Alice in Wonderland had a very solid second weekend and stayed in the number one spot. The three major new releases of the weekend did not make a dent, and should all fade from theatres quickly. My predictions were very hit and miss this weekend. Here’s how everything broke down.
As mentioned above, the #1 film for the second weekend in a row is Alice in Wonderland with $62 million. (I predicted a 1st place finish and a gross of $61.5 million). The film dropped only 46.6% from last weekend, which is an excellent hold for a major release, and had a per theatre average of $16,631, which was the highest per theatre average of any film this weekend. It is the sixth highest 2nd weekend gross in history. Here are the numbers for all-time 2nd weekends:
1) Avatar – $75.6 million
2) The Dark Knight – $75.1 million
3) Shrek 2 – $72.1 million
4) Spider-Man – $71.4 million
5) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $62.3 million
6) Alice in Wonderland – $62 million
It also became the 11th fastest film in history to cross the $200 million mark. Obviously, the 3-D showings are helping, but any doubts about the film have to be erased with the strong hold Alice in Wonderland had this weekend. It’s the first major hit of 2010, and after two weekends, the film has grossed $208.6 million. Also worth noting is that in this short time, Alice in Wonderland is the highest grossing Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaboration, surpassing the $206.5 million of 2005’s Charlies and the Chocolate Factory.
Opening in 2nd place is the war-time thriller Green Zone with a gross of $14.5 million (I predicted a #3 finish and a gross of $17 million). The Matt Damon//Paul Greengrass collaboration did not excite audiences has it had a per theatre average of $4,840 which is not good news considering that film was in over 3,000 theatres. Anytime a major release has a theatre count above 3,000, and cannot hit a per theatre average of $5,000, the film does not stand a chance of having a long theatrical run. It’s unfair to make a comparison with the two Bourne films that the two did together, because they were part of a franchise, and did have a built-in audience. The subject matter of war just does not seem to strike a chord with moviegoers right now.
Debuting in 3rd place is the comedy She’s Out Of My League with a gross of $9.6 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $15 million). The Jay Baruchel comedy did better then I expected in terms of where it finished at the box office, but I was disappointed that the film did not make more than $10 million this weekend. Audiences did not seem to be interested in the film as it had a disappointing per theatre average of $3,248. It’s worth noting that the film was released in over 2,900 theatres, so like I mentioned above with Green Zone, the high theatre count and low per theatre average make for a terrible debut for She’s Out Of My League.
Debuting in 4th place, with the most disappointing result of any of the major new releases is the romance Remember Me as it grossed $8.2 million (I predicted a 2nd place finish and a gross of $23 million). I thought Robert Pattinson had enough star power with the Twilight franchise, and a loyal enough following among females to power this film to a 2nd place finish, but I was way off. I still am shocked that this film did so poorly compared to Dear John, as I thought women would be interested in Remember Me a lot more. Hollywood will take notice of this poor opening, as it shows that Pattinson cannot open a film by himself just yet. It had a per theatre average of $3,752, but to continue the theme of the other new releases, any time a film opens with a per theatre average that is less than $5,000, you know it is not going to have a long shelf-life in theatres. Expect to find this film on DVD shelves soon.
Shutter Island fell from 3rd place to 5th place this weekend with a gross of $8.1 million (I predicted a 5th place finish and a gross of $7.26 million). The film was down 38.5% from last weekend, which is a great hold, and it had a per theatre average of $2,426. The film also reached the $100 million mark at the box office, and is only the third Martin Scorsese film to reach this mark. The other two films to do so were The Aviator and The Departed. This film has been a bright spot in 2010, and after three weekends, it has grossed $108 million.
In other film news:
In its 13th weekend, for the first time in its run in theatres, Avatar did not make the top five. It finished in 7th place with a gross of $6.6 million, which was down 18.7% from last weekend, and it had a per theatre average of $3,842. It has now taken in $730.3 million at the box office.
In limited release, Our Family Wedding finished in a very respectable 6th place, as it grossed $7.6 million despite being released in 1,605 theatres. That is actually the lowest theatre count of any of the films in the top ten. It had a per theatre average of $4,735 which is not that great, but the positive has to be accentuated here, and it is a definite victory for Our Family Wedding to finish in 6th place.
Stolen and Mother have yet to report their box office totals for the weekend as of this writing.
So to recap, here were my predictions:
1) Alice in Wonderland – $61.5 million
2) Remember Me – $23 million
3) Green Zone – $17 million
4) She’s Out Of My League – $15 million
5) Shutter Island – $7.26 million
And here are the actual numbers:
1) Alice in Wonderland – $62 million
2) Green Zone – $14.5 million
3) She’s Out Of My League – $9.6 million
4) Remember Me – $8.2 million
5) Shutter Island – $8.1 million
My top five predictions were off by $24.04 million.
Next weekend, Alice in Wonderland will try to be the #1 film for the third weekend in a row against Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston’s action-comedy The Bounty Hunter and Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in the action-thriller Repo Men.
Check back next week for my predictions!
