Re: 2009 at the Box Office
Weekend Estimates
#1 "Up" $68.2 million
#3 "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" $25.5 million ($105.3 million) -53%
#3 "Drag Me to Hell" $16.6 million
#4 "Terminator Salvation" $16.1 million ($90.7 million) -62%
#5 "Star Trek" $12.8 million ($209.5 million) -44%
#6 "Angels & Demons" $11.2 million ($104.8 million) -48%
#7 "Dance Flick" $4.9 million ($19.2 million) -54%
#8 "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" $3.9 million ($170.9 million) -52%
#9 "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" $1.9 million ($50.0 million) -50%
#10 "Obsessed" $665K ($67.5 million) -66%
#11 "The Brothers Bloom" $652K ($1.4 million) +70%
#12 "The Soloist" $500K ($30.3 million) -41%
The industry enjoyed a very robust weekend of business as May closed with the biggest haul in the history of the month. The top 12 pulled in $163 million, which was about 1% below last year's haul, but up nearly 27% compared to this frame in '07. This also marked the first time ever that May pulled in more than $1 billion in ticket sales (assisted by higher ticket prices). Overall, May '09 sold the fourth highest number of theater admissions (more than 141 million) coming in behind '03 (158.5 million), '02 (158.1 million), and '04 (143.6 million).
2009's massive year-to-date total now stands at $4.143 billion, passing the $4 billion mark in record time. 2009's mark represents a 13% bump over last year ($3.665 billion), up 12% over '07 ($3.700 billion), 19% stronger than '06 ($3.488 billion), and a 23% improvement compared to '05 ($3.377 billion).
Pixar/Disney's "Up" delivered the third best opening ever for Pixar Studios as it pulled in $68.2 million, coming in behind "The Incredibles" ($70.5 million) and "Finding Nemo" ($70.3 million). The movie also earned the fourth biggest debut of the year (behind "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "Star Trek", and "Fast & Furious") as it pulled in a per-theater average of $18,109 from its 3,766 locations. The studios are expecting an extremely healthy run for this one, as well as delivering Pixar's fifth Best Animated Feature Film (it would be their third in a row if they were to win it).
Fox's "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" lost about 52% of its business from last weekend and has so far tallied more than $105 million. The studio is expecting a final domestic haul in the area of $200 million.
Universal's "Drag Me to Hell" gave director Sam Raimi his biggest non-Spidey opening tally, but fell short of last year's "The Strangers" which opened on the same weekend. That film pulled in $21 million. Still, Universal got a solid opening out of 'Hell', but don't expect the movie to have very strong legs.
WB/Sony's "Terminator Salvation" fell off by a steep 62% and has so far tallied nearly $91 million. Look for this one to top out in the neighborhood of $130 million. Paramount's "Star Trek" became the first '09 release to pass the double-century mark. Sony's "Angels & Demons" passed the century mark this weekend. Paramount's "Dance Flick" is nearing the $20 million mark. Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has pulled in just under $171 million thus far. WB's "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" hit $50 mil. Sony's "Obsessed" continues to creep toward the $70 million plateau. Summit Entertainment's "The Brothers Bloom" expanded to 96 more theaters and enjoyed a 70% bump in business. DreamWorks/Paramount's "The Soloist" has now tallied more than $30 million.
Next weekend will see the releases of Universal's "Land of the Lost", WB's "The Hangover", and Fox Searchlight's "My Life in Ruins". Expect big launches from both "Land of the Lost" and "The Hangover", but it will be interesting to see if either has enough juice to dethrone "Up".
