Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo...
Opening well below expectations, Grindhouse sputtered to an estimated $11.9 million, while Blades of Glory repeated atop the weekend chart...
Read the full report here...
Ian Mohr of Variety writes about the weekend:
"Grindhouse," the three-hour-plus genre double feature from helmers Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, was ground up at the multiplexes over the weekend, bowing in fourth place.
Pic, for which the Weinstein Co. had high hopes, picked up just $11 million in its debut, coming in under expectations and trailing Sony/Revolution family comedy "Are We Done Yet?," starring Ice Cube, which took in $15 million and was the weekend's biggest new pic at No. 3.
Easter weekend was a tough one overall for new releases, as "Blades of Glory" and "Meet the Robinsons" landed a 1-2 punch for the second straight frame with $23 million and $17 million, respectively.
Bob Weinstein called the "Grindhouse" opening weekend B.O. disappointing, but added "We hope that the strong word of mouth will overcome any initial resistance in smaller markets to its running time.
"Grindhouse," two hard R mini-features separated by faux trailers and ads, had been tracking to bring in about $20 million. Tarantino and Rodriguez's most recent releases, "Kill Bill Vol. 2" and "Sin City," were No. 1 in their debuts, and the directors' collaboration, plus largely positive reviews, seemed a potentially potent draw. TWC even added 10 p.m. shows in top markets Thursday night to keep pace with fans' interest.
But while biz for "Grindhouse" was solid Thursday and Friday, ticket sales dipped by about 18% Saturday, suggesting that the pic connected with its core young male demographic, but was unable to draw wider auds.
The running time of the movie, an ode to exploitation films of yesteryear, had been expected to be something of a drag on B.O., and Monday-morning quarterbacks may say the two parts should have been split and released separately, as they are abroad. TWC had reportedly toyed with the idea, but the filmmakers wanted their pics to remain as a double bill.
Harvey Weinstein defended the decision to keep the two together Sunday, telling Daily Variety it was artistically the right move and that the movie will be a moneymaker thanks to its foreign sales as separate films and an upcoming DVD rollout, which also will release the films as two separate titles.
But he acknowledged that it "has taken a while to educate the public" on how the pairing would work, as some moviegoers in areas outside [New York City] and Los Angeles went into multiplexes not realizing they were in for two distinct pics.
Meanwhile, "Blades," from Paramount/DreamWorks, has cumed $68.3 million after two weekends.
"Robinsons" cume now stands at $52.2 million after two weekends; release of the pic on 581 digital 3-D screens, which charge premium prices, have helped buoy biz.
"Are We Done Yet?," about a suburban family man grappling with a money pit of a dream house, nailed $15 million in its debut. Cume is an estimated $19.2 million after a Wednesday release to get a jump on holiday family biz.
Like "Grindhouse," Warner Bros.' "The Reaping" also debuted out of the top three, with $10 million off 2,603 over three days. Supernatural thriller with religious overtones stars Hilary Swank. Released on Thursday, it grabbed $12 million over four days in release.
Fox family pic "Firehouse Dog" was a bit of a woofer, bowing at No. 10 with $4 million from 2,860 theaters. Movie was also released earlier in the week, and cume is $5.25 million.
"Grindhouse," which posted a per-theater average of $4,417 off 2,624, is only the 17th wide release with a running time of more than three hours, according to Nielsen EDI. Data service also reported Sunday that the pic is the first R-rated film running more than three hours to be released since 2000.
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Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly has posted his weekend wrap-up:
Will Ferrell skates his way back to the top spot on the podium, leading an Easter weekend pack of family films, while 'Grindhouse' scares holiday crowds away
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