Box Office Update 10/13-10/15: The Grudge 2 Creeps to the Top

The Grudge opened two years ago to the tune of nearly $40 million. If I remember correctly, it suffered considerable backlash due to its decided lack of substance. Still it topped out at just over $110 million. I remember enjoying the wild ride of jump scares and creepy atmosphere. Well, now we are two years out from that film and the sequel is here. It seems as if the backlash has lived on and impacted the new movie. On the good side, it did top the weekend, and it did top its production budget, but it did open with roughly half of what the first film did. I can't help but think, if they made a better film they may have been able to get closer to the original's opening figure. I did see it, doing my part to add to the bottom line. I also believe that it is not a very good film, this coming from someone who did like the original.

Three other films debuted in the top ten this week. First up is the number three film, Man of the Year. I have not yet seen this one, but I have some hope for it. Robin Williams stars as a late night host of a news-comedy show, ala The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, who runs for and wins the Presidency. It had a decent showing with its take of $12.3 million, even if it was below studio expectations. Perhaps there isn't as big an audience for this type of comedy as they thought? Move a little further down the list to number six and you will find the sophomore film from WWE Films, distributed by 20th Century Fox, The Marine. The movie is standard action fare that proves to be entertaining, if forgettable. Move even further down, to number nine, and you will find One Night with the King, a film that I did not think would crack the top ten. It has a very good debut considering its release at just 908 locations.

If you go back to the list and take a look at some of the returning films, you will find some thast had very good showings this week. I would like you to focus on Martin Scorsese's The Departed, it finished number 2 and dropped less than 30%. It is the best film so far this year and deserves to have all of you reading this see it, or see it again if you already have. Open Season also held on to a good portion of its audience. Suffering the biggest hitsof the week were TCM: The Beginning and Employee of the Month, each which crept close to the 60% mark.

Four films dropped from the list this week: The Illusionist (11), School for Scoundrels (12), Jet Li's Fearless (14), and Gridiron Gang (17).

This Week	Last Week	Title	Wknd Gross	Overall	Week in release
1	N	The Grudge 2	$20,825,300	$20,825,300	1
2	1	The Departed	$19,034,294	$56,985,185	2
3	N	Man of the Year	$12,299,380	$12,299,380	1
4	3	Open Season	$11,112,795	$59,267,065	3
5	2	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning	$7,485,290	$30,192,411	2
6	N	The Marine	$7,138,774	$7,138,774	1
7	5	The Guardian	$5,866,998	$41,132,922	3
8	4	Employee of the Month	$5,271,088	$19,581,504	2
9	N	One Night with the King	$4,106,862	$4,106,862	1
10	6	Jackass Number Two	$3,329,091	$68,377,686	4

Box Office Predictions Recap
Well, I nailed the top three, but the rest was, shall we say, not so good. One of these days, I will find out just how the handicappers do it, but then I may have a different occupation. Until then, I will be content with my wacky and wildly inaccurate predictions. Fun isn't it?

Actual	Prediction	Title	Wknd Gross	Prediction
1	1	The Grudge 2	$20,825,300	$29.5 million
2	2	The Departed	$19,034,294	$19 million
3	3	Man of the Year	$12,299,380	$17.5 million
5	4	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning	$7,485,290	$10.5 million
6	5	The Marine	$7,138,774	$8 million
4	6	Open Season	$11,112,795	$6.75 million
7	7	The Guardian	$5,866,998	$6.5 million
8	8	Employee of the Month	$5,271,088	$5.25 million
10	9	Jackass Number Two	$3,329,091	$2.5 million
12	10	School for Scoundrels	$1,301,346	$2 million