A pretty decent week of predictions from me. I got all five films in the top five in order, and my box office guesses were decent, but not spectacular. Here’s the breakdown.
Avatar remained the #1 film with a gross of $68.3 million (I predicted that it would stay at #1 and gross $68 million). The gross was down only 9.7% from last weekend. It was the highest third week gross of any film in history, surpassing the original Spider-Man’s third week gross of $45 million. I don’t think anyone thought that Avatar would be as big a hit as it is. It is currently the 2nd highest grossing film of 2009, trailing only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s gross of $402.1 million. In its third week, Avatar had a per theatre average of $19,734, and has now grossed $352.1 million.
In 2nd place is Sherlock Holmes with a gross of $38.3 million (I predicted it would be the #2 film and gross $47.3 million). Although the gross is great for a film in its 2nd weekend, the producers and studio have to be a little disappointed as the film was down 38.5% from last weekend, which was the highest drop of any film in the top ten. Considering the fact that the box office got a boost with New Year’s Day falling on a Friday (as people tend to go out to movies more on holiday’s), and that most films do not have a large drop on this weekend of the year (as studios tend not to release major releases the week after Christmas, so there is no new competition), the drop is disturbing. Nonetheless, Sherlock Holmes had a per theatre average of $10,586, which is fantastic, and after two weeks the film has grossed $140.6 million.
In 3rd place is Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with a gross of $46.6 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a gross of $38 million). The family hit was down 25.1% from last weekend, and has a per theatre average of $9,768. The sequel (or squeakquel) is still pacing ahead of the original, but sequels tend not to have as long runs as the original, so we will see if it can surpass the original’s total gross of $217.3 million. After two weeks, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel has taken in $157.3 million.
In 4th place is the adult comedy It’s Complicated with a gross of $18.7 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $12.8 million). The film held up well in its second weekend, despite less than glowing reviews, as it was down only 15.4% from last weekend. The per theatre average is $6,455 and after two weeks, the film has taken in $59.1 million.
In 5th place is the Sandra Bullock hit The Blind Side with a gross of $12.6 million (I predicted a 5th place finish and a gross of $8.5 million). The film actually saw an increase in business this weekend as the gross was up 10.3% from last weekend. The per theatre average was $4,323, and the total gross after seven weeks is $209 million. That makes it the 8th highest grossing film of 2009, and it is the first time a Sandra Bullock film has grossed more than $200 million.
Two other films grossed more than $10 million this weekend as well.
In 6th place was Up In The Air with a gross of $11.3 million. The total gross for Up In The Air stands at $45 million.
In 7th place was The Princess and The Frog with a gross of $10 million. The total gross for The Princess and The Frog stands at $86 million.
In limited release, The White Ribbon grossed $61,300 from 3 theatres for a per theatre average of $20,433.
The film that had the highest per theatre average at the box office this weekend is The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. In its second weekend the film took in $131,000 from 4 theatres for a per theatre average of $32,750.
To recap, here were my predictions:
1) Avatar – $68 million
2) Sherlock Holmes – $47.3 million
3) Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $38 million
4) It’s Complicated – $12.8 million
5) The Blind Side – $8.5 million
And here are the final numbers:
1) Avatar – $68.3 million
2) Sherlock Holmes – $38.3 million
3) Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $36.6 million
4) It’s Complicated – $18.7 million
5) The Blind Side – $12.6 million
My predictions were off by $21.1 million
Next weekend we have Daybreakers, Youth in Revolt, Leap Year and in limited release Crazy on the Outside, Wonderful World, and Bitch Slap. Check back next week for my predictions on those films.
