Box Office Guru Wrapup: Ferrell & Heder Still America's Favorite Couple
Will Ferrell and Jon Heder skated to another gold medal victory over the Easter holiday as the comedy "Blades of Glory" remained atop the charts despite the arrival of a handful of new pictures. The Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez experiment "Grindhouse" opened well below expectations and finished with disappointing results in fourth place.
Overall, moviegoers were in the mood for existing films as the top five holdovers all dipped by less than 33%. The top ten delivered more than $100M in ticket sales for the sixth consecutive frame giving the marketplace continued strength.
Comedy was king of the box office once again as "Blades of Glory" grossed an estimated $23M in its second weekend slipping only 30%. The Paramount release has now laughed up an impressive $68.4M in just ten days and looks headed north of $120M. The gross was slightly bigger than the $22.1M sophomore weekend take of Ferrell's last hit "Talladega Nights" which tumbled by a larger 53% in its second lap last summer. With no major comedy competition this month, "Blades" should continue to pull in healthy numbers in the weeks ahead.
Also holding up well in its second weekend was Disney's animated pic "Meet the Robinsons" with an estimated $17M, off 32%. Still attracting solid business from its 3D engagements, the G-rated toon has banked a solid $52.2M in its first ten days and is also hoping to join the century club.
Leading the crop of new flicks was the Ice Cube comedy "Are We Done Yet?" with an estimated $15M for a third place finish. The Sony followup to the 2005 sleeper hit "Are We There Yet?" averaged a solid $5,214 from 2,877 sites and has grossed $19.1M since opening on Wednesday. "Done"'s extended five-day opening was similar to "There"'s three-day bow of $18.6M from January 2005. That film went on to collect $82.3M and still stands as Cube's top-grossing picture ever. Like the first one, the PG-rated Done played primarily to a family audience.
The weekend's big shocker was the violent two-for-one pic "Grindhouse" which debuted in fourth place with an estimate of only $11.6M. The three-hour-plus homage to the B movies of the 1970s averaged a decent $4,417 from 2,624 locations but did not come close to the opening weekend tallies of previous films from directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The long running time for the $53M production forced theaters to offer fewer showtimes and a lack of female appeal may also have contributed to the less-than-stellar bow. Openings for other R-rated offerings from the maverick filmmakers include $29.1M for Rodriguez's "Sin City" and $22.1M and $25.1M for Tarantino's "Kill Bill" installments. Reviews for "Grindhouse" were very positive but The Weinstein Co. may not find much long-term success as most fans of the directors probably planned to see it sooner rather than later.
Hillary Swank's new horror flick "The Reaping" came in fifth place in its debut grossing an estimated $10.1M from 2,603 locations for a moderate $3,872 average. The R-rated tale of a scientist investigating supernatural occurances in a small Louisiana town launched on Thursday and scared up $12M over four days. "The Reaping" also took off in 16 international markets and grossed an estimated $7.1M overseas.
The year's biggest blockbuster "300" followed in sixth place with an estimated $8.8M in its fifth battle, down just 23%, lifting the overall domestic haul to $193.9M. Overseas, the Spartan smash pulled in another $32M over the weekend boosting the international total to $173M and the global gross to a stunning $367M. "Wild Hogs," the second largest hit of 2007, dipped 21% to an estimated $6.8M giving Buena Vista a fantastic $145.5M to date.
Dropping to eighth was Mark Wahlberg's action pic Shooter with an estimated $5.8M, off 31%, for a cume of $36.7M. Falling 47% to an estimated $4.9M was the Warner Bros. toon "TMNT" which put its total at $46.7M thus far.
Fox's family drama "Firehouse Dog" opened in tenth place with dismal results grossing an estimated $4M from 2,860 theaters. Averaging a weak $1,399, the PG-rated film about a boy and his celebrity pooch bowed on Wednesday and collected $5.3M over five days. With so many other films courting the family crowd over Easter weekend, "Dog" was completely overlooked.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $107.1M which was dead even with last year's Easter frame when "Scary Movie 4" opened at number one with $40.2M; but up 23% from 2005's holiday in March when "Guess Who" debuted on top with $20.7M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Overall, moviegoers were in the mood for existing films as the top five holdovers all dipped by less than 33%. The top ten delivered more than $100M in ticket sales for the sixth consecutive frame giving the marketplace continued strength.
Comedy was king of the box office once again as "Blades of Glory" grossed an estimated $23M in its second weekend slipping only 30%. The Paramount release has now laughed up an impressive $68.4M in just ten days and looks headed north of $120M. The gross was slightly bigger than the $22.1M sophomore weekend take of Ferrell's last hit "Talladega Nights" which tumbled by a larger 53% in its second lap last summer. With no major comedy competition this month, "Blades" should continue to pull in healthy numbers in the weeks ahead.
Also holding up well in its second weekend was Disney's animated pic "Meet the Robinsons" with an estimated $17M, off 32%. Still attracting solid business from its 3D engagements, the G-rated toon has banked a solid $52.2M in its first ten days and is also hoping to join the century club.
Leading the crop of new flicks was the Ice Cube comedy "Are We Done Yet?" with an estimated $15M for a third place finish. The Sony followup to the 2005 sleeper hit "Are We There Yet?" averaged a solid $5,214 from 2,877 sites and has grossed $19.1M since opening on Wednesday. "Done"'s extended five-day opening was similar to "There"'s three-day bow of $18.6M from January 2005. That film went on to collect $82.3M and still stands as Cube's top-grossing picture ever. Like the first one, the PG-rated Done played primarily to a family audience.
The weekend's big shocker was the violent two-for-one pic "Grindhouse" which debuted in fourth place with an estimate of only $11.6M. The three-hour-plus homage to the B movies of the 1970s averaged a decent $4,417 from 2,624 locations but did not come close to the opening weekend tallies of previous films from directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The long running time for the $53M production forced theaters to offer fewer showtimes and a lack of female appeal may also have contributed to the less-than-stellar bow. Openings for other R-rated offerings from the maverick filmmakers include $29.1M for Rodriguez's "Sin City" and $22.1M and $25.1M for Tarantino's "Kill Bill" installments. Reviews for "Grindhouse" were very positive but The Weinstein Co. may not find much long-term success as most fans of the directors probably planned to see it sooner rather than later.
Hillary Swank's new horror flick "The Reaping" came in fifth place in its debut grossing an estimated $10.1M from 2,603 locations for a moderate $3,872 average. The R-rated tale of a scientist investigating supernatural occurances in a small Louisiana town launched on Thursday and scared up $12M over four days. "The Reaping" also took off in 16 international markets and grossed an estimated $7.1M overseas.
The year's biggest blockbuster "300" followed in sixth place with an estimated $8.8M in its fifth battle, down just 23%, lifting the overall domestic haul to $193.9M. Overseas, the Spartan smash pulled in another $32M over the weekend boosting the international total to $173M and the global gross to a stunning $367M. "Wild Hogs," the second largest hit of 2007, dipped 21% to an estimated $6.8M giving Buena Vista a fantastic $145.5M to date.
Dropping to eighth was Mark Wahlberg's action pic Shooter with an estimated $5.8M, off 31%, for a cume of $36.7M. Falling 47% to an estimated $4.9M was the Warner Bros. toon "TMNT" which put its total at $46.7M thus far.
Fox's family drama "Firehouse Dog" opened in tenth place with dismal results grossing an estimated $4M from 2,860 theaters. Averaging a weak $1,399, the PG-rated film about a boy and his celebrity pooch bowed on Wednesday and collected $5.3M over five days. With so many other films courting the family crowd over Easter weekend, "Dog" was completely overlooked.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $107.1M which was dead even with last year's Easter frame when "Scary Movie 4" opened at number one with $40.2M; but up 23% from 2005's holiday in March when "Guess Who" debuted on top with $20.7M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Related Items
| Movie: | Firehouse Dog |
| Wild Hogs | |
| Shooter | |
| Meet the Robinsons | |
| 300 | |
| Blades of Glory | |
| TMNT | |
| Are We Done Yet? | |
| Celeb: | Jon Heder |
| Will Ferrell | |
| Robert Rodriguez | |
| Quentin Tarantino |
(1-20 of 36 posts) | Reply
 on Apr 08 2007 05:10 PM [b]Hmmm...[/b] The news about Grindhouse makes me sad. Does it really make much sense to open the movie over Easter weekend, though? Surely there can't be much of an audience for an R-rated action movie over a family holiday. Even people like myself get dragged to sh*t like Firehouse Dog on weekends like this... I don't have the option of going to Grindhouse, however, because my hometown theatre (a 14 screen, mind you) didn't get it. Idiots. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 05:12 PM Shame about grindhouse, although i guess mine is another 8.50 that didnt see the movie. Hell, they might as well have kept it NC-17. next weekend maybe... (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 05:59 PM How the hell does shit like are we Done Yet? pull in more than grindhouse. if it's not number1 next week im gonna be really fucking pissed. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 06:52 PM We all know what movie out of this weekend's batch will still be remembered 25 years from now. ie- Grindhouse. Not any of these other retarded movies that retarded people have to keep seeing. And why do families have to see the wussiest films out there nowadays? QT and RR saw movies like Grindhouse when they were kids. Hell, I saw The Terminator and Aliens when I was 6. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 08:21 PM As the JoshTee stated, this is a family holiday, so most people went to see "safe" movies with family in town. Also, I think a lot of fans of Grindhouse (including me) are waiting for it on DVD where we can enjoy the unrated version. HINT HINT. Rush this to DVD! (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 09:08 PM People won't remember any of this weekend's movies in 25 years, in fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that none of this year's movies, so far, will be considered classics in 25 years. . . Grindhouse will be considered a failed experiment by Tarantino, who btw already has a classic film that people have talked about for more than a decade already - Pulp Fiction Grindhouse won't be number 1 next weekend either. . .Disturbia or Perfect Stranger will be. . unless they both get AWFUL reviews, in which case, it could be Blades three weeks in a row (ew). (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 09:40 PM [b]You have go to be kidding me.[/b] Ok I can understand that it might have been the wrong weekend to release Grindhouse (Easter and all) and that it might have been a movie targeted to a very specific audience but PLEASE!! Are We Done Yet?? I thought Grindhouse might have gotten #2 at least. I could have understood Meet the Robinsons, and maybe even Blades of Glory 2 weekends in a row but Are We Done Yet!!! I know I'm on a tangent... To comment of a few things said already. If you were a true fan of Grindhouse you would have went to a theater to see it, one critic said it best "It reminded me of why we used to go to the movies and buy popcorn, it made going to the movies fun again." I haven't had this much fun at the flicks in a long time. I will say one thing though, I can't wait for the DVD, I hope that it's packed full of extras! Oh, BTW, since there isn't anything good coming out this week, I'll probably go and see it again! I saw cool movies like Terminator, Aliens, Friday the 13th, etc.... when I was a kid, and I hope my children would rather see Grindhouse over Are We Done Yet...there I go again... (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 08 2007 09:59 PM THIS IS FREAKIN INSANE! look i understand that its easter but crap like "are we done yet'' (which doesn't deserve capitals mind you) pulls in more. this is stupid to the highest level. i hope people get the common sense to witness the once in a lifetime experience that is "Grindhouse" next week. I did, and man I'll never forget it. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 12:52 AM grindhouse was awesome but it should not have opened on a holiday weekend like this, FREAKING EASTER come on people (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 02:53 AM In reply to this comment (#860656) Which probably explains your antisocial attitude :) (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 04:23 AM You people scare me. You would want to your kids to go see Grindhouse? I guess the fact that most of you saw Aliens and Terminator when you were young kids explains a lot. Hope your kids don't go to my school. Sheesh. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 06:15 AM Wow! This is shocking! And even embarrassing. Commercial success more than makes up for critical panning but critical acclaim ain't enough if the movie under-performs. There's not a doubt about it. As of now, Grindhouse has failed. Its not like Grindhouse is Letters From Iwo Jima. You don't expect to earn money for such movies. You have tremendous critical acclaim and the payback comes in terms of awards....and well in this case, a film that will be remembered as as one of the great war movies of the modern times. What will Grindhouse get? Nothing, money was the only thing that could have made Grindhouse successful. Too bad though. I thought the movie had great coolness quotient that the crowd that flocked to see the R-Rated 300(Mother f ucking 367 worldwide gross!!!!) would also go to see more blood and gore. Sad. I'm still looking forward to it though. I suggest, rethink your publicity campaign and release it as a double feature across the world. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 07:10 AM Are we there yet was a huge hit back in 2005. Why inm the hell would you think that Are we done yet would not be a hit. Ice Cube last 4 films has been baxoffice hit. What makes this any diffrent. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 07:46 AM In reply to this comment (#860664) Every time a movie like Grindhouse comes out, the same people flood the boards with comments like, "I just creamed myself" and "I think I need to change my pants" and "what higher calling is there than tits and violence." And yes, it's worrysome to me, to. Hopefully they are no where near the Jr. High kids I mentor. Personally, I can't for the life of me discover when or why being "provocative" has earned films critical praise. Provocative doesn't mean it's worthwhile or beneficial. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 07:55 AM [b]Advertising is the Key[/b] Grindhouse just didn't have the right advertising plan. And yes, Easter weekend was a bad move. Parents took young ones to MTR and AWTR and the teens went next door for BOG. BOG had a BRIILIANT advertising campaign. They made errors in the begiining focusing too much on the jokey gay angle. I think when they realized they made an error (people were not interested in a movie all about gay jokes) they switched gears and hit the web, ads and talk shows hard. They targeted their market and focussed on Ferrell. It must have been a small fortune but they took the gamble, obviously feeling they had the right cards, and it worked. I don't know how MTR will do out of theatres. Isn't the 3-D what its all about? I think they are going to take a hit on this one. AWTY or whatever this one was called had an audience for the 1st one and it was smart to open Easter weekend. Fire House Dog. I like these kind of movies. It will make it up in DVDs. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 07:57 AM In reply to this comment (#860666) Yeah but, that doesn't explain why he is the worst actor in the worst movies of all time. (Reply to this) |
 on Apr 09 2007 08:05 AM In reply to this comment (#860666) Actually XXX:State of the Union flopped badly. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 08:05 AM Also with a 3 hour+ running time, theatres are not going to have as many showing as, say, "Are We Done Yet?", hence a lower box-office. I can't exactly see theatre chains showing this on 5 screens... (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 08:13 AM This is kinda how I thought Grindhouse would do. I saw it and it was an all new experience for me because I wasn't around back in the 70's. Planet Terror was amusing for a while and then just got kinda old, but Death Proof was pretty damn sweet with one of the greatest car chase scenes ever and a great turn by Kurt Russell. I also saw Blades of Glory which was amusing, not the greatest film ever but worth seeing once. (Reply to this) |
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on Apr 09 2007 08:38 AM In reply to this comment (#860656) This post made me very sad. There is no need for children to see The Terminator or Aliens, any more than there is a need for them to see The 300 or GrindHouse. This is not a censorship issue, it's just plain common sense. We don't teach children to read by handing them Lord of the Rings or The Naked And The Dead. We don't teach them to draw by having them copy the Mona Lisa. One of the worst experiences of my movie life was coming out of Natural Born Killers and realizing that behind me was a man carrying his 4 year old boy in his arms. Want to make a bet where that 4 year old is now? A college graduate for sure, right? (Reply to this) |
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