2009 at the Box Office - Page 38

Thank you very much for the compliment.

As for the TS double feature, the grosses will be added to the lifetime hauls of both films, likely putting TS1 over the double century mark domestically, and pushing TS2 past the $250 million plateau.  As of now, TS1 made $191.8 million (1995 dollars), while TS2 is currently sitting on a domestic haul of $245.9 million (1999 dollars).

After ten films from Pixar, TS2 remains the second most successful feature from the studio in terms of theater admissions, selling 48.4 million tickets.  It only trails the 56.3 million admissions sold by "Finding Nemo".

Friday Estimates

#1 "Zombieland" $9.4 million
#2 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $3.7 million ($69.4 million) 34% Friday-to-Friday drop
#3 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $3.2 million
#4 "The Invention of Lying" $2.5 million
#5 "Surrogates" $2.2 million ($21.3 million) 56% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "Whip It" $1.6 million
#7 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $1.5 million ($1.9 million) 2,338% Friday-to-Friday increase
#8 "Fame" $1.5 million ($13.3 million) 59% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "The Informant!" $1.1 million ($23.9 million) 45% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Love Happens" $900K ($17.0 million) 38% Friday-to-Friday drop

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Zombieland" $25.0 million
#2 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $16.7 million ($82.4 million) -33%
#3 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $12.5 million ($204.3 million/$258.4 million)
#4 "The Invention of Lying" $7.4 million
#5 "Surrogates" $7.3 million ($26.4 million) -51%
#6 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $4.9 million ($5.3 million) +1,991%
#7 "Whip It" $4.9 million
#8 "Fame" $4.8 million ($16.6 million) -53%
#9 "The Informant!" $3.8 million ($26.6 million) -43%
#10 "Love Happens" $2.8 million ($18.9 million) -36%
#11 "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself" $2.7 million ($48.4 million) -44%
#12 "Pandorum" $1.9 million ($7.8 million) -57%

After enduring the least successful month of the year, the studios enjoyed a solid session at the box office this weekend.  Business was only off about 1% compared to last year, but was up an impressive 42% compared to this frame in '07.  2009's massive year-to-date domestic tally now stands at $7.952 billion, representing 7% increases over both last year ($7.424 billion) and '07 ($7.423 billion), 15% stronger than '06 ($6.941 billion), and a 20% improvement over '05 ($6.607 billion).

Sony's "Zombieland" got out of the gates with a very strong haul of $25 million.  The horror/comedy cost only about $24 million to make and gave star Woody Harrelson the biggest opening of his career.  The movie earned a solid per-theater average of $8,235 from its 3,036 locations, which was easily the best of the top 12.  Even if the movie has short legs in theaters it has proven to be instantly popular and don't be surprised if the studio decides to produce a sequel.

Sony also took the second slot as "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" continues to pack theaters.  The move was off by only 33% this weekend and has so far tallied more than $82 million.  The studio, which has taken the top spot at the box office for three weeks in a row, is expected a final domestic haul in the neighborhood of $120-$125 million.

Pixar/Disney's relaunch of the two 'Toy Story' flicks (in 3D) brought in $12.5 million, giving the films lifetime domestic grosses of $204.3 million and $258.4 million respectively.  The limited run was used to promote next summer's "Toy Story 3", which will also be presented in 3D.

WB's "The Invention of Lying" got off to a decent start as it pulled in more than $7 million, giving it a decent $4,306 per-theater average from its 1,707 locations.  Disney's "Surrogates" lost 51% of its business from last week and has now tallied $26.4 million.  Overture's "Capitalism: A Love Story" and Fox Searchlight's "Whip It" both earned $4.9 million this weekend.  'Capitalism', the latest from documentary film-maker Michael Moore, earned a solid average of $5,042 from its modest 962 theaters, while Whip It" was D.O.A. with only a $2,820 average from 1,720 theaters. 

Next weekend will see only one wide release hitting theaters, Universal's "Couples Retreat".  With a cast headed by Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, this one is expected to have little difficulty in topping the box office next week. 

Friday Estimates

#1 "Couples Retreat" $12.3 million
#2 "Zombieland" $4.8 million ($37.6 million) 50% Friday-to-Friday drop
#3 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $3.1 million ($87.4 million) 15% Friday-to-Friday drop
#4 "Paranormal Activity" $2.5 million ($3.8 million) 1,148% Friday-to-Friday increase (currently playing in only 159 theaters!)
#5 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $2.0 million ($17.0 million) 39% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "Surrogates" $1.3 million ($29.7 million) 43% Friday-to-Friday drop
#7 "The Invention of Lying" $1.1 million ($10.0 million) 57% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "Whip It" $890K ($6.9 million) 44% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "Fame" $780K ($18.3 million) 46% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $760K ($7.2 million) 49% Friday-to-Friday drop
#11 "The Informant!" $660K ($28.3 million) 42% Friday-to-Friday drop
#12 "Love Happens" $474K ($20.3 million) 48% Friday-to-Friday drop

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Couples Retreat" $35.3 million
#2 "Zombieland" $15.0 million ($47.8 million) -39%
#3 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $12.0 million ($96.3 million) -24%
#4 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $7.7 million ($22.7 million) -39%
#5 "Paranormal Activity" $7.1 million ($8.3 million) +1,228%
#6 "Surrogates" $4.1 million ($32.6 million) -43%
#7 "The Invention of Lying" $3.4 million ($12.3 million) -52%
#8 "Whip It" $2.8 million ($8.8 million) -40%
#9 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $2.7 million ($9.1 million) -39%
#10 "Fame" $2.6 million ($20.0 million) -45%
#11 "The Informant!" $2.2 million ($29.9 million) -40%
#12 "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself" $1.5 million ($50.4 million) -41%

Moviegoers spent more than $96 million on the top 12 films this weekend, marking a 14% increase from last year, as well as a 15% bump compared to this frame in '07.  2009's impressive year-to-date domestic tally now stands at $8.089 billion, marking the fastest time in history that a year has passed the $8 billion plateau.  '09 now owns every billion-dollar speed record for a single year.  The $8.089 billion haul marks 7% increases over both last year ($7.560 billion) and '07 ($7.538 billion), up 14% over '06 ($7.088 billion), and 20% stronger than '05 ($6.745 billion).

Universal's "Couples Retreat" easily topped the box office this weekend as it got out of the gates with more than $35 million.  The comedy earned the sixth biggest October opening in history, trailing "Scary Movie 3" ($48.1 million), "Shark Tale" ($47.6 million), "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" ($42.0 million), "The Grudge" ($39.1 million), and "Red Dragon" ($36.5 million).  The $35.3 million launch gave star Vince Vaughn the second biggest opening of his career in a headlining role (behind the $39.2 million debut of "The Break-Up").  The comedy wasn't expected to open as large as it did and the studio was (very) pleasantly surprised by this weekend's results.  The film earned a stellar average of $11,780 from its 3,000 theaters, which was the second best of the top 12.  The studio is optimistic that the movie can end its run north of the century mark.

Sony's "Zombieland" was second this weekend as it took a very moderate 39% dip in business.  The movie has so far tallied $47.8 million and looks headed for a final haul in the neighborhood of $90-$100 million.  Sony also took the third slot as their animated hit "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" continued to pack theaters, suffering only a 24% decline.  The movie has now earned more than $96 million and the studio now expects it to top out north of the $150 million mark.  Pixar/Disney's "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D reissues have now earned just under $23 million, giving the flicks lifetime tallies of $214.5 million ("Toy Story") and $268.6 million ("Toy Story 2") respectively.

Paramount's sleeper hit "Paranormal Activity" expanded to 159 theaters (from just 33 last week) and pulled in more than $7 million, giving the movie a whopping per-theater average of $44,440.  The horror flick will expand to several hundred more theaters next weekend.

Next weekend will see the releases of WB's "Where the Wild Things Are", Sony's "The Stepfather", and Overture Films' "Law Abiding Citizen".  It'll be a major shock if "Where the Wild Things Are" doesn't take the top spot at the box office.

Friday Estimates

#1 "Where the Wild Things Are" $11.9 million
#2 "Law Abiding Citizen" $7.7 million
#3 "Paranormal Activity" $6.7 million ($20.2 million) 150% Friday-to-Friday increase (in a very modest 760 theaters)
#4 "Couples Retreat" $5.8 million ($51.2 million) 53% Friday-to-Friday drop
#5 "The Stepfather" $4.3 million
#6 "Zombieland" $2.4 million ($55.4 million) 50% Friday-to-Friday drop
#7 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $2.1 million ($102.3 million) 32% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $825K ($26.4 million) 59% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "The Invention of Lying" $605K ($14.2 million) 44% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Surrogates" $585K ($35.0 million) 54% Friday-to-Friday drop
#11 "Whip It" $475K ($10.3 million) 47% Friday-to-Friday drop
#12 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $410K ($10.6 million) 47% Friday-to-Friday drop

Weekend Estimates

#1 "Where the Wild Things Are" $32.5 million
#2 "Law Abiding Citizen" $21.3 million
#3 "Paranormal Activity" $20.2 million ($33.7 million) +155%
#4 "Couples Retreat" $17.9 million ($63.3 million) -48%
#5 "The Stepfather" $12.3 million
#6 "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" $8.1 million ($108.3 million) -30%
#7 "Zombieland" $7.8 million ($60.8 million) -47%
#8 "Toy Story"/"Toy Story 2" 3D $3.0 million ($28.6 million) -61%
#9 "Surrogates" $1.922 million ($36.3 million) -55%
#10 "The Invention of Lying" $1.905 million ($15.5 million) -43%
#11 "Whip It" $1.5 million ($11.4 million) -46%
#12 "Capitalism: A Love Story" $1.4 million ($11.6 million) -46%

The industry enjoyed the biggest weekend haul the month of October has ever seen as nearly $130 million alone was spent on the top 12 films at the box office.  That was a 59% improvement over last year, as well as a whopping 75% stronger than this frame in '07.  2009's massive year-to-date domestic total now stands at $8.272 billion, marking a 7% bump over last year ($7.700 billion), up 8% compared to '07 ($7.669 billion), 14% stronger than '06 ($7.229 billion), and 21% stronger than '05 ($6.862 billion).

WB's "Where the Wild Things Are" earned the eighth biggest opening weekend mark ever for the month of October as the film pulled in $32.5 million.  The family flick earned a sturdy average of $8,693 from its 3,735 locations this week, which was the second best of the top 12.  With exit polls registering a solid B+ grade from moviegoers, the studio is very confident that this one will ultimately find its way on to this year's $100 million club.

Overture's "Law Abiding Citizen" got off to a much stronger start than anticipated as it pulled in more than $21 million, giving the studio the strongest debut they've ever had.  Reviews were extremely poor and this one may not end up having solid legs. 

Paramount's "Paranormal Activity" has turned into a phenom.  The movie expanded to 600 more theaters this weekend and earned just over $20 million, giving it a staggering per-theater average of $26,530 from its still modest 760 locations.  The movie's 155% increase was also the best of the top 30 films in theaters right now.  At a cost of only 15K, the studio is reaping major scratch from this one.  The movie will expand to about 2,000 theaters next weekend, with plans to go even wider on Halloween.  With nearly $34 million in the bank thus far, the movie looks headed for a final haul north of the century mark.

Universal's "Couples Retreat" was off a moderate 48% and has so far tallied just over $63 million.  Look for this one to top out with more than $100 million.  Sony's "The Stepfather" debuted with $12.3 million, earning a decent average of $4,499 from its 2,734 theaters.  This one may end up having very short legs during its theatrical run. 

Next weekend will see Lionsgate's "Saw VI", Summit Entertainment's "Astro Boy", Universal's "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant", and Fox Searchlight's Oscar hopeful "Amelia" all hit theaters.  "Saw VI" is the heavy favorite to take the top spot next weekend as it could mark the first time ever the month of October has enjoyed three consecutive weeks where the #1 film topped the $30 million mark.  Also expect "Paranormal Activity" to continue playing to packed theaters as it enters more theaters.

Jedi, thanks for the compliments.  I really appreciate it.

As for your questions, Adam pretty much summed up everything.  The only thing I would add is that detailed breakdowns of IMAX box office totals of first-run films are held rarely released by studios.  For the most part the box office grosses are counted toward the whole of the eventual gross, which is why studios (for the most part) only release estimates instead of actual dollar totals.  The same goes for films released in 3D.

Just a hobby.