2006 at the Box Office (1 Viewer)

[Colin Jacobson]

I'd have to disagree. Tomb Raider was firmly in the Indiana Jones universe - it always seemed like a perfect match for the big screen.

I won't claim that Halo will bomb, but I remain skeptical. Videogame movies have done so poorly in general, so I'll have to be convinced there's some real reason to see this one differently...

 

[Jim Barg]

Well, to be honest, comparing Bloodrayne and Halo... there's just no comparison between a hack director and a project which is going to have A-list talent behind the camera. (Plus, I would hope that Halo wouldn't be as unintentionally funny as Bloodrayne is.) The potential is there for a massive hit, we'll see if Jackson, WETA and co. can pull it off.

(As for a director, the last rumor I read - a month ago, perhaps? - was that Guillermo Del Toro was possibly involved, with the idea of going right from Halo to Hellboy 2. If he's the guy, then my expectations go a bit higher...)

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Hollywood's first foray into Films day-and-date with Pay-per-view and DVD on January 27.

~Edwin

 

[TerryRL]

This is going to be a very interesting experiment.

 

[DavidPla]

I personally hope it fails. I think it could do more harm than good. In a way, it cheapens movies to me.

 

[Joel C]

I agree... Direct-to-video carries a stigma for a reason, and it would take a lot to reverse that.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I honestly think the only reason it's even being mentioned is because Soderbergh is attached. This isn't a Theatrical Film being released day-and-date to Home Video, it's a DTV release getting the benefit of a limited theatrical showing. The industry is just making it bigger than it is. When Ocean's 13 gets a DTV release (delivered to our homes by flying pigs), then I'll worry.

 

[TerryRL]

Friday Estimates

#1 "Glory Road" $4.3 million
#2 "Last Holiday" $3.7 million
#3 "Hostel" $3.1 million ($28.3 million) 58% Friday-to-Friday drop
#4 "Hoodwinked" $2.7 million
#5 "Fun with Dick and Jane" $2.5 million ($86.4 million) 34% Friday-to-Friday drop
#6 "Tristan and Isolde" $2.4 million
#7 "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" $2.2 million ($253.4 million) 43% Friday-to-Friday drop
#8 "King Kong" $1.7 million ($197.2 million) 48% Friday-to-Friday drop
#9 "Brokeback Mountain" $1.5 million ($26.6 million) 8% Friday-to-Friday drop
#10 "Munich" $1.3 million ($29.2 million) 39% Friday-to-Friday drop

 

[mattCR]

Well, Kong will pass 200M, but at this point, I don't see it getting to 225, and nowhere near 250.

Fun with Dick & Jane is a real suprise to me how well that has held out.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Looks like a pretty soft weekend, especially for a holiday. I would have expected Glory Road to get off to a stronger start.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

That's why I was skeptical of King Kong making $600M worldwide as of last week. At that point, it needed another $135M worldwide to make it to $600M - a very tough goal to make as of last week.

This MLK weekend also looks like total box office receipts will fall short compared to the same weekend last year continuing the downward trend from 2005.

~Edwin

 

[TerryRL]

Saturday Estimates

#1 "Hoodwinked" $5.5 million ($8.3 million)
#2 "Last Holiday" $5.3 million ($9.0 million)
#3 "Glory Road" $5.2 million ($9.6 million)
#4 "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" $4.2 million ($257.7 million) 39% Saturday-to-Saturday drop
#5 "Hostel" $3.7 million ($32.1 million) 48% Saturday-to-Saturday drop
#6 "Fun with Dick and Jane" $3.6 million ($90.1 million) 31% Saturday-to-Saturday drop
#7 "King Kong" $3.2 million ($200.4 million) 44% Saturday-to-Saturday drop
#8 "Tristan and Isolde" $2.39 million ($4.8 million)
#9 "Brokeback Mountain" $2.30 million ($28.9 million) 1% Saturday-to-Saturday drop
#10 "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" $2.2 million ($71.2 million) 43% Saturday-to-Saturday drop

Only a few studios released 3-day estimates today. Full top ten estimates will be released tomorrow, as well as the four-day holiday predictions.

 

[Sean Laughter]

What's Brokeback's theater count now?

 

[TerryRL]

'Brokeback' is currently in only 683 theaters. Other than "Tristan and Isolde" (which is at 1,845 locations), every other film in the top ten is in more than 2,000 theaters.

Once again, 'Brokeback' will easily lead the top ten in per-theater average. By the end of the four-day holiday frame, the movie will have earned more than $30 million in limited release. Once it goes wide don't be too surprised if it ends up earning more than $100 million.

Right now, the movie is considered a virtual lock to win the Best Picture Oscar.

 

[TerryRL]

Weekend Estimates

(3-day)
#1 "Glory Road" $13.5 million
#2 "Last Holiday" $12.8 million
#3 "Hoodwinked" $12.3 million
#4 "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" $10.0 million ($261.2 million) -36%
#5 "Hostel" $9.9 million ($35.0 million) -49%
#6 "Fun with Dick and Jane" $8.7 million ($92.6 million) -27%
#7 "King Kong" $7.9 million ($202.9 million) -40%
#8 "Tristan and Isolde" $6.6 million
#9 "Brokeback Mountain" $5.7 million ($30.8 million) +1%
#10 "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" $5.0 million ($72.9 million) -39%

(4-day)
#1 "Hoodwinked" $16.6 million
#2 "Glory Road" $16.4 million
#3 "Last Holiday" $15.7 million
#4 "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" $12.2 million ($263.4 million) -21%
#5 "Hostel" $11.6 million ($36.8 million) -40%
#6 "Fun with Dick and Jane" $10.3 million ($94.2 million) -13%
#7 "King Kong" $9.2 million ($204.6 million) -27%
#8 "Tristan and Isolde" $7.8 million
#9 "Brokeback Mountain" $7.0 million ($32.0 million) +23%
#10 "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" $6.7 million ($74.6 million) -19%

This weekend's four-day holiday yielded solid results as the overall box office was down 16% compared to last year (when "Coach Carter" opened to the tune of $29.1 million over the long holiday weekend), but was up 6% compared to 2004 (when 'The Return of the King' continued its reign at #1).

Over the four-day period, the Weinstein Co. saw their animated film, "Hoodwinked", capture the top spot. The film pulled in $16.6 million, averaging a solid $6,942 from its 2,394 locations (the third best of the top ten). Next weekend will give a clear indication of what kind of legs the movie will have during the coming weeks.

Disney's "Glory Road" was #1 over the Friday-thru-Sunday span of the weekend, but finished second over the four-day holiday. The film took in close to $16.5 million, earning an impressive $7,424 per-theater average from its 2,222 locations (the second best of the top ten). Disney is expecting this one to show solid staying power over the course of its run.

Paramount's "Last Holiday" also got off to a good start as it pulled in $15.7 million. The film had a strong $6,245 average from its 2,514 theaters (the fourth best of the top ten). As with "Hoodwinked" and "Glory Road", this one's fate will be decided during the coming weeks.

Disney's 'The Chronicles of Narnia' continued to display strong legs as it took in another $12.2 million. The blockbuster has so far tallied a massive $263.4 million, moving it past "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" as the 29th biggest domestic hit in history. This one still has a good shot at ultimately cracking the triple-century mark.

Lions Gate saw their horror flick, "Hostel", lose nearly half of its business from last weekend. The $4.8 million movie has earned close to $37 million thus far and looks headed for a final mark in the neighborhood of $50-$60 million, making it a very profitable hit for the studio. "Hostel 2" should hit theaters early next year.

Sony's "Fun with Dick and Jane" continues to display strong legs. With $94.2 million in the bank so far, the movie will pass the $100 million mark next weekend. Universal's "King Kong" passed the double-century mark this weekend and seems headed for a final mark of about $225 million. Fox's "Tristan and Isolde" earned a soft $7.8 million over the four-day holiday. Its not expected to have the greatest of legs over the coming weeks.

Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain" continues to do extremely strong business in limited release. The film's $10,329 per-theater average (from only 683 locations) easily ranked as the best of the top ten. With $32 million already in the bank, this one is a strong candidate to end up ultimately joining the $100 million club once it goes wide. All the expected awards the film is likely to receive (Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.) also won't hurt its cause.

Fox's "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" rounds out the top ten. The film has so far snared just under $75 million.

Next weekend will see the Indie flick "End of the Spear" (from Every Tribe) and the Sony/Screen Gems sequel, "Underworld: Evolution", both go into wide release. 'Underworld' is the clear favorite to top the box office next weekend.

 

[Brook K]

Surprised Hoodwinked did so well. How much advertising did it have? I'd never heard of it until I saw the review in the newspaper on Friday.

 

[Tim Glover]

I am surprised by the $$ for Fun with Dick & Jane. I liked it but it did get an average rating from critics. Maybe even lower than average.

 

[TerryRL]

The Weinstein Co. spent about a total of $30-$40 million to make (combined with marketing costs) "Hoodwinked".

 

[Colin Jacobson]

28% at Rotten Tomatoes - not too good!

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, there have been plenty of critically acclaimed films that made little money, it all evens out.

Jim Carrey is a box office draw, it's as simple as that. That's why he does get paid $15-$20 million for headlining a film.