Box office Archives - Page 7 of 8 - ShowBizCafe.com

2008/12/21 at 12:00am

Box office says yes to ‘Yes Man’

12.21.2008 | By Mack Chico |

Jim Carrey’s new comedy “Yes Man” got the nod from moviegoers across North America, but brutal weather in key markets combined with holiday shopping distractions to hit overall ticket sales.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, “Yes Man” earned $18.2 million during its first three days, winning a closely watched duel with the Will Smith drama “Seven Pounds.” The decidedly downbeat film opened to a lightweight $16 million, Smith’s worst performance in seven years.

A third new entry, the mouse cartoon “The Tale of Despereaux,” followed at No. 3 with $10.5 million. Last weekend’s champion, the sci-fi remake “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” fell to No. 4 with $10.2 million.

Ticket sales on the East Coast, Pacific Northwest and parts of the Midwest fell victim to a winter deluge of snow and ice. Boston, for example, is a top-10 market, but it plunged to the lower reaches of the top 25 on Friday, studio executives said.

The top 12 films grossed $83 million, essentially flat with last weekend but down 44 percent from the year-ago period, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers.

Warner Bros Pictures, which released “Yes Man,” said the bad weather knocked about $2.5 million off the film’s total. But the Time Warner Inc (TWX.N)-owned studio hoped to make the money back in subsequent weeks.

Carrey plays a bank officer stuck in a personal and professional rut. After he attends a self-help seminar, he must say “yes” to all ideas and requests, leading to both comic and dramatic pitfalls. It cost in the $70 million range to make, said Dan Fellman, the studio’s president of distribution.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is #1 at the box office!

By Mack Chico

2008/12/15 at 12:00am

Movies

The Day the Earth Stood Still is #1 at the box office!

12.15.2008 | By Mack Chico |

Keanu Reeves, an actor known for his offbeat movie choices, added another unlikely box office hit to his collection on Sunday with “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” a chart-topping remake of a 1951 sci-fi movie.

The film, largely ridiculed by critics, sold an estimated $31 million worth of tickets in the United States and Canada since opening on Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said.

It was also the top pick internationally, raking in $39 million from 90 markets. Fox, a unit of News Corp, said the film was No. 1 in 53 of those markets, with Russia ($5.6 million) and Britain ($4.1 million) leading the way.

The film cost about $80 million to make, said Fox.

The North American tally was in line with expectations. It marks Reeves’ biggest opening since 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” the third film in the blockbuster “Matrix” franchise, kicked off with $48 million on its way to $139 million. Since then, he has starred in a series of art-house pictures (2005’s “Thumbsucker”) and middling studio pictures (2006’s “The Lake House”).

Reeves, 44, plays the alien Klaatu, who comes to save Earth from itself. The film co-stars Jennifer Connelly. Scott Derrickson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) directed.

“It’s an environmental as well as a political statement,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s senior vice president of domestic distribution.

Critics were less impressed. The Wall Street Journal said the movie was “insufferably full of itself,” while the Houston Chronicle described it as “a stunningly misconceived folly.” On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times said the film was “enjoyable.”

After two weeks at No. 1 in North America, the holiday comedy “Four Christmases” slipped to No. 2 with $13.3 million, taking its total to $88 million. The film, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

The only other new entry in the top 10 was also a Christmas tale. The Latin-themed ensemble piece “Nothing Like the Holidays” opened at No. 7 with $3.5 million. Industry analysts had expected an opening in the $5 million-$6 million range. It was released by Overture Films, a unit of Liberty Media Corp.

Rounding out the top five were the vampire romance “Twilight” at No. 3 with $8.0 million (total: $150 million); the canine cartoon “Bolt” at No. 4 with $7.5 million (total: $89 million); and the period drama “Australia” with $4.3 million (total: $38 million).

“Twilight” was released by Summit Entertainment LLC, which is privately held. “Bolt” was released by Walt Disney Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. “Australia” was also released by Fox.

By Mack Chico

2008/12/08 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Four Christmases’ – second week at #1!

12.8.2008 | By Mack Chico |

With the annual post-Thanksgiving multiplex malaise setting in and just one big new movie (Punisher: War Zone, which I’ll get to later…uh, much later) in theaters, the box office results remarkably resembled those of a week ago.

So, yep, you guessed it: Four Christmases was No. 1 with $18.2 million, according to Sunday’s estimates. That brings the holiday comedy’s two-week sum to a sweet $70.8 mil–and it restores my confidence in Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as box office draws. For now, at least.

The rest of the top five was comprised of the same movies we’ve been seeing for a while now. Twilight moved back up to the No. 2 spot with a tidy $13.2 mil haul; its three-week sum is $138.6 mil. Bolt (No. 3) followed with $9.7 mil, a huge and surprising 64 percent decline from its impressive Thanksgiving weekend sum. Australia declined 53 percent to bank $7 mil at No. 4. And Quantum of Solace (No. 5) grossed $6.6 mil and crossed the $500 mil mark worldwide.

Among major new releases, the biggest was hardly the baddest: Punisher: War Zone (No. 8) grossed a mere $4 mil in 2,508 theaters, a tally that’s way off from the $13.8 mil that The Punisher premiered with in 2004. More punishment: The Marvel franchise reboot failed to defeat even last week’s action disappointment, Transporter 3 (which was No. 7 with $4.5 mil). Ouch! Meanwhile, the other sorta-substantial new movie, Cadillac Records (No. 9), fared a bit better, bringing in a decent $3.5 mil in 686 locations. But the indie drama Nobel Son failed to take any prize (except, perhaps, that of Box Office Flop of the Week), grossing just $370,575 in 893 venues–a redonkulously low average of $415 per theater.

Nay, the only real news of note came in the ultra-limited-release sphere, where the buzzy drama Frost/Nixon debuted with a tremendous $60,049 average in three theaters in New York, L.A., and Toronto. The Oscar contender will roll out wider in the coming weeks.

Overall, the slow box office was actually up more than 6 percent from the same (even slower) frame a year ago, when The Golden Compass bowed to disappointing returns. That makes this the fifth straight “up” weekend of the fall season, and all things considered, it should be enough to spread some holiday cheer in Hollywood.

‘Four Christmas’ merries in a #1 gift at the box office

By Mack Chico

2008/12/01 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Four Christmas’ merries in a #1 gift at the box office

12.1.2008 | By Mack Chico |

Thanksgiving weekend movie crowds gobbled up the Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn holiday comedy “Four Christmases,” which premiered at No. 1 with $31.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film raised its total to $46.7 million since opening Wednesday.

In terms of revenue, it was Hollywood’s second-biggest Thanksgiving period ever. The top 12 movies took in $223.7 million from Wednesday to Sunday, trailing only the $232.2 million haul over 2000.

“Twilight,” which had a huge No. 1 opening the previous weekend, took a steep 62 percent decline from its $69.6 million premiere.

Based on Sunday’s estimates, Disney’s animated “Bolt” had a slight lead on second place with $26.6 million for the weekend, to $26.4 million for “Twilight.”

In San Francisco, Focus Features’ film “Milk,” directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn as slain Supervisor Harvey Milk, set a box-office record at the Castro Theatre. From Wednesday through Friday, the single-screen theater grossed $109,440 on “Milk,” breaking the previous three-day record of $50,584 set in May by “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” according to film promoters Terry Hines and Associates.

The film opened nationally on 36 screens, two of which, the Sundance Kabuki and the Embarcadero, didn’t begin showing the film until Friday. “Milk” opened at No. 10 nationwide with $1.4 million in just 36 theaters. The film had a strong average of $38,375 a cinema, compared with $9,571 in 3,310 theaters for “Four Christmases.”

The weekend’s other new wide release, “Australia,” opened at No. 5 with $14.8 million for the weekend and $20 million since premiering Wednesday.

‘Twilight’ drains competition at box office!

By Mack Chico

2008/11/24 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Twilight’ drains competition at box office!

11.24.2008 | By Mack Chico |

Fangirls of all ages scored their biggest box office victory yet in delivering a $70.6 million opening for Summit Entertainment’s teen vampire romance “Twilight” at the domestic box office.

Based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book series, “Twilight” is a ready-made film franchise, and the opening reps a resounding victory for the relatively new Summit, which didn’t even wait for the weekend to finish before announcing plans for sequel “New Moon.”

A $70 million opening is generally reserved for family pics or fanboy fare. “Twilight,” playing in 3,419 runs, tied with “The Incredibles” for the fourth best November bow after three “Harry Potter” pics. Gross is the highest ever for a female director and also beats the $57 million debut of “Sex and the City” in May.

The competition didn’t stand a chance against “Twilight.” Disney 3-D toon “Bolt” opened below expectations as older girls and moms made “Twilight” their first choice.

“Bolt,” grossing an estimated $27 million from 3651 runs, ended the weekend in a virtual tie with James Bond holdover “Quantum of Solace,” which grossed an estimated $27.4 million from 3,458 for a 10-day cume of $109.5 million, according to Rentrak.

Sony/MGM’s “Quantum,” like other holdovers, saw steep declines due, at least in part, to “Twilight.” Bond pic fell 59% from opening weekend, far more than predecessor “Casino Royale.” But Sony’s hardly complaining; through Sunday, “Quantum’s” worldwide total was $418 million.

Other studios may have been envious of Summit’s win, but the overriding emotion was relief at the sheer volume of theater traffic despite the economy. Frame was up as much as 68% over last year, when the weekend before Thanksgiving saw the debut of “Beowulf.”

Even the specialty side had bragging rights as “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” landed in the top 10 for the first time, and Fox Searchlight’s “Slumdog Millionaire” clocked in with a boffo per-location average of $31,050 in its second sesh.

For Summit, “Twilight” brought good fortune from the beginning. Project landed at the company after MTV Films passed on it, while Fox Atomic also refused to bite. Conventional wisdom says that female-driven properties aren’t always the safest bet.

In more good news for Summit, Warner Bros. moved “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which was supposed to open on Nov. 21, to July 17. Summit and Disney quickly moved “Twilight” and “Bolt,” respectively, onto that date.

Summit also kept costs down by hiring a relatively unknown cast and keeping costly special effects to a minimum. “Twilight” reportedly cost $37 million to produce. At that price, pic’s profit margin will be substantial.

“Quite frankly, as we journeyed on this road, from the inception to

Comic-Con to announcing we were moving from December, it became a perfect storm,” Summit prexy of distribution Richard Fay said.

“It’s clear that none of this would have happened had it not been for the incredible popularity of Stephenie Meyer’s books,” Fay added. “Being an old English major, it’s good to know that kids still read.”

Meyer’s four books have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, including more than 8 million in the U.S. The most avid fans are tween and teenage girls, but women are part of the mix too.

According to Summit, 75% of the audience were females. The surprise came in that 45% of the audience was over age 25.

In marketing the pic, Summit reached out to boys by emphasizing the movie’s action and vampire lore. “Twilight” played well nationwide, but the biggest-grossing theaters were in Utah. (Meyer is Mormon).

By Friday morning, it became clear that “Twilight” would log a bigger opening than originally predicted. Thursday night midnight ticket sales clocked in at $7 million for a total Friday haul of $35.9 million. Mirroring “Sex and the City,” “Twilight” saw a significant Friday-to-Saturday drop, or 43%. Both pics generated enormous advance ticket sales.

Those who did turn up for “Bolt” gave the toon top grade. Pic saw a 66% increase from Friday to Saturday.

Mouse House expects “Bolt” to do well over the long Thanksgiving weekend as “Twilight” fervor dies down.

“It’s one of the busiest times of the year for family moviegoing,” Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane said.

“Bolt” played on more than 900 3-D screens, the biggest count yet for a 3-D title. Those auditoriums did more than two times the business that conventional theaters did.

Still, “Bolt” is far down the list in terms of openings for animated films. Earlier this month, DreamWorks Animation/Paramount’s sequel “Madagascar: Return 2 Africa” debuted to $63.1 million. Among original toons, “Bee Movie” opened to $38 million in November 2007.

“Bolt” did beat the $25.1 million opening of Disney toon “Meet the Robinsons,” which cumed $97.8 million domestically.

“Madagascar” sequel, coming in No. 4 for the weekend, fell 54% in its third sesh, grossing an estimated $16 million from 4,007 runs for a cume of $137 million. Pic’s decline — more than usual for a family film — reflected the entry of “Twilight” and “Bolt.”

Elsewhere on the top 10 chart, Universal took the Nos. 5 and 6 spots with comedy “Role Models” and Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” respectively.

A sleeper hit, “Role Models” declined only 35% in its third weekend to an estimated $7.2 million from 2,733 runs for a cume of $48 million.

“Changeling” declined 38% to an estimated $2.6 million from 1,739; cume is $31.6 million.

Fox Searchlight’s “The Secret Life of Bees” kept buzzing away, declining 45% to an estimated $1.3 million from 1,095 runs for a cume of $35.7 million in its sixth week.

Bond sets franchise record at the box office!

By Pau Brunet

2008/11/17 at 12:00am

Movies

Bond sets franchise record at the box office!

11.17.2008 | By Pau Brunet |

It’s a Bond market .

“Quantum of Solace,” with Daniel Craig returning as James Bond , easily made for the best opening weekend for the spy franchise, earning more than $67 million at the box office. The series’ first direct sequel opened with nearly $30 million more than its predecessor, 2006’s “Casino Royale.”

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. “Quantum of Solace,” Sony/MGM, $67,528,882, 3,451 locations, $19,568 average, $67,528,882, one week.

2. ” Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ,” Paramount, $35,017,301, 4,065 locations, $8,614 average, $116,905,195, two weeks.

3. ” Role Models ,” Universal, $11,150,030, 2,798 locations, $3,985 average, $37,577,245, two weeks.

4. ” High School Musical 3: Senior Year ,” Disney, $5,656,162, 3,202 locations, $1,766 average, $84,169,216, four weeks.

5. ” Changeling ,” Universal, $4,254,080, 1,896 locations, $2,244 average, $27,631,772, four weeks.

6. ” Zack and Miri Make a Porno ,” Weinstein Co., $3,146,312, 2,210 locations, $1,424 average, $26,465,482, three weeks.

7. “Soul Men,” MGM, $2,350,141, 2,048 locations, $1,148 average, $9,370,925, two weeks.

8. “The Secret Life of Bees,” Fox Searchlight, $2,338,279, 1,449 locations, $1,614 average, $33,627,359, five weeks.

9. ” Saw V ,” Lionsgate , $1,767,405, 2,002 locations, $883 average, $55,380,488, four weeks.

10. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua ,” Disney, $1,579,080, 1,617 locations, $977 average, $90,878,127, seven weeks.

‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ roars to #1 at the BO!

By Pau Brunet

2008/11/10 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ roars to #1 at the BO!

11.10.2008 | By Pau Brunet |

It was a zoo at the multiplex this weekend, as the animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa easily won the box office crown, and flocks of filmgoers helped several holdovers stay strong while propelling Role Models to a bigger than expected debut. Meanwhile, the other major new release, Soul Men, had little to celebrate.

Madagascar 2 grossed a huge $63.5 mil from Friday through Sunday, according to early estimates. That sum far exceeds the $47.2 mil that the first Madagascar flick grossed over Memorial Day weekend 2005, and it’s the biggest bow for any movie since The Dark Knight‘s record-breaking $158.4 mil haul way back in July. It’s also the second-best premiere ever for an animated movie that didn’t open during the summer (The Incredibles holds the current high mark, $70.5 mil), and the first-weekend total ranks seventh among those for all feature-length cartoons. By comparison, this past summer WALL-E opened with $63.1 mil and Kung Fu Panda premiered to $60.2 mil.

The causes of this success should be no mystery by now. Kids continue to be the most important and decisive cohort out there, the movie had little family-film competition, and that A- CinemaScore review (from a rare ”four quadrant” audience that hit all major demographics) underscored how people took a shine to Madagascar 2 — and how it should hang on well for a few weeks to come.

Performing remarkably well at No. 2 was the R-rated comedy Role Models, which banked $19.3 mil, a gross that would have been enough to win just about any other non-Madagascar weekend. A successful bit of counterprogramming, the adult farce also drew an A- CinemaScore grade (from an audience that was mostly between the ages of 18 and 34), and it tallied the biggest opening ever for a movie in which Paul Rudd has a lead part. So, yes, it’s now official: Everybody does, in fact, love Paul Rudd.

Three super-solid stalwarts dominated the rest of the top five. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (No. 3) grossed $9.3 mil on a 39 percent decline; the young-skewing Disney flick likely benefited from Madagascar 2‘s overflow traffic. Changeling (No. 4) dropped a mere 22 percent to bring in another $7.3 mil. And Zack and Miri Make a Porno (No. 5) fell just 35 percent in grossing $6.5 mil over the course of its second weekend. Thus, the Bernie Mac-Isaac Hayes swan song, Soul Men, got pushed out of the top of the chart: It banked a disappointing $5.6 mil despite garnering its own A- CinemaScore mark.

Among smaller releases, the Holocaust drama The Boy in the Striped Pajamas averaged a nice $15,000 in 17 theaters, while the cult rock musical Repo: The Genetic Opera underperformed in eight locations, grossing just $51,578.

Still, thanks to the big winners at the top of the chart, the overall box office was up 29 percent from the same frame a year ago, when Bee Movie and American Gangster held off newcomers Fred Claus and Lions for Lambs. And things continue to look up at the multiplex as the latest James Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, which has been breaking records elsewhere in the world, is due to premiere Stateside next time around. In other words, prepare to be shaken and stirred.

#	TITLE	%	Gross	Theaters	Avg.	Cume	Dist.	Bdgt.
1	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	–	$63M	4’056	$15’450	$63M	Dreamworks	–
2	Role Models	–	$19’2M	2’792	$6’890	$19’2M	Universal	–
3	High School Musical 3	-39%	$8’2M	3’456	$2’680	$75’7M	Disney	$11M
4	Changeling	-22%	$7’3M	1’855	$3’920	$20’5M	Universal	–
5	Zack & Miri Make a Porno	-35%	$6’5M	2’735	$2’380	$20’9M	Weinstein	$25M
6	Soul Men	–	$5’6M	2’044	$2’740	$5’6M	MGM/Wein.	–

‘High School Musical 3’ frights up a consecutive #1!

By Pau Brunet

2008/11/03 at 12:00am

Movies

‘High School Musical 3’ frights up a consecutive #1!

11.3.2008 | By Pau Brunet |

Halloween weekend started out with a true fright at the box office, as people were spooked away from all the movies in the multiplex and presumably hearty holdovers suffered huge declines. But as the trick-or-treaters came in from the chilly night and their candy comas set in, High School Musical 3: Senior Year rebounded to win its second straight weekend, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Clint Eastwood’s Changeling also fared well enough. The Haunting of Molly Hartley, however, scared up little business.

In the end, some familiar films dominated the top of the chart. HSM3 banked $15 mil, according to Sunday’s estimates. Despite dropping 64 percent from its winning opening, the tween musical’s 10-day sum now stands at $61.8 mil. Still, it should be gone by next weekend, when Madagascar 2 hits theaters. Also hanging on despite heavy losses was Saw V (No. 3), which brought in $10.1 mil — a heart stopping 66 percent drop from its big bow a week ago.

But among new movies, Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno (No. 2) fared best, grossing $10.7 mil on the weekend. While not very impressive, that total is on par with the $10.1 mil that the lowbrow auteur’s previous release, Clerks II, made in its first frame more than two years ago, and, actually, it’s Smith’s second-best bow ever (after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back‘s $11 mil debut). Not ditto for star Seth Rogen, who has grown accustomed to $20 mil-plus premieres lately (like Pineapple Express‘ $23.2 mil, Superbad‘s $33.1 mil, and Knocked Up‘s $30.7 mil), although at least he avoids the embarrassment of a true flop.

Buoyed by a sweet A- CinemaScore review from a substantially older audience, Changeling (No. 4) capitalized on being the only grown-up film in the marketplace by bringing in $9.4 mil, a sum that’s more than double the $3.9 mil that star Angelina Jolie’s last drama, 2007’s A Mighty Heart, earned on its first weekend. And, hey, with the second-, third-, and fourth-place movies all banking nearly the same number of bucks, Changeling could conceivably move up in the weekend rankings when the final numbers come out on Monday.

Rounding out the top five was The Haunting of Molly Hartley, with a weak $6 mil take. Boo, indeed!

Overall, the cumulative box office was down more than 36 percent from the same frame a year ago, when Halloween fell on a less financially intrusive Wednesday and American Gangster and Bee Movie led the way. And now it’s time for me to buzz off.

#	TITLE	%	Gross	Theaters	Avg.	Cume	Dist.	Bdgt.
1	High School Musical 3	-56%	$18’5M	3’635	$5’090	$61’4M	Disney	$11M
2	Zack & Miri Make a Porno	–	$10’2M	2’750	$3’820	$10’2M	Weinstein	$25M
3	Saw V	-58%	$10’1M	3’086	$3’265	$48M	Lionsgate	$10’8M
4	Changeling	–	$9’4M	1’870	$5’080	$10M	Universal	–
5	The Haunting of Molley Hartley	–	$5’9M	2’630	$2’240	$5’8M	Freestyle	$5M
6	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	-34%	$4’7M	3’008	$1’580	$84M	Disney	–

"High School Musical 3 sings itself to #1 at the box office!

By Pau Brunet

2008/10/27 at 12:00am

Movies

"High School Musical 3 sings itself to #1 at the box office!

10.27.2008 | By Pau Brunet |

In one of the more unusual duels at the North American box office, a perky Disney romantic musical trumped the fifth installment in the grisly “Saw” horror series, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” the first big-screen adaptation of Walt Disney Co’s popular TV movie franchise, sold $42 million worth of tickets during its first three days. The opening sets a new record for a musical, surpassing the $27.8 million bow of the ABBA-themed romance “Mamma Mia!” in July.

“Saw V” followed with $30.5 million, in line with the previous three installments. Moviegoers can expect additional sequels of both films.

The one-two punch of the disparate duo propelled overall weekend sales to their highest level in 10 weeks. The top 12 films grossed $120 million, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers, up about 40 percent from both last weekend and the year-ago weekend.

But the news was not all good. The new cop drama “Pride and Glory,” starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, opened at No. 5 with just $6.3 million. It marks the second consecutive dud for Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. following “Body of Lies,” starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, two weeks ago.

Disney, on the other hand, is enjoying a strong fall, first with “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” three weeks ago, and now with “High School Musical 3.” The movie also opened in 19 international markets, and was No. 1 in each of them, led by Britain with $13 million.

“Saw V” is the latest installment in the spectacularly profitable torture franchise that kicked off in 2004. Every October since then, a new “Saw” movie has opened at No. 1 in the $30 million range. Total sales peaked at $87 million for “Saw II,” and the film’s distributor, Lionsgate, hopes the new one will finish up in the $60 million range.

The studio, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, said “Saw” will soon become the biggest horror franchise, with total domestic sales about $1 million short of the $318 million haul of the 11 “Friday the 13th” films.

Last weekend’s champ, the Mark Wahlberg thriller “Max Payne,” slipped to No. 3 with $7.6 million, taking its 10-day haul to $29.7 million. The film was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

#	TITLE	%	GROSS	THEATERS	AVG.	CUME.	DIST.	BUDGET
1	High School Musical 3	–	$41’5M	3’623	$11’590	$41’5M	Disney	$11M
2	Saw V	–	$30M	3’060	$8’960	$30M	Lionsgate	$10’8M
3	Max Payne	-57%	$7’5M	3’381	$2’240	$29’4M	Fox	$35M
4	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	-39%	$6’9M	3’190	$2’160	$78M	Disney	–
5	Pride & Glory	–	$6’2M	2’585	$2’440	$6’2M	NL/Warner	$30M
6	The Secret Life Of Bees	-44%	$5’9M	1’650	$3’640	$19’1M	Fox Serch.	$11M

‘Max Payne’ shoots his way to #1 at the box office

By Pau Brunet

2008/10/20 at 12:00am

Movies

‘Max Payne’ shoots his way to #1 at the box office

10.20.2008 | By Pau Brunet |

Max Payne, the videogame adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg and Puerto Rican actor Amaury Nolasco (picture in left), shot up an easy win at the box office, even as two of the weekend’s other new releases — The Secret Life of Bees and W. — performed nicely, finishing in line with their respective estimates.

The No. 1 action flick grossed $18 million from Friday through Sunday. Although not quite on par with the debut totals of some other game-based movies, like the most recent Resident Evil films, which blew away more than $23 mil in their premieres, Max Payne‘s premiere number is a marked improvement on the first-weekend sums of Wahlberg’s previous two gun-totin’ flicks, last fall’s cop drama We Own the Night ($10.8 mil) and early 2007’s Shooter ($14.5 mil). And here’s another sort of backhanded compliment: It’s a good thing the movie earned as much as it did this weekend, for its lamentable CinemaScore grade of C portends a limited audience in the coming weeks.

Following a long reign as the top dog at the multiplex, Beverly Hills Chihuahua moved back a step to No. 2, with $11.2 mil on a mere 36 percent decline. The family film has banked nearly $70 mil since its wow bow three weeks ago. In actual fact, Chihuahua barked up a dollar figure almost identical to those of the next two movies, meaning that the final rankings may not be determined until Monday’s final numbers are released.

As it stands now, however, The Secret Life of Bees was next at No. 3 with a sweet-as-honey $11.1 mil. Playing in a medium number of theaters (1,591), the Southern drama scored the weekend’s best average among wide releases ($6,945). W. also did well given all that it had going against it. Oliver Stone’s presidential biopic was voted into fourth place with $10.6 mil in 2,030 locations — not bad for a movie opening during tough economic times about a man whom many Americans blame for said financial strains. But will the film be able to overcome its low approval rating from audiences (in the form of an impeachable CinemaScore grade of C) in the long run? Not likely.

Speaking of the long run, Eagle Eye continues to go strong after a month in theaters. The thriller rounded out the top five by adding another $7.3 mil to its $80 mil-plus total. Thus, it came in far ahead of the frame’s final new movie, the college romp Sex Drive, which got a flat tire with just $3.6 mil way back at No. 9. Also overshadowed: The weekend’s major art-house release, the Hollywood-set comedy What Just Happened?, which averaged just $6,000 in 36 locations.

Still, the overall box office was up almost 8 percent from the same weekend last year, when 30 Days of Night spooked its way to No.1. And scary movies are exactly what we’ll be talking about next time around, when Saw V slices and dices its way into theaters. So tune in again then, folks…if you dare!

#	Title	%	Gross	Theaters	Average	Cume	Dist.	Budget
1	Max Payne	–	$17M	3’378	$5’240	$17’7M	Fox	$35M
2	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	-36%	$11’2M	3’239	$3’458	$69M	Disney	–
3	The Secret Life Of Bees	–	$11M	1’591	$6’945	$11M	Fox Search.	$11M
4	W.	–	$10’5M	2’030	$5’200	$10’5M	Lionsgate	$25M
5	Eagle Eye	-33%	$7’3M	3’326	$2’208	$81’3M	DW/Par	$80M
6	Body of Lies	-47%	$6’8M	2’714	$2’535	$24’4M	Warner	$70M