Up became the first summer movie of 2009 to repeat as the #1 film at the box office. This might change when final numbers are released tomorrow, but for now it has that claim. Up grossed $44.2 million [off only $2.7 million from my prediction] in its second weekend, off an incredibly low 35%. Glowing reviews and great word of mouth means this film is going to be around for awhile. In two weekends, it is the 3rd highest grossing movie of the summer, behind Star Trek [$222.8 million total] and X-Men Origins: Wolverine [$174.3 million]. Expect strong holds in the weeks ahead as Up does not have any competition.
The Hangover had an opening that was much stronger then many people predicted it would have with $43.2 million, making it the #2 film in North America. [I was off $15.2 million in my prediction, and I predicted it would open #3]. It also had the strongest per theatre average in the Top 10 with $13,236. Warner Bros. will be very happy with this. They did many advance screenings leading up to the release to generate word of mouth, the trailers and commercials have been some of the funniest of the year, and the film is getting good reviews. Like I said on Friday, Zach Galifianakis is going to become a star because of this film. The Hangover should do well for the rest of the month, as it has no major competition to contend with.
Will Ferrell’s latest wound up being more like Semi-Pro than Step Brothers. Land of the Lost opened up at #3 with a disappointing $19.5 million [off $15.5 million from my prediction, and down a spot from where I thought it would open]. A combination of factors hurt this film. The first and most important is that Land Of The Lost is getting bad reviews and people who have seen it have been on the negative side about it. Secondly, the buzz for the film was not that good. The marketing was strong, but the trailers and posters and commercials for the film did not make it seem interesting. Also, how much of an audience is there in remaking a classic TV show like Land Of The Lost? I could think of a few others before this one. It just seemed too niche to me. Expect Land of the Lost to fade away.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was correctly predicted to be the #4 film in North America grossing $14.6 million [off $2.9 million from my prediction]. Off only 39.8%, Ben Stiller’s latest is holding very well and will definitely out perform Terminator: Salvation, which it opened against 2 weekends ago. The film will not come close to the amount made by the first Night At The Museum [$250.8 million], but it has still got to be considered a success considering how crowded the May marketplace was.
Star Trek continues to stay in the Top 5 [it’s the film’s 5th week if anyone is counting] off only 33.4% grossing $8.4 million. I thought the film was going to be out of the top 5 this weekend, but I was wrong, so that is why there was no prediction. Star Trek continues to be the year’s biggest film with a total gross of $222.8 million.
Other notes:
– Drag Me To Hell dropped 53.6% to $7.3 million making it the #7 movie.
So to recap, here were my predictions:
1) Up – $41.5 million
2) Land of the Lost – $35 million
3) The Hangover – $28 million
4) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – $11.7 million
5) Drag Me To Hell – $9.1 million
And here were the final numbers:
1) Up – $44.2 million
2) The Hangover – $43.2 million
3) Land of the Lost – $19.5 million
4) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – $14.6 million
5) Star Trek – $8.4 million
Next weekend brings us The Taking of Pelham 123 and Imagine That.
