Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Big B.O.

... Has slipped overall from a year ago. But hey. We're in a financial crisis, after all. People are home weeping over their melting 401(k)s, not att the movies!

Igor opens in mid-pack, with a $2 million Friday gross ...

The Top Ten:

1. Lakeview Terrace (Sony) $5.1M Fri [2,464 theaters] NEW, Wkd estimate $15M

2. Burn After Reading (Focus) $3.4M Fri [2,657] -47%, Wkd est $11M

3. My Best Friend's Girl (Lionsgate) $3.0M Fri [2,604] NEW, Wkd est $8.5M

4. Righteous Kill (Overture) $2.3M Fri [3,152] -61%, Wkd est $7M

5. Igor (Exodus/MGM) $2M Fri [2,339] NEW, Wkd est $7M

6. The Family That Preys (Lionsgate) $2M Fri [2,070] -66%, Wkd est $6M.

7. The Women (Picturehouse/Warner) $1.8M Fri [2,995] -49%, Wkd est $5.5M

8. Ghost Town (DreamWorks/Paramount) $1.5M Fri [1,505] NEW, Wkd est $4.5M

9. The Dark Knight (Warner) $750K Fri [1,905] -32%, Wkd est $2.8M

10. The House Bunny (Sony) $750K Fri [2,675] -41%, Wkd est $2.5M

Congratulations to Max Howard and the gang for the launch of Igor. Not a huge weekend, and DreamWorks live-action entry Ghost Town seems to have landed with a sickening thud despite good reviews, but we'll see what develops ...

Add On: The weekend results are in, and Igor ends with a fourth place finish about $1 million over earlier estimates -- 8 million bucks.

Elsewhere on your box office hit parade, Lakeview Terrace (not the small burg next to the 210 Freeway, but the movieland version), collects $15.6 million to come in #1 ... and Samuel Jackson strikes again.

Burn After Reading drops 41% to second place in its sophomore outing, now stands at $36.4 million ...

My Best Friend's Girl, despite the most wretched reviews of the frame, takes the third position, along with $8.3 million.

And Ghost Town, despite positive reviews lands at #8 with $5.1 million. Go figure. (I guess Kate Hudson delivered her fan base.)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Big supporter of animated films. But a BIGGER supporter of GOOD animated films.

"igor" is not one of these. It's a flat out mess from frame one to the end--and very not funny. What a chore to watch, and what a shame I can't get that time back. The only redeeming factor is that I didn't pay to get in. There were about 2 other people in the theater, and they left 1/3 way in (their kids left after 5 minutes to be more entertained by the videogames in the lobby).

Whoever produced this film obviously knows nothing about animation, and less about film making. Maybe they should try office supply management.

Steve Hulett said...

Sorry to hear that.

Haven't seen it myself.

Anonymous said...

ouch. I hope this doesn't impact independent animation studios as negatively as I fear it could.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what movie Anon#1 saw, but I was at the ASIFA screening and, although it was certainly no KFP or Ratatouille, it wasn't nearly as bad as all that. The design was Burtonish-interesting, the animation was decent, the script was clever and often funny and there were several memorable characters. I'm still laughing at the suicidal bunny.

I think the better GC films we have been seeing lately have raised the bar so high that we have trouble settling for anything less.

It certainly wasn't what you would expect considering that it was a completely independent production.

Steve Hulett said...

Well, Igor outpaced expecations, colecting 48 million in its first go-round.

$7 million, I understand, was the expected figure.

Anonymous said...

Um...you mean 8 million, right Steve?

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117992560.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Anonymous said...

Hopefully after all is said and done they can break even and let them have another run at it.

Steve Hulett said...

Yes absolutely. $8 million.

What I get for a) not hitting the "shift" key and B) not proof-reading.

So sorry.

Anonymous said...

The average opening weekend B.O. for indie CG animation films is just under $8M, so "Igor" fell right into line.

KG

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