The last week of 2010 ended exactly the same as the second last weekend of 2010 did, with Little Fockers remaining the box office champion. It narrowly held on to beat True Grit for the top spot, and when final numbers get released on Monday, True Grit has a very good chance of being the top film in the land. My predictions were pretty good this weekend even though I only picked one of the top five films in the correct finishing spot (that was 3rd place for Tron: Legacy). The only big surprise to me (and it was a very big surprise on some films) was how well films held up in the post-Christmas weekend. So, without further ado here’s how the box office broke down:
Staying in 1st place for the second weekend in a row is Little Fockers with a gross of $26.3 million (I predicted a 2nd place finish and a gross of $23.1 million). The film had a per theatre average of $7,400, and was down 14.7% from last weekend, which was the largest percentage drop of any film in the top ten. Little Fockers is performing much like the first film, and not at all like the second film. Here’s how the second weekends of the franchise stack up. See below:
2000 – Meet the Parents – $21.1 million second weekend / 26% second week drop
2004 – Meet the Fockers – $41.7 million second weekend / 9.5% second week drop
2010 – Little Fockers – $26.3 million second weekend / 14.7% second week drop
I think that True Grit will be the #1 film when final numbers come in Monday, but if that is not the case, I definitely think that this is the last weekend that Little Fockers will be the #1 film. After 10 days, Little Fockers, with a budget listed at $100 million (the most expensive film of the franchise), has grossed $103.1 million, so the franchise continues to be a profitable one.
Staying in 2nd place for the second weekend in a row is the Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin western True Grit with a gross of $24.5 million (I predicted a 1st place finish and a gross of $23.6 million). True Grit had a per theatre average of $7,947 and was down only 1.4% from last weekend. The hold for the film is outstanding and it goes to show that this film will have legs leading up to the Oscars and, as I said above in my wrap-up of Little Fockers, I really do think when all is said that there is a chance that True Grit will be the #1 film of the weekend. As it stands now, True Grit has grossed $86.7 million after 10 days and is a big moneymaker for Paramount as the budget for True Grit is only $38 million.
Jeff Bridges is also the star of the #3 film for the second weekend in a row as Tron: Legacy stays in 3rd place again with a gross of $18.3 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a $16.2 million gross). The film had a per theatre average of $5,440 and was down only 4.4% from last weekend. What surprised me about the gross for Tron: Legacy this weekend was the fact that it had such a strong hold. It really is the only major big budget release that audiences really want to see (sorry fans of The Chronicles of Narnia) and it did well this weekend. After three weeks, Tron: Legacy has grossed $130.8 million and gets a little closer to making its budget of $170 million back.
Yogi Bear moves up from 5th place to 4th place with a gross of $13 million (I predicted a 6th place finish and a gross of $7.4 million). The film had a per theatre average of $3,698 and was UP 65.9% from last weekend’s gross. I really misjudged this film as audiences came out and supported it. The fact that its gross was up 65.9% from last weekend proves that this was the film for kids this weekend, and no matter how bad I think the film looks, it got people into the seats. After three weeks, Yogi Bear has grossed $66.1 million, which gets it closer to its budget of $80 million.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped from 4th place to 5th place this weekend with a gross of $10.5 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $10.25 million). The film had a per theatre average of $3,562 and was UP 10.8% from last weekend’s gross. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is nowhere close to the grosses of the first two films, but what is interesting to me is that the film has really picked up steam the past few weeks and has posted decent holds. Here is what the three films in the franchise have grossed:
2005 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – $291.7 million domestic gross
2008 – The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – $141.6 million domestic gross
2010 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – $87.1 million domestic gross
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is now more than halfway to making its budget of $155 million back, as it has grossed $87.1 million after four weeks, but there is no way this film becomes profitable from its domestic gross alone.
Tangled moved up in a big way this week as it went from 9th place to 6th place with a gross of $10.008 million (I predicted a 9th place finish and a gross of $5.8 million). Tangled had a per theatre average of $3,876 and was UP 55.7% from last weekend. Tangled definitely benefitted from a lot of families being able to spend time together this weekend, and the fact that this film was up 55.7% from last weekend and Yogi Bear was up 65.9% from last weekend, goes to show you how lucrative it is to release a family film this time of year. The budget for Tangled is listed at $240 million, and after six weeks Tangled has grossed $168 million.
Dropping from 6th place to 7th place is the Mark Wahlberg//Christian Bale drama The Fighter with a gross of $10 million (I predicted a 5th place finish and a gross of $9.3 million). The Fighter had a per theatre average of $3,946 and the gross was UP 31.5% from last weekend. The critically acclaimed drama continues to perform well and seems to be the back-up choice for adult audiences after True Grit. It also has a very realistic shot of being the #6 film when final grossed come in on Monday. After four weeks, The Fighter has grossed $46.3 million and is yet another profitable film for Paramount this winter (along with True Grit) as the budget for The Fighter is listed at $25 million.
Staying in 8th place for the second weekend in a row is the Jack Black comedy Gulliver’s Travels with a gross of $9.1 million (I predicted an 8th place finish and a gross of $6.1 million). The per theatre average for Gulliver’s Travels is $2,946 and the film was UP 44.3% from last weekend. There is not much positive to say about Gulliver’s Travels except that its gross was up from last weekend. Still, a per theatre average that low for a high profile release in only its second weekend is very disappointing. Gulliver’s Travels has still not listed its budget as of this writing and after two weeks, it has grossed $27.2 million.
Dropping from 8th place to 9th place is the Natalie Portman ballet thriller Black Swan with a gross of $8.4 million (I predicted a 7th place finish and a gross of $6.9 million). Black Swan had a per theatre average of $5,441 and was UP 35.1% percent from last weekend. Black Swan is yet another adult film that did very well over the holiday season and continues to build on the Oscar buzz it has received. After five weeks of release, Black Swan has grossed $47.3 million and is making a nice profit for Fox Searchlight as the budget is listed at only $13 million.
Moving up from 11th place to 10th place is the Colin Firth//Geoffrey Rush//Helena Bonham Carter historical film The King’s Speech with a gross of $7.6 million (I predicted a 10th place finish and a gross of $4.8 million). The King’s Speech had a per theatre average of $10,927 and the film was UP 70.1% from last weekend. The per theatre average and percentage rise from last weekend were the highest of any film in the top ten, which is a very rare thing to say for a film in 10th place. The King’s Speech is a film that is generating a lot of buzz and seems to do better and better with each passing day. You can definitely expect to see this film get nominated for a lot of Oscars when nominations are announced. In six weeks of mainly limited release, The King’s Speech has grossed $22.8 million and its budget is listed at $15 million.
In limited release:
Blue Valentine – This film stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and chronicles the course of a couples’ relationship over the years. Blue Valentine grossed $180,000 from 4 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $45,000, which was the highest per theatre average of any film in release.
Another Year – Mike Leigh’s latest film starts Jim Broadbent and is about another year in the life of an elderly couple. They are happy and content with their lives, but throughout the year the film takes place, some of their friends and family all seem to be having a bad year in some way. Another Year grossed $120,000 from 6 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $20,000, which was the third highest per theatre average of any film in release behind the $21,500 per theatre average of Country Strong.
So to recap, here were my predictions:
True Grit – $23.6 million
Little Fockers – $23.1 million
Tron: Legacy – $16.2 million
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – $10.25 million
The Fighter – $8.5 million
And here are the actual numbers:
Little Fockers – $26.3 million
True Grit – $24.5 million
Tron: Legacy – $18.3 million
Yogi Bear – $13 million
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – $10.5 million
My predictions were off by $12.05 million.
Next weekend, Little Fockers and True Grit will once again battle for the #1 spot, but this time they take on the Nicolas Cage film Season of the Witch and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Country Strong which is expanding into a wider release. Check out Biff Bam Pop next Friday to read my predictions!
