Audiences dig 'Treasure' sequel Nicolas Cage film nets $16.6 million Friday By ANTHONY D'ALESSANDROIn a crowded pre-Christmas frame, Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" uncovered $16.6 million in box office gold on Friday at 3,832 theaters. The sequel's first day haul marked opening day highs for both headliner Nicolas Cage and helmer Jon Turteltaub, whose previous respective records were for last February's "Ghost Rider" ($15.4 million) and 2004's "National Treasure" ($11.1 million). "Secrets" looks to maintain its lead throughout the weekend with its final three-day take clocking in higher than "Rider's" $45.4 million. "National Treasure" bowed to $35.1 million in November 2004.
Overall, the top 10 films unwrapped a healthy $50 million at the Friday box office, up 28% over the same day a year ago.
While the second Friday for Warner Bros.' "I Am Legend" slowed down 64% from its opening day, the Will Smith starrer collected $10.9 million from 3,620 sites for second place, raising its eight-day total to $114.2 million.
Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks" managed to store $8.4 million in third from 3,499 trees, down 37%, for a total cume of $64.3 million.
The theater count for DreamWorks-Paramount/Warner Bros.' horror musical "Sweeney Todd" might have been smaller than other frosh wide openers yesterday, but that didn't hinder the Tim Burton pic from clipping $3.8 million from 1,249 locales for fourth place.
Following "Todd" was Universal's Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts topliner "Charlie Wilson's War" which grossed $2.8 million from 2,575 theaters for fifth.
In sixth, Warner Bros.' Hilary Swank-Gerard Butler vehicle "P.S. I Love" romanced $2.4 million from holiday moviegoers in 2,454.
Sony's music biopic satire "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" generated few guffaws in seventh place, collecting $1.5 million from 2,650 concert halls. Disney's Thanksgiving opener "Enchanted" followed in eighth with $1.3 million from 2,752, down 23%, and a total cume of $95.5 million.
New Line's "The Golden Compass," which has translated more to overseas auds since its release three weeks ago (foreign B.O. $100 million) than stateside crowds, dropped 54% from last Friday to ninth with $1.2 million off 2,953 and a domestic take of $45.6 million.
Among arthouse fare yesterday, previous week holdovers proved to the be the most resilient against Friday's wide releases. Fox Searchlight's "Juno" accumulated $1 million in tenth place from 304 theaters, up a boffo 153%, for a running cume of $4 million. Pic's theater average of $3,390 was the second best on Friday behind the $4,325 average posted by "Secrets."
Yesterday's B.O. for Focus Features' "Atonement" remained even with its daily haul from a week ago, posting $523,000 from 297 theaters. The Golden Globe nominated drama's cume currently stands at $4.3 million.
The second Friday for Par Classics' "The Kite Runner" surged 127% with a daily take of $320,000 thanks to its theater expansion from 35 to 377 locales.
Did anyone expect "I Am Legend" to be such a huge success?
I am surprised "Walk Hard" flopped so badly. I am also surprised "Enchanted" hasn't crossed the 100-million-dollar mark. Didn't it open with 50 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend? I though it would have much better legs.
Is it just me or is "Atonement" underwhelming at the box office?
Nicolas Cage's body of work this year should be recognized by the Razzie Awards.
<<Did anyone expect "I Am Legend" to be such a huge success?>>
Yes - Will Smith is the single biggest box office draw in the US these days, so this is not a surprise.
<<I am surprised "Walk Hard" flopped so badly>>
Satire and non-broad based comedy is tricky this time of year
<<I am also surprised "Enchanted" hasn't crossed the 100-million-dollar mark. Didn't it open with 50 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend? I though it would have much better legs.>>
Definitely lower than expected - one cliche about kids' films is that those with boy characters do better than girl characters - young boys don't want to see female based films, whereas girls will see male based films. I thought it would be a $250 million + phenomenom after it opened, and possibly propel it to a best picture nomination. Now even best actress is not a sure thing.
<<Is it just me or is "Atonement" underwhelming at the box office?>>
It is performing below the level of such films as The Queen, Little Miss Sunshine, No Country for Old Men and Juno. It is doing OK, and worldwide (with huge UK numbers - it is the equivalent of a US $150 million film there) plus US will be a profitable film. But without major Oscar nominations (still not certain what will happen there of course) it will fade by late January.
One caveat - the most important box office day of the year is 12/26. That is when one can really gauge what is doing well. Enchanted, for one, might bounce back and do the business it should be doing.
These are surprising box office results. I didn't think that "Walk Hard" would flop. And I didn't think that "National Treasure" would do well. I really didn't like it, and I guess its becoming some kind of franchise. "Atonement" would never do well I think even though its a great movie.
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Posts: 3105 | Location: Los Angeles/Fred Segal | Registered: December 06, 2007
Sweeney is really tough to evaluate - part of its audience (Broadway musicals) is older, less likely to be going to movies pre-Xmas. The Johnny Depp/horror audience is more likely to go out though.
It had an average of $3000/per screen at fewer than normal (mostly the best theatres in the country), whereas Charlie Wilson's did $1100 at twice as many.
Frankly, unless it scores a lot of Oscar nominations, this is not a film with great prospects at the moment. If a surprise snub in the top three categories occurs (I haven't seen the film, and it is increasingly a mystery to me as to what its Oscar appeal will be), it could actually turn out to be a money loser. But way to early to project with confidence yet.
Walk Hard was bound to be a tough sell. Its target demographic wasn't familiar with the material it lampooned.
However, I can't help but think its tracking would've done better with the late night talk shows. A movie without marquee names needs every possible talk show outlet.
Again, not saying it would've saved the film (which I thoroughly enjoyed.) But it certainly needed a larger platform where John C. Reilly could've performed his songs.
__________________________________ For Your Consideration: As if my signature is going to influence your decisions
Posts: 3836 | Location: Mooby's | Registered: January 09, 2005
Originally posted by seanflynn: Sweeney is really tough to evaluate - part of its audience (Broadway musicals) is older, less likely to be going to movies pre-Xmas. The Johnny Depp/horror audience is more likely to go out though.
It had an average of $3000/per screen at fewer than normal (mostly the best theatres in the country), whereas Charlie Wilson's did $1100 at twice as many.
Frankly, unless it scores a lot of Oscar nominations, this is not a film with great prospects at the moment. If a surprise snub in the top three categories occurs (I haven't seen the film, and it is increasingly a mystery to me as to what its Oscar appeal will be), it could actually turn out to be a money loser. But way to early to project with confidence yet.
A much-loved musical like this can also be tough to evaluate early, becuase the theater geeks (like me) who have been waiting for it will be there opening day. I remember being excited that Rent's opening day numbers were higher than expected, then only approximately 17 people saw the film after the first day.
A much-loved musical like this can also be tough to evaluate early, becuase the theater geeks (like me) who have been waiting for it will be there opening day. I remember being excited that Rent's opening day numbers were higher than expected, then only approximately 17 people saw the film after the first day.
And we remember the Dreamgirls phenomenon last year.
Still, pre-Xmas weekend is hard to evaluate as a rule.
Originally posted by outsider: Did anyone expect "I Am Legend" to be such a huge success?
I am surprised "Walk Hard" flopped so badly. I am also surprised "Enchanted" hasn't crossed the 100-million-dollar mark. Didn't it open with 50 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend? I though it would have much better legs.
I'm shocked Enchanted has not yet crossed the $100 mil mark after a $50 mil 5-day opening and almost a month in theaters. After the big opening I thought Enchanted would eventually reach $150 mil, now $110 mil seems more likely.
Originally posted by outsider: I am surprised "Walk Hard" flopped so badly.
I really am too. But I think everyone was starting to drink "Judd Apatow's name can open any movie" juice. Just like any artist, his name can open movies people want to see, and three movies can easily just be considered a lucky streak. Hell, even Tom Hanks doesn't always have a hit. "Walk Hard" just shows Apatow's mortality, and maybe critics and pop culture enthusiasts will have to stop kissing his ass so hard.
I don't think Enchanted will get anywhere near $150 mil now, so I'll be interested in seeing if it does pops back up over the holidays.
The normal rules of film decline do not apply to family films still current and popular over the Christmas holidays. If this were June, not December, it would be nearing the end of its run. Instead, it has a period between now and MLK birthday when it will add substantially to its business.
'Treasure' tops at box office Disney sequel a holiday hit By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK Disney sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" found plenty of loot in its debut at the domestic box office, grossing an estimated $45.5 million from 3,832 theaters and cementing the franchise's foothold. Original "National Treasure" debuted at $35.1 million over Thanksgiving weekend in 2004. The four other new wide releases proved no match for holdovers "I Am Legend" and live-action/CGI combo "Alvin and the Chipmunks," which came in No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in their sophmore frames, according to Rentrak.
Warner Bros." "Legend," starring Will Smith, declined 56% to an estimated $34.2 million from 3,620 theaters for a boffo cume of $137.5 million in the pic's first 10 days of release.
Twentieth Century Fox's family friendly "Alvin" fell just 35% to an estimated $29 million from 3,499 theaters for a hefty cume of $84.9 million in the film's first 10 days.
In a closely watched race, Universal's Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts starrer "Charlie Wilson's War" narrowly beat out DreamWorks-Paramount's Johnny Depp musical adaptation 'sweeney Todd," although neither film was able to jump the $10 million mark in their debuts.
Directed by Mike Nichols, "Wilson's War" grossed $9.6 million from 2,575 to place No. 4 for the weekend.
Playing in less than half the number of theaters as "Wilson's War," director Tim Burton's 'sweeney" grossed an estimated $9.3 million from 1,249 theaters for the No. 5 spot and a per screen average of $7,486. Per location average for "Wilson's War" was 3,735.
Warner Bros." Hilary Swank-Gerard Butler romancer "P.S. I Love You" came in No. 5 in its debut, opening at a modest $6.5 million from 2,454 theaters. Warners distributed the film through its output deal with Alcon Entertainment, which produced and put up all the financing.
Sony's Judd Apatow-produced biopic spoof "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" failed to find many laughs, grossing an estimated $4.1 million from 2,650 theaters and coming in at No. 8 behind Disney holdover "Enchanted." Performance of "Walk Hard" marks a rare blemish for Apatow.
Indie title "Juno" proved the little engine that could, placing No. 10 for the weekend in grossing and estimated $3.4 million as it expanded from 40 to 264 theaters for a cume of $6.4 million.
In placing No. 7, "Enchanted" declined a slim 25% in its fifth frame to an estimated $4.1 million from 2,752 theaters for a cume of $98.3 million.
New Line's "The Golden Compass" declined 55% in its third frame to $4 million for a cume of $48.4 million. Film came in No. 9 for the weekend.
Overall, distributors were delighted with weekend results.
"Book of Secrets," "Legend" and "Alvin" combined to propel the box office to record highs on a weekend that can be relatively light in terms of theater traffic as moviegoers are otherwise occupied finishing up last-minute Christmas preparations.
According to Paul Dergarabedia's Media By Numbers, the frame was up 36.5% from the same weekend last year, when Fox's "Night at the Museum" led with $42.5 million for the four-day holiday weekend.
That would seem to bode well for the next two weeks, since the Christmas-to-New Year's stretch historically produces strong box office grosses, with the weekdays looking more like weekends.
Disney prexy of distribution Chuck Viane said "Book of Secrets," directed by Jon Turtletaub and toplining Nicolas Cage, played well across all demos.
"We"re thrilled to be the market leader in such a competitive marketplace, when you find yourself up against the likes of Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Will Smith and Johnny Depp," Viane said.
Last week, tracking showed that "Book of Secrets" and "Legend" might end up in a horse race, but ultimately, "Book of Secrets" easily pulled ahead. Last year, "Night at the Museum" grossed $163.8 million through the holidays, forecasting good things for "Book of Secrets."
"Book of Secrets" didn"t seem to eat into "Alvin's" aud, with "Alvin" playing younger.
"It's great to be in the singing chipmunk business," 20th Century Fox senior VP of distribution Chris Aronson said.
Warners exec VP of distribution Jeff Goldstein said the continued strength of "Legend" points to Smith's star status.
Universal marketing and distribution topper Adam Fogelson said the studio was very pleased with the results of "Wilson's War," and that the film is well positioned to play through the extended holiday stretch. He said the movie, intended for an adult aud, hit its mark and that it was the only new title to see a Friday-to-Saturday bump.
"We wanted to be the sophisticated commercial choice for grownups. That's exactly what we were. It should play great through the holidays," Fogelson said. "I am proud to say that 80% of our aud was 30 and older. It's an urban legend that only kids go the movies."
While "Wilson's War" is far more breezy than other recent films dealing with the Middle East and the history of the War on Terror, it nevertheless has the sorts of political overtones that auds have shied away from no matter who the star.
Film can safely say it has debuted the strongest among those films. Tom Cruise-Meryl Streep-Robert Redford starrer "Lions for Lambs" opened at $6.7 million, while Jake Gyllenhaal-Reese Whitherspoon starrer "Rendition" opened at $4 million.
"Wilson's War" cost $75 million to produce, according to U insiders, with the stars taking reduced fees. Penned by Aaron Sorkin, film also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman.
It is Hanks" lowest opening film since "That Thing You Do!" in 1996, which grossed $6.2 million.
Like Fogelson, DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan said 'sweeney Todd""also starring Helen Bonham Carter--is off to a great start. One of the chief challenges in selling the R-rated musical is its macabre storyline.
"This is not your mother's 'sound of Music." But with the outstanding reviews and the excellent exit polls, we"re in this for the long run," Sullivan said.
The aud for 'sweeney Todd" skewed slightly male. Overall, 65% of the audience was over the age of 25. Movie is a DreamWorks-Warner Bros. co-production, with DreamWorks-Par distributing domestically.
Sony exec VP of distribution Rory Bruer said there is no denying that the studio would have liked a better start out of the gate for "Walk Hard," starring John C. Reilly.
"We loved the film, and we had terrific screenings," Bruer said.
12/25 grosses (important day; today is extremely important, likely shows the leaders through next Tuesday in the movie's biggest grossing period):
1) National Treasure: Book Of Secrets (13.7/3832) 2) I Am Legend (9.6/3620) 3) Alien Vs. Predator - Requiem (9.5/2563) 4) Alvin and the Chipmunks (6.0/3499) 5) Charlie Wilson's War (4.4/2575) 6) The Great Debaters (3.6/1164) 7) Sweeney Todd (3.2/1249) 8) P.S. I Love You (2.9/2454) 9) Juno (2.8/998) 10) Water Horse Legend (2.4/2772)
