This year's year-to-date gross already stands at a whopping $401.2 million, representing a 26% bump over last year ($318.2 million), a stellar 44% improvement over '07 ($278.8 million), up 36% compared to '06 ($295.7 million), and a 41% increase over '05 ($284.6 million). To say studio execs are happy right now is a mild understatement.

WB's "Gran Torino" went into wide release this weekend and gave director/star (as well as four-time Oscar winner) Clint Eastwood the biggest opening mark of his career. The drama's impressive average of $10,337 from its 2,808 theaters was clearly the best of the top 12. This time last year also saw a film starring a pair of aging Oscar-winners top the charts and go on to do extremely well in theaters. That film was "The Bucket List" (starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman), which opened at nearly $20 million and legged its way to a final domestic haul of $93.5 million.

Eastwood has hinted that 'Torino' will be his last film as an actor and that he will primarily focus his energies on directing (his next film will star Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon) and if this is his last time in front of the camera, he's definitely going out in style as the movie is expected to leg its way to more than $100 million. While competition for the Best Actor Oscar is going to be stiff, don't be surprised if Eastwood manages to get himself a nomination.

Fox continues its current hot streak (after a mostly dismal '08) as "Bride Wars" got off to a very good start by pulling in $21.5 million. The comedy's per-theater average of $6,665 from its 3,226 locations was the fourth best of the top 12. For stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, the debut gives the two actresses their fourth and fifth biggest openings respectively. While the film was slaughtered by most major critics, the movie did well with the female demo and is expected to have a long and healthy run in theaters.

Universal's horror flick "The Unborn" also got off to a great start as it debuted with $21.1 million. The film opened stronger than most thought it would as it earned a very strong average of $8,950 from its 2,357 locales, was the second best of the weekend. While, the movie isn't expected to have the strongest legs, the studio will probably see a very nice profit on this one.

Fox's "Marley & Me" has so far tallied $123.7 million. Paramount/WB's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is currently sitting on a domestic haul of $94.3 million. Disney's "Bedtime Stories" has now pulled in $97.2 million. Both 'Button' and 'Bedtime' will have topped the century mark by next weekend. UA's "Valkyrie" has so far netted $71.5 million, while WB's "Yes Man" has banked 89.4 million.

Sony's "Not Easily Broken" got off to a fantastic start by earning $5.6 million from only 724 theaters, giving the movie an average of $7,735, which was the third best of the top 12. Also look for this one to have a sturdy run in theaters.

Sony's "Seven Pounds" has now earned close to $67 million. Fox Searchlight's Oscar-hopeful "Slumdog Millionaire" has pulled in $34.1 million. Summit Entertainment's "Twilight" is now sitting on a domestic mark of $181.4 million.

Next weekend's four-day holiday frame (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) will see Sony's "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", DreamWorks/Paramount's "Hotel for Dogs", Lionsgate's "My Bloody Valentine 3D", and Fox Searchlight's "Notorious" all hit theaters. Both Paramount Vantage's "Defiance" and Overture Films "Last Chance Harvey" will expand to wide release.

The studios are expecting a very solid frame of business, although they're not expecting numbers such as those from last year when "Cloverfield" blew away January box office records. Still, expect a very strong session as the new releases and holdovers maintain the month's strong performance.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Timing is everything when it comes to Gran Torino's box office performance since it's up against teen horror flick, and a chick-oriented flick in terms of new releases this weekend. Plus, the trailers provide just enough incentive to see Clint Eastwood clean up the neighborhood to hit the older demographics, as well as the male demographic.

Slumdog is a tough sell to the general public that doesn't do a lot of surfing of the internet for film info. For one thing, it's based in India, and its premise isn't as engaging as the actual telling of the story.

 

[TerryRL]

Best Picture Oscar hopefuls at the box office...

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" $94.3 million
"The Dark Knight" $531.0 million
"Doubt" $22.9 million
"Frost/Nixon" $7.7 million
"Milk" $19.1 million
"The Reader" $5.5 million
"Revolutionary Road" $3.2 million
"Slumdog Millionaire" $34.1 million
"Wall-E" $223.8 million
"The Wrestler" $2.8 million

If the PGA nods are any indication, then 'Benjamin Button', TDK, "Frost/Nixon", "Milk", and "Slumdog Millionaire" will be the five finalists for the Oscar. Of those five, 'Slumdog' is considered the front-runner by most critics groups.