Sunday, May 11, 2008

Speed Bumps

Not only did Speed Racer get trounced by Iron Man in the weekend box office race--it barely held on to second place against What Happens in Vegas... Yikes!


Ben Fritz of Variety

“Speed Racer” sputtered through its first lap at the box office, as Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow’s $100 million-plus tentpole bowed to a very weak $20.2 million.

Studio estimate puts the pic just barely ahead of Fox’s “What Happens in Vegas.” Modestly budgeted comedy opened a bit ahead of expectations, grossing $20 million at 3,215 theaters for a per play average of $6,221.

Marvel and Paramount’s “Iron Man” kept soaring on its second frame, dropping just 49% to $50.5 million. Relatively strong dropoff after a huge $99 million bow puts the superhero pic at a domestic cume of $177.1 million. Average this weekend was $12,284 at 4,111 locations.

“Speed Racer” got just $5,605 on average from its 3,606 racetracks. Final gross was well below already soft industry estimates for what Warners had hoped would be a summer blockbuster. Pic ended up playing primarily to families with young kids.

Photo finish between it and “Vegas” means the industry will have to wait for final numbers on Monday to see which ended up in no. 2

Sony Pictures Classics took David Mamet’s actioner “Redbelt” wide to 1,379 plays on its second weekend and managed only $1.1 million, or $827 per location.

In limited release, “Son of Rambow” expanded from five to 36 theaters and grossed $137,971, a modest $3,833 per playdate. Cume is $210,974. Par Vantage plans to expand the pic to between 75 and 90 locations on Friday.

ThinkFilm expanded romantic comedy “Then She Found Me” from 72 to 153 theaters for Mother’s Day and grossed $489,072, or $3,197 per play. Cume on the Helen Hunt starrer is $912,086...


Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:

As the candy-colored cartoon adaptation hit a red light, ''Iron Man'' cruised to a repeat win...

Read More...

I knew that Speed Racer would have a tough go of it--but I certainly didn't think it would crash and burn the way that it did...I guess this means no sequel??

No comments: