Following in a distant second place is another new release. State of Play did not open as strongly as I was expecting, but I suspect it will have decent legs before doing strong business on DVD. For what it s worth, it is a solid thriller that is elevated by a strong cast led by Russell Crowe, plus a nice undercurrent of old school (print media) versus new school (blogs). Definitely worth checking out.
Slipping to third place is Hannah Montana: The Movie, which suffered a 58% drop in its second weekend. It does not appear that this feature will have a long run. Just wait for it on DVD where it is sure to do gangbusters. I have no interest, but it was fun seeing the crowds line up during its opening weekend.
Fourth place belongs to Monsters vs. Aliens, currently the biggest hit of 2009, having overtaken Paul Blart: Mall Cop. This movie just missed taking third place, coming in less than $200,000 behind Hannah Montana. So far, in four weeks the animated film has taken in north of $160 million, and would seem to have a shot at hitting the double century mark. Its potential is based on how it does next weekend, the final weekend of April and the week before the big budget flicks begin rolling out.
Fifth place is Fast & Furious, the actioner is doing healthy business and around this time next week, it should be passing the original film of the series, thus becoming the biggest earner of the franchise (if not the top overall draw).
Crank: High Voltage arrived this past weekend, the unlikely sequel to the unlikely original. The film opened below my expectations, money-wise, but exceeded them in its entertainment value. This movie is a complete assault on the senses, and it is a complete blast. I loved it. It is the sort of movie that you either get or you don't.
Observe and Report appears to be on its way to a short theatrical run. The film's worth is questionable, but this weekend say its gross overtake is production budget, that has to say a little something. The movie did make me laugh, but it was a mean spirited affair whose surface vulgarity may be disguising something slightly deeper underneath. Then again, maybe not.
The battle for eighth place was a close affair, almost as close as the battle for third. The winner here is Knowing, a fascinating film that is easily one of the best of the year. It just squeaked by the buddy comedy I Love You, Man. Both will likely been dropping off the charts soon.
Likely making its last appearance is The Haunting in Connecticut, a decent ghost story with a little too much reliance on jump scares, despite its abundant atmosphere. It is lucky, it may reach $60 million, but more likely it will be in the $55-57 million range.
Next weekend will see the arrival of Fighting, starring Channing Tatum, Obsessed, featuring Beyonce, Idris Elba, and Ali Larter, and the music-drama The Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. On Wednesday theaters will welcome Disney's nature documentary, Earth.
Three movies dropped off the top ten this week: Dragonball: Evolution (11), Adventureland (12), and Duplicity (13).
| This Week | Last Week | Title | Wknd Gross | Overall | Week in release |
| 1 | N | 17 Again | $23,722,310 | $23,722,310 | 1 |
| 2 | N | State of Play | $14,071,280 | $14,071,280 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Hannah Montana: The Movie | $13,406,217 | $56,874,039 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 | Monsters vs. Aliens | $13,240,233 | $163,063,465 | 4 |
| 5 | 2 | Fast & Furious | $11,774,715 | $136,205,795 | 2 |
| 6 | N | Crank: High Voltage | $6,963,565 | $6,963,565 | 1 |
| 7 | 4 | Observe & Report | $4,174,939 | $18,812,239 | 2 |
| 8 | 5 | Knowing | $3,574,727 | $73,795,283 | 5 |
| 9 | 6 | I Love You, Man | $3,327,668 | $64,614,979 | 5 |
| 10 | 7 | The Haunting in Connecticut | $3,114,892 | $51,883,389 | 4 |
Box Office Predictions Recap
Every once in awhile I have a week of predictions where I am just on fire; of course, the planets have to align just right. This week turned out to be one of those weeks where the flames were being fanned and my numbers were actually pretty good. Sure, I was off on a bunch of the figures, but I was definitely in the ballpark. On top of that, the only films I got off on placement were Fast & Furious and Monsters vs. Aliens, which I swapped. Will next week continue what began here? Doubtful.
Here is how the field matched up:
| Actual | Prediction | Title | Wknd Gross | Prediction |
| 1 | 1 | 17 Again | $23,722,310 | $23 million |
| 2 | 2 | State of Play | $14,071,280 | $18 million |
3 | 3 | Hannah Montana: The Movie | $13,406,217 | $15 million |
| 5 | 4 | Fast & Furious | $11,774,715 | $14 million |
| 4 | 5 | Monsters vs. Aliens | $13,240,233 | $13 million |
| 6 | 6 | Crank: High Voltage | $6,963,565 | $9 million |
| 7 | 7 | Observe & Report | $4,174,939 | $5.5 million |
| 8 | 8 | Knowing | $3,574,727 | $3.25 million |
| 9 | 9 | I Love You, Man | $3,327,668 | $3 million |
| 10 | 10 | The Haunting in Connecticut | $3,114,892 | $2 million |
0 comments:
Post a Comment