This week, I take back what I said about last week, as there doesn't seem to be a dragon in the number one film. My money was on the dragon. Metaphorically. (Literally, my money went to the Apocalypto fiasco). But audiences chose heartwarming and trusted over spectacle and nonsense. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates, the actuals will be available on Monday).
1. The Pursuit of Happyness (Sony) - $27.0, 2852 screens, week 1, $27.0 total
2. Eragon (Fox) - $23.45, 3020 screens, week 1, $23.45 total
3. Charlotte's Web (Par) - $12.0, 3566 screens, week 1, $12.0 total
4. Happy Feet (WB) - $8.5, 3335 screens, week 5, $149.4 total
5. The Holiday (Sony) - $8.5, 2614 screens, week 2, $25.3 total
6. Apocalypto (BV)- $7.7, 2465 screens, week 2, $27.9 total
7. Blood Diamond (WB) - $6.27, 1910 screens, week 2, $18.39 total
8. Casino Royale (Sony/MGM) - $5.7, 2437 screens, week 5, $137.57 total
9. The Nativity Story (NL)- $4.7, 2574 screens, week 3, $23.056 total
10. Unaccompanied Minors (WB) - $3.675, 2775 screens, week 2, $10.2 total
Ok, those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, if you're Will Smith, it means you can do no wrong. People will flock to see you in anything, dude. Sci-Fi robot movies, romantic comedies, heartwarming tales "Inspired by true events" , the man can do it all. And this weekend proved it, as The Pursuit of Happyness took in quite a lot of money. This is like Departed numbers. More money than a movie like this would ever do if it didn't have the star power.
If you're Eragon, you had an impressive debut. I guess Eragon is based on a book that a lot of people have read. It has a dragon in it. It got a lot of bad reviews. I'm not sure if it will sustain well over the holiday season. It might. Time will tell.
If you're Charlotte's Web, you could have done better. Let's be honest. But it looks like a heartwarming movie, and it's getting the best reviews out of the top three new releases. Let that sink in. The adaptation of the beloved children's book failed to capture the crowd's attention this weekend. However, I bet it will eventually turn a nice coin in the end.
Everything else dropped, but Blood Diamond dropped 27% from last week, so there could still be a bit of interest for this film. Stranger things have happened. On the other hand, Apocalypto dropped 48%, which I think is grand, because this was seriously one of the dumber movies I've seen lately. Seriously. I'm getting angry thinking about it.
Ok, I've calmed down now.
Below the radar, the highly anticipated Dreamgirls opened up on 3 screens, taking in $360,000, with a healthy per screen average of $120,000. Slightly skewing these numbers, however, is the fact that this special "pre-release engagement" is charging $25 per ticket for these shows. With the purchase of this ticket, you get a special commemorative program, or some nonsense. Still, these locations making $120,000 on people willing to pay that much to see a movie is pretty impressive.
Also, The Good German, the latest Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney collaboration, opened on 5 screens to take in $78,600. Not bad. I must say, though, that more people should see this movie. I haven't seen it yet, and I don't know if it's any good, but my roommate Dan and my friend Brian are extras in it. As soldiers. In fact you can see Brian in the preview. There's a brief shot of soldiers marching in a parade. It you freeze frame that brief shot, Brian's the soldier who's mad short. Just giving my friends a little credit.
And in the "just because it's there and because I can" series: Shut Up and Sing, the Dixie Chicks documentary, took in $47,000 on 71 screens, bringing it's grand total to $1,006,000 in 8 weeks
There you have my break down. Next week, we get a whole bunch of new movies. One of them has McConaughey. Sans dragon, though. Plus the return of Rocky. And the one with the museum. And I'm sure another one.
Until next weekend....
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