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SUNDAY AM: Sony and Fox dominated a modest weekend box office populated by mostly mediocre movies. The Friday-through Sunday domestic gross crowned Sony/Screen Gems’ horror flick Prom Night as the box office king with $22.7 million from 2,700 theaters. That’s exactly what rival studios thought the pic would earn, even though Sony execs were trying to lower expectations to high teens. The PG-13 young-skewing slasher film, a contemporary remake of a cult classic, cost a dirt cheap $20M and was critic proof. For 47% of females under age 25, Prom Night was their first choice. ”That’s who drives those PG-13 horror movies. Plus, it’s prom season,” noted a rival studio marketing maven who praised the P&A campaign orchestrated by Screen Gems’ head of marketing Mark Weinstock for such a disgusting film. The marketing campaign included interactive in-theater promotional standees that were so novel, they were the subject of a feature in The New York Times.
That other newcomer, Fox Searchlight’s Street Kings, based on the James Ellroy dirty cop story/script, was a distant #2 with $12 million this weekend from 2,467 venues, even though the R-rated drama starred Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker and Hugh Laurie. But they were wasted in this poorly reviewed film (only 31% positive on Rotten Tomatoes). Its gross was decidedly less than the mid-to-high teens my box office gurus had predicted.
A three-week holdover, Sony’s casino caper pic 21 is showing some legs by clinging to 3rd place with $11 million this weekend from 2,736 sites. Its new cume totals $62.2 mil.
Fox’s week-old family fare Nim’s Island grabbed No. 4 with $9 million this weekend from 3,518 plays, only down 32% without yet taking into account big Saturday kid matinees. Its cume is $25.2M.
Still stumbling is Universal’s Leatherheads, starring George Clooney who fumbled this screwball comedy’s direction and script with moviegoers. It mustered only #5, after a week in theaters, earning a paltry $6.2 million its second weekend in release in 2,771 runs (down 51% from its lackluster opening). Its new cume totals $21.9. Time to punt.
Fox’s Horton Hears A Who! clinched #6 starting its 5th week in release, earning $6 mil this weekend from 3,209 runs for a hefty new cume of nearly $139.6M.
That little Sundance movie Smart People was put in limited release by Miramax in 1,106 theaters because of a good cast consisting of Dennis Quaid (unfortunately, with a beard), Ellen Page and Sarah Jessica Parker in a so-so reviewed dark comedy. It made $4.2 mil this weekend from 1,106 dates.
Rounding out the Top 10, DreamWorks’ thriller The Ruins was 8th ($3.3M for the weekend, cume of $13.5M), The Weinstein Co’s spoof Superhero Movie was 9th ($3.1M for the weekend, cume of $21.2M), and Paramount’s Judd Apatow-produced comedy Drillbit Taylor ($2M for the weekend, cume of $28.4M)) took 10th.
(FYI: Comments on this website are monitored. If you left a comment and it didn’t post immediately, it’s likely that NF is away from the computer. Please be patient. Also, DHD wants to cut down on redundant box office comments. So be original.)
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There must have been a mistake .. No Stop-Loss, no Michael Moore , Al gore science fiction, , No America bashing , depressing lecture of the evils of humanity?
Red state conservatives (e.g. Josh) are too simple-minded to enjoy anything beyond the tired special effects action movie genre. I’m sure forgettable movies like Cloverfield flourished in your part of the country.
Stick to debating with your friends over how many Oscars Armageddon and its cast should’ve won.
gotta love the results on “Knuckleheads”….Ha Ha!
Nobody wants to blame Leatherheads on the guy from the Office? He also made that horrible marriage film with Robin Williams
Josh,
You should learn how to spell before posting anything on the internet. After that feat, gather an intelligent thought (or borrow one if need be) and post it.
Thx!
JH
Again Hollywood fails to grasp the idea that family movies make money while America haters don’t. What a shock. Anyone who thinks Hollywood is strictly about profit just isn’t paying attention. They don’t try to sell movies to the public. They sell movies to other Hollywood America haters because those are the people actually deciding what gets produced and who gets to act in it. They couldn’t care less what the public thinks. They care about what fellow Hollywood liberals think because that’s how the game is played. John Q. doesn’t hire anyone to make movies. Other Hollywood types do that.
You can love your country and hate the person in charge of it, Josh. I bet you felt that way yourself in the Clinton era.
Go Red States! Don’t pay that 10. Then you can get back to beating your wives and teaching your sons not to be queer and shaming your daughters with that “Eve” story. Git’er done!
Oh, so that’s why Clooney has a lifetime movie gross of over 1 billion and has been the star of 5 movies that have grossed over 100 million each. But thanks again for not letting pesky facts get in the way of your opinion Josh.
Is this a Far Right Hollywood Movie blog?
Now that’s hilarious.
Wacky liberal movies turn me off. How about some more animated movies that i can take my post 13 years to go see.
DUMBLY SAID, JOSH. How pathetic are you (and those who can’t tell you didn’t spell “deeper” right the second time) that you have to spew you rapidly dying hill-billy-influenced, uneducated nonsense on a website dedicated to movies and reviews. Are you THAT afraid that neo-Nazi-esque conservatism has so little a place left to voice itself that you have to hock it in whatever corner you can in whatever pathetic way. You really do come off as unintelligent. TRULY.
George Clooney’s movie didn’t do well because it didn’t even look appealing in the trailer. A period piece comedy about the early days of football was a poor property to buy. It would have flopped with a star even a right-winger nutcase would have supported.
I suppose “Prom Night” “succeeded” because of Middle Americans with their Christian values ablaze, went to see people get horrifically murdered? Nice Try!
“Kill the teenagers” horror flicks have always been a winner with me. I can’t stop laughing when I see one. This is the one genre where Hollywood excells. I avoid all of the rest of their left-wing garbage.
…or vote Republican and watch your pockets get smaller.
the decline of good movies began years ago when the GOOD writers were considered too old and the young hip so called writers were hired. since then we have junk on the screen. they attempt to make a movie out of a past hit years ago and they bomb. the actors and actresses now are out of a cookie cutter they have as large part no talent.
Yes, yes, good one Joshy-boy!
Box office really is all about red vs. blue anyway isn’t it? Right and Wrong. Good and Evil. White and Black. Rich and Poor. American and all the other non-entities.
“pockets getting deeper and deeper” because of blind patriotism is actually a very deeply ignorant notion.
People are not going to films because they have NO MONEY! The recession is the result of your precious red state (and blue state for that matter) greed and foolishness. We are on a sinking ship here folks, and we’re blaming each other, while the corporate ruling class is globally blindly wrecking the entirety of life on earth.
but no, it really is a crips vs. bloods, red vs. blue, poor people vs. poor people sort of thing isn’t it?
Well said Josh!
Oh spare me the political hypocrisy. George’s movie flopped because it flopped. Spare me the color-coded analysis of how people think coming from someone who obviously objects to analytical thinking. Just please use your gun to shoot you computer.
Yup. I won’t spend money on movies whose stars talk smack about the country. I also don’t want to be preached to.
Everytime some actor mouths off, I am thankful because I will just save that much more money when their movie comes out.
Well us Blue Staters, who are indifferent towards you Red Stater…Many of us could care less about George Clooney also. Putting politics and state color aside, Most Americans want to be entertained and we are turned off by Celebs who think we care about what they think.
by the way, Drop the whole red state/blue state thing. The pundits and media use the whole thing to keep us from working together. You might even like me if you tried a little.
Another Red/Blue state smackdown. For the folks on the conservative side, why don’t you ask Rush,Sean,Billo etc… to get some of their wealthy friends to finance movies that are to your liking? As for the Iraq War, it just doesn’t fit the “Dirty Dozen” or “Sands of Iwo Jima” type of film. If the success of the film industry depends on actors pledging undying loyalty to the President, then let it sink to the bottom of the sea. Then we can all go back to reading books!
I kinda miss all the nutjob right wing crazies going off on how they know why movies fail and about those damn liberals in Hollywood, followed by their love and devotion for all things GW Bush.
Where are they? Protesting an evolution conference or something?
How about you forget about stupid party lines (which should never be brought into consideration, political parties are a form of dividing people ad increasing ignorance on issues) and reword your statement as:
Movie prices are ridiculous and very over priced, we should work together to boycott this absurdity and show that consumers do indeed control the market
ALSO
We could control the quality of movies that are released, which have been very very poor and getting worse over these past 10 years.
They sell you crap, raise the prices and you basically tell them “give me more”
I was wondering when the “backlash” would hit Clooney…he acts as if he is weatherproof…but to get a hit he needs others to carry the “ball.” Don’t worry George, the other USA haters are behind you all the way.
Well Clooney, your constant hype did your movie in. The 24 hr. a day radio spots that had no funny lines in them and then the constant reminder that YOU directed it brought this movie down. What marketing genius came up with that plan? I mean who gives a rip if you directed it? As much as you’d like to believe it matters, none of the movie going public cares about your directing acumen. You’re not Wells or Scorsese.
Poor George…he can’t help it, he was born with a Hollywood Ego in his mouth.