Monday, December 03, 2007

Tale Chaser

For the second weekend in a row Enchanted cast a spell over moviegoers to stay in the top spot...
Amy Adams as Giselle is box office magic


Pamela McClintock of Variety:

Hayden Christensen-Jessica Alba thriller "Awake"--the weekend's only new wide release at the domestic box office--was no match for holdover family fare or digital 3-D.

Disney's princess yarn "Enchanted" easily came No. 1 for the second weekend in a row. Likewise, Sony's African-American family entry stayed No. 2 in its soph sesh. Proving the might of digital 3-D, Paramount-Shangri-La's "Beowulf" came in No. 3 in its third frame.

That put MGM's "Awake," from the Weinstein Co., at No. 4. Psychological drama grossed an estimated $6 million from 2,002 theaters, according to Rentrak. Pic's perf was in line with expectations.

New Line Cinema sneak peeked big-budget fantasy "Golden Compass" in 873 theaters Saturday. Studio reported that shows were 50% sold out.

Overall, traffic was light at theaters, as it generally is the first weekend after the busy Thanksgiving frame, when a decline of 50%, or even more, is considered a good hold. This year, family films and pics for young males are dominating the late November-early December release sked.

"Enchanted," toplining Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden, grossed an estimated $17 million from 3,730 locations for a decline of 51% and a cume of $70.6 million in the film's first 12 days in release.

African-American holiday entry "This Christmas" grossed an estimated $8.4 million from 1,858 playdates for a decline of 53% and a cume of $36.9 million in the pic's first 12 days of release.

In its third frame, "Beowulf"--the biggest test yet of digital 3-D--grossed an estimated $7.9 million from 3,249 locations, a decline of 52%. Pic's cume is $68.6 million.

Young male fare also took the No. 5 spot as 20th Century Fox's bigscreen vidgame adaptation "Hitman" grossed an estimated $5.8 million from 2,468 theaters in its second frame for a decline of 56% and a cume of $30.2 million.

A pair of family movies from Warner Bros., "Fred Claus" and "August Rush" came in No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. "Claus" declined 47% to an estimated $5.5 million from 3,420 theaters in its fourth frame for a cume of $59.8 million.

In its second frame, "Rush" declined 45% to an estimated $5.1 million from 2,310 theaters for a cume of $20.3 million.

On the specialty side, Miramax's "No Country for Old Men" cracked the top 10 in its second weekend in wide release, grossing an estimated $4.5 million from 995 theaters for a strong per location average of $4,524. Film, directed by the Coen brothers, came in No. 8.

Paramount-DreamWorks Animation's "Bee Movie" took the No. 9 spot in its fifth frame, grossing an estimated $4.5 million from 3,150 theaters for a decline of 62% and a of $117.6 million.

Coming in No. 10 was Universal's Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe starrer "American Gangster." In its fifth frame, mob-cop drama declined 53% to $4.3 million from 2,699 runs for a cume of $121.7 million...

Click here to read the entire article

Joshua Rich of EW:

At the box office, moviegoers snub ''Awake'' in favor of Thanksgiving leftovers...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who's brilliant idea was it to release a thriller about organ harvesting on the holiday harvest?

Picture it...

"Yes, organ harvesting and season's harvest. Organs and Turkey. Medical thriller and Christmas. Perfect fit!" OY!!

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's just a bad film.