2008 at the Box Office - Page 68

TerryRL · 08-16-2008, 02:00 AM

Looks like it's going to be another tight race for #1 at the box office this weekend as the early numbers showed "Tropic Thunder" earning $8.2 million and 'The Clone Wars' close behind with $6.5 million. 'Clone Wars' may get a bump on Saturday and Sunday (normal for most animated/family films), but 'Thunder' should still carry the weekend with little difficulty.

"The Dark Knight" was third with $4.9 million (a 35% Friday-to-Friday drop), "Mirrors" debuted in fourth place with $3.7 million, and "The Pineapple Express" rounded the top five with $3.5 million (a 55% Friday-to-Friday dip).

TDK will have banked about $470-$472 million by the end of the weekend, making it the second biggest domestic hit in history. The film will also climb to the #40 slot on the all-time list of best ticket sellers.

Douglas Monce · 08-16-2008, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidPla

But not Speed Racer which had the same release date. I'm not saying that Star Trek or Speed Racer have much in common but the current release date has never been a good date for any movie. It's the sort of "get lost in the shuffle" date. Speed Racer this year.. Poseidon two years ago..

I don't think the date had much to do with Speed Racers problems, nor Poseidon's.

Doug

TravisR · 08-16-2008, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce

I don't think the date had much to do with Speed Racers problems, nor Poseidon's.

Yeah. If Indy IV or Iron Man had traded release dates with Speed Racer, I don't think things would have worked out much differently.

DavidPla · 08-16-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisR

Yeah. If Indy IV or Iron Man had traded release dates with Speed Racer, I don't think things would have worked out much differently.

I think it would (although to a much lesser extent). Iron Man opened the first weekend of Summer.. Indy IV opened Memorial Day weekend. Even the weekend before Memorial Day weekend is a good weekend. But that date is just a "lost in the shuffle" date.. which is why a big blockbuster has never opened on that date.. of course until now so we'll see if Star Trek gets lost.

I so wish Tropic Thunder was doing bigger numbers. I guess that number for Clone Wars proves one thing; Star Wars will always draw a crowd.

Tim Glover · 08-16-2008, 11:19 AM

Somewhat surprised at the Clone Wars Friday take...Not bad.

TravisR · 08-16-2008, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidPla

But that date is just a "lost in the shuffle" date.. which is why a big blockbuster has never opened on that date.. of course until now so we'll see if Star Trek gets lost.

I'm sure that alot of Trek fans will be blaming the date in May.

A big blockbuster has never opened on that date because the movies that open on those dates aren't big blockbusters. The studios generally can venture an educated guess as to what movies are going to be the biggest hits of the year so those movies get the first week in May or Memorial Day or the Fourth Of July, etc. and then the rest of the movies get released on the other dates.

Jason Roer · 08-16-2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisR

...and then the rest of the movies get released on the other dates.

Yeah - like July 18th!

Cheers,
Jason

TerryRL · 08-16-2008, 02:59 PM

Friday Estimates

#1 "Tropic Thunder" $8.2 million ($19.2 million)
#2 "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" $6.2 million
#3 "The Dark Knight" $5.0 million ($459.6 million) 34% Friday-to-Friday drop
#4 "Mirrors" $4.2 million
#5 "The Pineapple Express" $3.2 million ($56.1 million) 60% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" $2.4 million ($80.5 million) 50% Friday-to-Friday drop
#7 "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" $2.1 million ($28.3 million) 47% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "Mama Mia!" $1.9 million ($111.9 million) 21% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "Step Brothers" $1.5 million ($87.4 million) 46% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" $1.1 million ($2.2 million)

Chuck Mayer · 08-16-2008, 04:56 PM

Look, I love Speed Racer as much as it's possible to love it.

But the only release date that would have worked was early April or late March (the 300 or Matrix spot). No one wanted to see it. Had it been perceived as the only "event" option for the next few weeks, it might have squeezed a bit more money out. Once there was competition, no one cared.

I still consider it one of the best films of a very strong summer, but that's worthless in a BO discussion.

Lou Sytsma · 08-16-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravisR

I'm sure that alot of Trek fans will be blaming the date in May.

Nope - December would have been nice. May is fine. It is what it is. Besides IronMan was released May 2 and look how it did.

I am quite optimistic about the film myself. Buzz will start building around Feb-March of next year.

Irregardless of how ST XI does BO wise, it will be awesome to see the original era of Star Trek done on a significant budget. To see the original Enterprise plus the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy triad - the best character dynamic in all the various incarnations to date - once again rules. For me this is big. This is The Empire Strikes Back huge. And with all the talent involved ie ILM doing the SFX plus Mike Giacchino of Lost, Ratoutille, The Incredibles fame doing the score for ST XI, I'm really pumped.

I grew up with the original series so this is a dream come true.