2010 started out on a decent note for me. I predicted four of the five films in the top five, and three of them in order. The new releases did not make a huge impact at the box office, but the holdovers are still running strong.
For the 4th weekend in a row Avatar was the #1 film with a gross of $48.5 million (I predicted that it would stay at #1 and gross $39.44 million). This was down 29.2% from last weekend. The per theatre average was a stellar $14,173. Avatar is now officially the #1 movie of 2009, as its total gross now stands at $429 million, and it has the record for highest fourth weekend gross in history. It is also the 7th highest grossing domestic film in history (#6 is Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace with $431 million), the second highest grossing film in history worldwide, and the 2nd fastest film to reach $400 million domestically.
2nd place is a tight battle, and it could change when final numbers come out. Currently 2nd place belongs to Sherlock Holmes with a gross of $16.6 million (I predicted it would be the #2 film and gross $15.3 million). The film dropped 54.6% from last weekend, and had a per theatre average of $4,581. After three weeks the film has grossed $165.1 million.
In 3rd place is Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with a gross of $16.3 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a gross of $12.2 million). The family hit was down 53.7% from last weekend, and had a per theatre average of $4,477. After three weeks, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel has taken in $178.1 million.
In 4th place is the only new release to make it into the top five – Daybreakers with a gross of $15 million (I predicted that it would not make the top five and gross $6 million). It actually had a respectable opening with a per theatre average of $5,945. I don’t think it will hold up well in the long term, just because of the genre of film, which usually suffers big decreases in the 2nd weekend. Again, reviews were decent, so we’ll see if that helps.
In 5th place is the comedy It’s Complicated with a gross of $11 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $9 million). The film had a per theatre average of $3,725 and after 3 weeks has grossed $76.3 million. I’ll be honest, I don’t think anyone saw this coming, that the film would make this much money, and it has done it by staying under the radar. I know I did not think the film would do this well, as I thought it would get lost in the Christmas shuffle. Shows how much I know.
Two other new releases came out and did not fare as well.
Leap Year opened in 6th place with a gross of $9.1 million and a per theatre average of $3,650. I predicted that Leap Year would gross $6.5 million.
Youth in Revolt opened in 9th place with a gross of $7 million and a per theatre average of $3,737. I predicted that Youth in Revolt would gross $5.2 million.
In limited release, Crazy on the Outside directed and starring Tim Allen grossed $75,400 from 75 theatres for a horrible per theatre average of $1,005.
The other new releases have not released their numbers as of this writing.
So to recap, here are my predictions:
1) Avatar – $39.44 million
2) Sherlock Holmes – $15.3 million
3) Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $12.2 million
4) It’s Complicated – $9 million
5) Up In The Air – $7.7 million
And here are the final numbers:
1) Avatar – $48.5 million
2) Sherlock Holmes – $16.6 million
3) Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $16.3 million
4) Daybreakers – $15 million
5) It’s Complicated – $11 million
My predictions were off by $25.46 million.
Next weekend we have The Spy Next Door, The Book of Eli, Fish Bank, and expanding into wide release is The Lovely Bones. Check back next week for my predictions on those films.
Until Next Week
