Box Office Numbers

This thread is for posting box office numbers as they're being counted and once they're up.

For example, today's news (from imdb):

The Stuff of 'Legend'
Will Smith could well have invoked the famous line of Muhammad Ali, the man he once played in a movie: "I am the greatest." For Smith, who performs a veritable one-man show in the movie I Am Legend, set a box-office record for December over the weekend as the movie debuted with an estimated $77.4 million. The previous record had been set by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which took in $72.6 million in its 2003 debut. (Warner Bros. observed that the results also represented the biggest success it has ever had with a "non-franchise" film.) Box office gurus, who were way off in their predictions on Friday, could only marvel at the Legend-ary results: $59.2 million on Friday and Saturday. And Warner Bros.' estimate that it took in an additional $18.2 million on Sunday could very well prove to be too conservative. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox's Alvin and the Chipmunks also surpassed expectations, taking in about $44.7 million. The family film clobbered New Line's The Golden Compass, which wound up with just $9 million after opening last week with a disappointing $25.8 million, a fraction of its cost of more than $200 million to produce and market. The success of Legend and Alvin pushed box-office receipts 36 percent above those for a year ago.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. I Am Legend, $76.5 million; 2. Alvin and the Chipmunks, $45 million; 3. The Golden Compass, $9 million; 4. Enchanted, $6 million; 5. No Country for Old Men, $3 million; 6. The Perfect Holiday, $2.97 million; 7. Fred Claus, $2.3 million; 8. This Christmas, $2.3 million; 9. Atonement, $1.85 million; 10. August Rush, $1.8 million.


'Kite' Flies at U.S. Box Office
The independent film market had a new hit of its own over the weekend. In limited release, the Paramount Classics/DreamWorks The Kite Runner opened with $450,970 in 35 theaters or an average of $12,885 per theater. The film, set in Afghanistan and California between 1979 and 2000, had received mixed reviews on Friday. Lou Lumenick in the New York Post observed: "There was no shortage of sobbing at the screening I attended, but in the final analysis this is more an entertaining than a profound film that somehow seems rushed and overlong at the same time." But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it four stars, writing, "How long has it been since you saw a movie that succeeds as pure story? That doesn't depend on stars, effects or genres, but simply fascinates you with how it will turn out? Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, based on a much-loved novel, is a movie like that." Two other indie films also performed solidly, due in large part to awareness brought about by Golden Globes nominations last week. Universal Pictures/Focus Features' Atonement, which nabbed seven nominations, earned $1.9 million or an average of $15,835 per theater. Miramax's No Country for Old Men, which counted four Globe nominations, took in $3 million


'Golden Compass' Right On Mark Overseas
Overseas, The Golden Compass continued to lead the way, taking in north of $29 million and bringing its overseas total to $90 million after two weekends -- more than twice what it has earned domestically. I Am Legend debuted in second place with $20 million, despite playing in only seven markets. (It opened in first place in every country.) Legend tied with the animated Bee Movie, which played in 44 countries.

Good thread.

I have to say Will Smith has a great box office draw. I've always enjoyed his stuff, but I've been burned by a few of his stinkers. Wild, Wild West comes to mind.

Still haven't seen all of I, Robot. Looks good.

Can't believe he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix. Glad he did though.

-HECK!

Legend just seems to 28 Days Later to me, you know.

I, Robot was alright. I can't knock it, but it wasn't incredible or anything. Definitely worth watching.

Wild Wild West... I could just tell that one was gonna suck, yet I still watched it. Man...

He's made up for it with a lot of kick ass flicks. And he's obviously a big box office draw too.

Nymphadora wrote:

Legend just seems to 28 Days Later to me, you know.

It's based off a book (I think the book is called I Am Legend also), which was the basis for the movie Omega Man too. Very awesome story. The difference, realistically, is that he's really the last man alive, rather than people around him simply dying. Other than that, yeah, you're just looking at a movie with zombies in it.

And they are more vampires than zombies I think. The whole no daylight deal.

Very old book. The Omega Man, some other flicks are based on I Am Legend too. I think it's a dope ass title for a book and/or film.

-HECK!

Vampires weren't originally adverse to sunlight. I forget where exactly that came from, but even back when Dracula came out, he was running about in the sunlight without burning up.

I think they're just the-sun-light-adverse-walking-dead.

You're right. I assume these days when we see the undead harmed by sunlight it's called a vampire. We like to lump our monsters in certain categories I guess.

-HECK!

so sterotypical of you.

anyone in on the debate about Judas being the first vampire or some shit like that?

Yeah, I think that was Dracula 2000 that had that story line. Dracula was Judas. Wes Craven thought it was genius, I say to him *fart*

yeha Dracula 200 that was it

"National Treasure" sleighs Christmas box office
Tuesday December 25 2:28 PM ET

Nicolas Cage's adventure sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" raced to $65 million during its first five days of release across North America, distributor Walt Disney Pictures said on Tuesday.

The tally consists of actual sales for the four days since the film opened last Friday, and a Christmas day estimate. Final sales data will be issued on Wednesday.

Through December 24, the film had also earned $27.5 million in 17 international markets, mostly in Asia. The critically maligned sequel to the 2004 smash "National Treasure" stars Cage as a treasure hunter who flies around the world trying to solve an ancient puzzle related to Lincoln's assassination.

Will Smith's sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend" was No. 2 with five-day sales of $47.5 million, taking its 12-day haul to $150.8 million, said Warner Bros. Pictures.

Because of the holiday, data for many films were incomplete. Twentieth Century Fox reported a four-day tally of $32.8 million for its surprise hit "Alvin and the Chipmunks," saying it was impossible to estimate Christmas Day sales. After 11 days, the kids film has earned $88.7 million.

The fact-based political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War" earned $14.75 million, and the Johnny Depp musical "Sweeney Todd" $12.75 million, both after five days. Their respective studios, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, warned that the Christmas Day components were rough guesses.

The box office jury is still out on "Charlie Wilson," a high-profile vehicle starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which is playing in twice as many theaters as "Sweeney Todd," which DreamWorks co-produced with Warner Bros.

Further down the rankings, "P.S. I Love You" had earned $9.1 million in its first five days. After a low-key opening weekend, Warner Bros. said it hoped more women would turn out in force for the Hilary Swank tearjerker now that Christmas-related chores are behind them.

The musical spoof "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" reported a four-day haul of $4.7 million. Distributor Columbia Pictures did not have a Christmas Day estimate for the box office disappointment.

Midfield rankings will change when final data are issued Wednesday because they will include sales for three Christmas Day releases: the action sequel "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem," the Denzel Washington drama "The Great Debaters," and the family fantasy "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep."

Walt Disney Pictures is a unit of Walt Disney Co. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc. Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of News Corp. Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. DreamWorks Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Stuart Grudgings)

Simpson's Film Flops in Texas
Jessica Simpson's new film Blonde Ambition made less than $400 when it opened in eight Texas theatres on Friday . The movie, which also stars fellow Texan Luke Wilson, was saved from the straight-to-DVD tag by film bosses at Nu Image and Millennium Films, who decided to give it a limited Christmas run. The executives were hoping the fact that both Simpson and Wilson are Texas natives would help give the film a boost, and possibly lead to more interest from cinema chains across America. The film will now be released on DVD in January, as expected.

Late Shows, Who Needs Them? Not New Movies
As it turns out, the movie studios haven't needed those late-night talk shows to promote their newest releases, after all. For the second weekend in a row, the box office produced solid results, soaring 36 percent above those for the comparable weekend a year ago. It was led by National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which recorded an estimated $45.5 million for the first three days of a five-day holiday weekend -- 30 percent more than the original National Treasure earned when it opened with $35.1 million in 2004. Last week's No. 1 and No. 2 films finished No. 2 and No. 3, with the Will Smith starrer I Am Legend producing $34 million and Alvin and the Chipmunks, $29 million. Charlie Wilson's War debuted in fourth place with a soft $9.6 million, a veritable bomb for a movie starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, directed by Mike Nichols, and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film received all-over-the-place reviews. Although it's supposedly based on a true story, Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern wrote, "I didn't believe a word of it," while Claudia Puig in USA Today described it as "an eye-opening and sassy tale." It barely edged out Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Johnny Depp, a veritable blockbuster for a non-stop singing musical -- and especially one showing on only 1,250 screens. Also surprising was the performance of P.S. I Love You, which was savaged by critics but nevertheless managed to draw $6.5 million in ticket sales. Its audience turned out to be 70 percent female. (They perhaps followed New York Post critic Lou Lumenick's advice: "Ladies, love means never having to force your significant other to sit through something as sloppy as P.S. I Love You.") Also surprising -- for the opposite reason -- was the poor performance of Judd Apatow's Walk Hard, which received mostly good reviews and strong studio promotion but tanked with just $6.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets, $45.5 million; 2. I Am Legend, $34.2 million; 3. Alvin and the Chipmunks, $29 million; 4. Charlie Wilson's War, $9.6 million; 5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, $9.35 million; 6. P.S. I Love You, $6.5 million; 7. Enchanted, $4.15 million; 8. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, $4.1 million; 9. The Golden Compass, $4 million; 10. Juno, $3.4 million.

Top 10 Grossing Films of 2007

1. Spider-Man 3
Total Gross: $336,530,303
Spidey's third spin shattered the wall-crawler's own previous box office records, grabbing the biggest opening weekend of all time.

2. Shrek the Third
Total Gross: $321,012,359
The green one returned to reclaim his crown, drawing the largest opening weekend crowd ever for an animated movie.

3. Transformers
Total Gross: $319,071,806
Autobots and Decepticons waged battle to break out as the biggest non-sequel moneymaker of the year. Naturally, a sequel is in the works.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Total Gross: $309,420,425
The third Pirate installment looted less box office booty than last year's "Dead Man's Chest," but still plundered the highest worldwide gross of 2007.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Total Gross: $292,004,738
Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts made the series one of the most-sucessful movie franchises of all time -- second only to Star Wars.

6. The Bourne Ultimatum
Total Gross: $227,471,070
Matt Damon's third turn as Jason Bourne beat out James Bond, Mission: Impossible and Austin Powers as the top spy movie of all time.
Watch Trailer

7. 300
Total Gross: $210,614,939
In a bulging battlefield of sequels, the mighty Spartans held their own, conquering the box office with the biggest spring opening ever.
Watch Trailer

8. Ratatouille
Total Gross: $206,445,654
While not standing quite as tall Pixar's previous features, this rat tale still cooked up big numbers as the biggest G-rated movie of the year.

9. The Simpsons Movie
Total Gross: $183,132,370
Propelled by a devoted fan base, TV's favorite family landed in the top 10 -- a 2-D powerhouse in a sea of computer-generated spectacles.
Watch Trailer

10. Wild Hogs
Total Gross: $168,273,550
Defying all expectations, this biker comedy managed to beat out big franchises like "Die Hard," "Rush Hour" and "Fantastic Four."

Seen all of these, with exception to the Bourne Ultimatum. All of them were pretty good I have to say. Shrek 3 was better than 2, I loved Spider-Man 3 no matter how much it was panned. 300 was cool, Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie and Wild Hogs were all hilarious. Transformers was just spectacular. And the Harry Potter and Pirates of the Carribean movies were solid as always.

Good year in movies. Good year for the bigger movie studios too, as far as profits go, I think. Bad for the smaller studios, I guess.

Didn't see any of the cartoons or the shitty Bourne flick. Not sure if I saw Wild Hogs or not.

Harry Potter flick was lame.

Pirates was lame.

Fantastic 4 was lame.

Of those movies, Transformers had to be my favorite.

300 was fun, I dug it.

The Simpsons movie was really solid.

Wasn't really impressed with the "summer blockbusters" this year. Really an off year to be honest.

-HECK!

Saw The Bourne Ultimatum on the weekend. It gets a C from me. The end was stupid, and there were 5 or 6 scenes that seemed to be taken directly from the earlier movies.

The second and third movies overlapped.

'Treasure' Grows by $55.4 Million
As expected, National Treasure: Book of Secrets remained No. 1 at the box office, taking in an estimated $55.4 million over the five-day New Year's holiday. What wasn't expected was the strong $42.2-million take of Alvin and the Chipmunks, which surged ahead of the Will Smith thriller I Am Legend, which slipped to third place with $38 million. (However, it crossed the $200-million mark in total sales, as it brought its gross to date to $205.1 million.) Also surprising analysts was the poor performance of 20th Century Fox's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, which took in just $10.1 million. Charlie Wilson's War, which got off to a slow start, continued to show solid results as it tallied $20.5 million in ticket sales. And the comedy Juno made it into the top five with $15.7 million despite playing in just 1,014 theaters. (It posted the highest per-theater average among wide releases.) Opening in just two theaters in New York and Los Angeles, Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, sold out every performance and averaged $92,000 per theater. The holiday box office overall was up 7 percent over last year.

Yeah, there will be a third National Treasure for sure. This franchise is super huge already. The last flick was the biggest film of Nick Cage's career, this one is going to easily suprass it.

I didn't like the second one as much as the third, but it was still good.

-HECK!

I honestly didn't like the first National Treasure... not in the least. Nicholas Cage should go back to beating up John Travolta and bad mouthing Sean Connery.

'Alvin' Amazes
The box-office success of Alvin and the Chipmunks has surprised executives of 20th Century Fox, which produced it, as much as industry analysts and especially movie critics, who wrote scathing reviews about it. "I look at the numbers [box-office receipts] every day, and we just laugh," Elizabeth Gabler of Fox 2000 told the Los Angeles Times. The film had grossed $153.6 million through Tuesday and could wind up taking in as much as National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I Am Legend, the holiday's two blockbuster releases, the Times observed. But since it cost only $55 million to produce, it is likely to be far more profitable than the two other films.

gaboman wrote:

I honestly didn't like the first National Treasure... not in the least. Nicholas Cage should go back to beating up John Travolta and bad mouthing Sean Connery.

Seriously? I thought it was cool. What didn't you like?

But I am a history guy, American history obviously. Throw in a dash of conspiracy theory, Mason and Templar legend, and a quirky sidekick and I'm stoked. I thought it was a fun ride.

-HECK!

Don't remember much of the movie, really. Just remember not finding it all that interesting. I remember at one point saying that some dude will be revealed as a bad dude and like 20 minutes later he was.