Box Office Guru Wrapup: Iron Man 3 Soars Above the Rest (64 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, May. 05 2013, 05:29 PM

Tony Stark obliterated the competition as the much-anticipated super hero sequel Iron Man 3 generated the second biggest opening weekend in box office history and also became the top-grossing global blockbuster of 2013. Domestic audiences spent a jaw-dropping $175.3M this weekend, according to estimates, seeing the third installment in the Marvel franchise including grosses from Thursday night shows starting at 9:00pm. Playing in 4,253 theaters, the PG-13 actioner averaged a scorching $41,218 per location and was helped by surcharges for the 3D conversion.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Pain & Gain Tops Wimpy Weekend (38 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Apr. 28 2013, 01:33 PM

For the ninth time in ten tries, Michael Bay saw his latest directorial effort open at number one as the action-comedy Pain & Gain debuted on top of a sluggish box office frame with an estimated $20M. Headlined by Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson, the R-rated Paramount release averaged a respectable $6,103 from 3,277 theaters. The action director's only film to not hit number one was his 2005 disaster The Island. He then made only Transformers movies until Pain.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oblivion Easily Takes Top Spot in Debut (73 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Apr. 21 2013, 04:47 PM

Now in his fourth decade of scoring number one hit movies, Tom Cruise enjoyed one of the best openings of his entire career with the futuristic science fiction film Oblivion which topped the box office worldwide.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: 42 Breaks Records and Barriers in First Place (40 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Apr. 15 2013, 02:00 PM

Jackie Robinson made history again as the new film 42 delivered the best opening ever for a baseball movie and clinched first place at the North American box office by racing past industry expectations. Meanwhile, the mindless spoof comedy Scary Movie 5 attracted a fraction of the once-popular franchise's audience and debuted in second place with unimpressive results. Overall ticket sales were about even with normal mid-April levels.

Box Office: Evil Dead Possesses America (78 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Apr. 08 2013, 01:57 PM

The horror remake Evil Dead led a solid session thanks to a number one debut while holdovers G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Croods fared well giving the marketplace three films grossing north of $20M each. Plus the 3D re-release of the dino-smash Jurassic Park also scored points with audiences driving the top ten to over $125M in ticket sales. Ticket buyers also caught up on recent hits as four films in the top ten enjoyed low declines of 20-30%.

Box Office Guru: G.I. Joe Rocks Easter Weekend (88 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Apr. 01 2013, 02:03 PM

Testosterone ruled the Easter frame as the 3D action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation opened at number one, but Tyler Perry's latest offering Temptation also scored a strong debut of its own in third place. The animated holdover The Croods held up well in its second weekend pulling in families over the school holiday helping the box office beat Easter business from the past two years.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Croods, Olympus Drive March Madness (47 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Mar. 24 2013, 03:15 PM

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oz Powerful, Burt Not-So-Incredible (53 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Mar. 17 2013, 04:54 PM

Moviegoers cared about only one magician as the blockbuster Oz the Great and Powerful easily led the North American box office for a second time while dueling magic men Steve Carell and Jim Carrey saw their new comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone get flat out rejected. Meanwhile, the Halle Berry thriller The Call overperformed and enjoyed a solid second place debut.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oz Racks Up Enchanting Debut (85 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Mar. 11 2013, 01:31 PM

This weekend, Disney's big-budget Emerald City gamble paid off as the expensive 3D prequel Oz the Great and Powerful opened to sensational results at the North American box office accounting for well over half of all ticket sales thanks to one of the biggest debuts ever seen at this time of year. The PG-rated adventure bowed to a stunning $80.3M, according to estimates, from 3,912 theaters resulting in a spectacular $20,521 average.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Giant Falls with Weak $28M Opening (49 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Mar. 04 2013, 03:25 PM

The big-budget fantasy epic Jack the Giant Slayer opened at number one at the North American box office, however its weak performance hardly justified the enormous production and marketing costs invested into the fairy tale actioner. Other new releases were also soft in their debuts as moviegoers showed little excitement over any of these new titles. March came in like a lamb as the Top 20 grossed only $105M, down sharply compared to the first weekend of this month from each of the last three years.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Identity Thief Steals Another Weekend (23 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Feb. 24 2013, 02:56 PM

With Hollywood busy preparing for the Academy Awards, studios dumped out lame new releases which not surprisingly led to a soft session at North American multiplexes allowing former chart-topper Identity Thief to reclaim the number one spot. Universal's hit comedy declined by a reasonable 40% from the Friday-to-Sunday portion of last weekend's Presidents' Day frame and grossed an estimated $14.1M leading all films. After 17 days, the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman pic has now collected $93.7M and will hit the $100M mark next weekend - a big achievement for an original R-rated comedy.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Latest Die Hard Leads Presidents' Day Weekend (67 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Feb. 17 2013, 04:31 PM

The Presidents' Day holiday frame saw three films generate $20-25M in ticket sales but the action sequel A Good Day to Die Hard made enough to earn the number one spot. Comedy holdover Identity Thief dropped to second place while the new romance Safe Haven bowed in third. Overall box office was down from last year's robust holiday while Oscar contenders for Best Picture remained popular with moviegoers looking for quality cinema.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Identity Thief Scores Big in Debut (57 comments)

by Sujit Chawla on Sunday, Feb. 10 2013, 03:33 PM

This weekend, Universal's Identity Thief blew onto the scene with a surprisingly strong opening, while Steven Soderbergh's supposed last directorial effort debuted mildly in third. Returning films held on reasonably well, especially those of the Oscar variety.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Moviegoers Heat Up to Warm Bodies (31 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Feb. 04 2013, 01:40 PM

Super Bowl weekend was ruled by the adorable undead as the zombie romantic comedy Warm Bodies opened at number one leading a dull frame with lackluster ticket sales. The Big Game routinely crushes ticket sales on Sunday weakening weekend numbers and studios either avoid programming any good films, or use it as an opportunity to counter-program to young women - the demographic least affected by America's biggest sporting event. The Top 20 sank to just $82M, down a sharp 31% versus last year.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hansel & Gretel Hunt Their Way to #1 (22 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Jan. 28 2013, 12:19 PM

This weekend, the horror-action combo Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters led a sluggish North American box office with a moderate debut that was more than enough to capture the number one spot. Two other new releases, Jason Statham's action film Parker and the raunchy comedy Movie 43, failed to attract much business, helping the overall marketplace lose steam. The top ten was filled with four Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, a handful of underperforming January releases, and an unusually high total of eight R-rated films.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Mama Tops, Arnold Flops Over MLK Weekend (69 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Jan. 20 2013, 03:12 PM

The supernatural thriller Mama knocked out the competition opening at number one with a sensational performance delivering one of the best January debuts ever for a horror film. It was a Jessica Chastain double feature as the Oscar-nominated actress also starred in the number two movie in North America, Zero Dark Thirty which held strong in its second round of wide release. Rival Oscar contender for Best Picture Silver Linings Playbook expanded into a full national run and jumped up into the number three spot while new action releases disappointed. Mark Wahlberg's Broken City debuted in fifth and Arnold Schwarzenegger's comeback vehicle The Last Stand took last place in the top ten with a dismal debut. Overall, the Friday-to-Sunday portion of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend was healthy and showed a small uptick compared to recent years with four Best Picture nominees making the top ten.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Propel Zero Dark Thirty to #1 (78 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Jan. 14 2013, 02:19 PM

Three films entered wide release shoving holiday holdovers to the side while major Oscar nominees cashed in on the added attention. Leading the way was the Osama bin Laden manhunt pic Zero Dark Thirty which captured the number one spot in its first weekend of wide release following a strong run in limited play. The spoof comedy A Haunted House pulled off an upset by opening in second place ahead of the all-star crime drama Gangster Squad which was in a thousand more theaters. Overall, the marketplace was vibrant inching ahead of the same frame from the last two years which was impressive since those had the added boost of being the MLK holiday weekend. The top four films are all R-rated and five of the top seven movies have running times of two-and-a-half to three hours.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Ultraviolent Pics Lead First Weekend of 2013 (113 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Monday, Jan. 07 2013, 11:22 AM

Just as with last year, 2013 kicked off its first frame with an overperforming horror flick debuting at number one as audiences powered Texas Chainsaw 3D to the top spot. Holiday holdovers fared well with most dropping by about 30% from last weekend's sturdy session.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hobbit Threepeats, Western & Musical Rock (87 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Dec. 30 2012, 12:48 PM

For a third consecutive frame, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey led the North American box office but this time was joined by a trio of new releases opening on Christmas Day which filled up the next spots on the charts over a red hot final weekend of 2012.

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hobbit Rules Slow Pre-Christmas Frame (40 comments)

by Gitesh Pandya on Sunday, Dec. 23 2012, 04:50 PM

With holiday shopping and traveling slowing down multiplex traffic, new releases attracted low-to-moderate debuts allowing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to remain atop the chart in its second session. Four new films entered the top ten hoping not so much to score big openings, but to establish themselves in the marketplace as entertaining options once moviegoers become more available on Tuesday onwards for the Christmas holiday.