Thursday 16 June 2011

U.S Box Office Report - 18th - 20th February 2011

1. Unknown - $21.8M - $21.8M
2. I Am Number Four - $19.5M - $19.5M
3. Gnomeo and Juliet $19.4M - $50.4M
4. Just Go With It - $18.2M - $60.8M
5. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son - $17M - $17M
6. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - $13.6 - $48.4M
7. The King's Speech - $6.5M - $103.2M
8.The Roommate - $4.1M - $32.6M
9. The Eagle - $3.0M - $15M
10. No Strings Attached - $3.1M - $66M

Just a quick report this weekend due to a new baby turning up last Thursday.

Liam Neeson returns to the Euro-thriller with Unknown this week. He plays a doctor who finds himself replaced by another man post-car accident. With even his own wife denying who he is, Neeson teams up with the crash-car driver to discover what's going on. This was hyped as if it was a Taken sequel in all but name and while it hasn't been quite as successful as that film, it's still well on the way to covering its $30M production budget.

I Am Number Four is hoping to catch to some of that Twilight magic (while crossing over into the sci-fi genre) . It's the tale of a human disguised alien who finds love, while trying to avoid being killed by the aliens who destroyed his home planet (and the first three earth bound human-aliens - hence him being number four). The $50M film got off to a solid start but whether it'll be enough to launch the hoped-for franchise will probably have to wait until the next frame figures are released.

Just Go With It fell 40% in its second frame. The Adam Sandler comedy has already crossed the $50M mark and had a much better weekend to weekend drop than expected. Whether the film will hit $100M remains to be seen - at the moment the studio will be focused on recouping its $80M production figure.

With a good showing during its opening weekend, Gnomeo & Juliet is off just 23% in its second frame. As pretty much the only family friendly film in the top ten it had the market all to itself - in fact, Saturday saw it double its Friday haul. Budget details aren't available at the time of writing but it's unlikely to have cost a Pixar/Dreamworks $130-150M.

Like Father, Like Son is the second sequel in the Big Momma's franchise. The first film was something of a surprise hit and the second one did plenty of business too. Since then, outside of the Bad Boys franchise, Martin Lawrence has struggled to find another hit. With a $17M opening against a budget of $30M, it appears there's life in the old lady yet. It's likely to be a one weekend wonder but that'll hardly concern the studio who should see a tidy profit from the film within a few short weeks.

Bieber-Fever proves to be something of a one weekend wonder (given its Saturday dip during its opening frame, it could be argued that it was a one-day wonder) as Never Say Never dropped a pretty sharp 69% on a Friday to Friday basis (a much better 53% overall). Given that the film was in profit before the end of last weekend, this drop shouldn't concern the studio too much. Interestingly, Paramount are said to be prepping a directors/extened/alternate cut of the film for release within March.

The King's Speech has almost certainly reached saturation point now - with most who want to see it having do so - but it's not going quietly into the night. The film crossed $100M today - an amazing feat.

Making Screen Gems a tidy profit is The Roommate, the low budget has doubled its production budget as it sees its last weekend in the top ten. The Eagle isn't quite so lucky - the $25M Channing Tatum historical flick faltered during its opening frame and things haven't improved a week later. It will ultimately make money but it will at the retail level before it does so.

Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached hit $60M during the later part of the week - just as her other film, Black Swan, hit $100M.

No comments: