Sunday, September 23, 2012

Box Office Update: It's A Draw...

The title of Friday's Box Office preview asked "Who will be #1?"

The answer?

Inconclusive...None of the new releases  End Of Watch  House at the End of the Street Trouble With the Curve could be declared the winner yet. Dredd disapoints despite strong reviews.


Pamela McClintock of THR:

Adding intrigue to an otherwise blah weekend, Hollywood was unable to declare a box office winner on Sunday as a trio of films all landed in the same range.

Initial estimates show Jake Gyllenhaal-Michael Pena cop drama End of Watch -- the only film to overperform -- and Jennifer Lawrence horror pic House at the End of the Street topping the domestic box office with $13 million, but those estimates could be too bullish.

Clint Eastwood's new baseball drama Trouble with the Curve, from Warner Bros., earned an estimated $12.7 million.

The true weekend winner will be determined Monday morning when actual Sunday grosses come in.

Open Road Films is distributing End of Watch, while Relativity Media is handling House at the End of the Street.

Elsewhere at the box office, Paul Thomas Anderson's Scientology-inspired The Master climbed up the box office chart to No. 7 as it expanded into a total of 788 theaters, grossing $5 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $6.1 million. The film, from The Weinstein Co. and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, opened last weekend in five locations in New York and Los Angeles.

The Master scored a per location average of $6,345, the best of any film in on the top 10 chart. It also did nearly as much as new entry Dredd, which opened to a disappointing $6.4 million despite strong reviews. Lionsgate is distributing the 3D pic.

David Ayer's End of Watch, produced by Exclusive Media for roughly $7 million, received an A- CinemaScore, the best of any new film. The pic, about two L.A.P.D. officers who battle a drug cartel, also received glowing reviews.

Hispanic moviegoers turned out in force for End of Watch, making up 32 percent of the audience. Males made up 54 percent of the audience, while 64 percent of those buying tickets were over the age of 25.

"We always knew we were going to outperform expectations, and believe the film will have long legs," said Open Road's Tom Ortenberg.

House at the End of the Street, receiving a B CinemaScore, stars Lawrence opposite Elisabeth Shue and Max Thieriot. Relativity Media acquired rights to the horror pic, about a mother and daughter who move into the house of their dreams, for roughly $2.5 million. FilmNation and A Bigger Boat produced the film, directed by Mark Tonderai, for under $10 million.


Stay tuned for an update tomorrow...

Next Up: It's Joseph Gordon-Levitt versus Bruce Willis in Rian Johnson's sci-fi bender Looper; You can check in to Hotel Transylvania with an all star voice cast; And Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Holly Hunter Won't Back Down in this drama

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