I had a very stellar weekend with my predictions, getting all top 5 films in order and did pretty well with my predictions. Here’s how the weekend shaped up.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs remained in the #1 spot for the 2nd weekend in a row with a gross of $24.6 million (I predicted $18.2 million). Why is this number so amazing? The film dropped only 18.8% from its opening weekend and had a per theatre average of $7,887 (which was the highest per theatre average in the top 10). Think of this for a second. A number one film at the box office, stays in the number one spot for a second weekend with a drop less than 20%? I cannot remember the last time a film in the top spot had such an incredible hold. Sony must be thrilled with the result, and they know they have a hit on their hands. The film is in 3-D, so that helps with higher ticket prices, but the film has glowing reviews, and this weekend showed that the word-of-mouth on the film is incredible. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs has now grossed $60 million over the course of 2 weeks.
In the #2 spot is the Bruce Willis sci-fi thriller Surrogates with a gross of $15 million (I predicted $12 million) and a per theatre average of $5,087. The number is decent for a September release, but it really is nothing to get too excited about. I never felt that the film was supported heavily by the studio, and reviews were average at best. Still $15 million is a decent number, but I can’t see the film holding up over the coming weeks.
In 3rd place is the remake of Fame with a gross of $10 million (I predicted $11 million) for a per theatre average of $3,241. The per theatre average number says it all. The film has to be considered a disappointment. Although there was a marketing push for the target demo to see it, the target demo did not respond (Teens and Young Adults being the target). It was released in a wide 3,096 theatres (which was second highest of any film this week), but the poor per theatre average shows that no one cared to see it. Expect this to hit DVD shelves soon.
In 4th place is The Informant! which had a very low 33.9% drop for a gross $6.9 million (I predicted $4.9 million). Its per theatre average was $2,760, which is low, but the low percentage drop means the audiences like the film, and it should have a steady run over the next couple of weeks. This is good news, because I thought the film would be a tough sell, and it would have to rely on word-of-mouth to have a good run, and so far that seems to be the case. The total gross for The Informant! stands at $20.9 million.
Rounding out the top 5 is Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself with a gross of $4.7 million (I predicted $4.2 million). It suffered another big drop-off from last weekend as the film had a per theatre average of $2,242 and was off 51.9%. This is not surprising as Tyler Perry films have very large openings on the first weekend, and then they suffer very big declines during the course of their run. I think it shows how weak the movies being released are right now, when the #5 film barely grosses over $4 million. Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself has now grossed $44.5 million.
In other news, Pandorum was the #6 film with a gross $4.4 million (I predicted a $4 million gross and for it to open outside the top 5). Expect this to hit DVD shelves soon, because the per theatre average was a dismal $1,759.
I have yet to see a gross for Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, so I hope to find those numbers soon.
Michael Moore’s latest film Capitalism: A Love Story debuted in 4 theatres, and grossed $240,000 for an amazing per theatre average of $60,000. The film will get a wider release next weekend.
So, here’s a recap of my predictions:
1) Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – $18.2 million
2) Surrogates – $12 million
3) Fame – $11 million
4) The Informant! – $4.9 million
5) Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $4.2 million
And here are the actual numbers:
1) Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – $24.6 million
2) Surrogates – $15 million
3) Fame – $10 million
4) The Informant! – $6.9 million
5) Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $4.7 million
Scotty G was off by $12.9 million in his predictions.
All and all, not a bad weekend at all. Next weekend brings us the Coen Brothers latest film A Serious Man, the horror comedy Zombieland, Ricky Gervais latest The Invention of Lying, and Drew Barrymore’s feature film directorial debut (she directed something for TV before) Whip It.
Until Next Week!
