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SUNDAY AM: After last weekend’s disastrous box office (the lowest in 5 years), Hollywood was dreading this weather-impacted weekend. But its $105 milion total is +34% ahead of last year’s $78 million, so the studios breathed a sight of relief. It was a crowded cineplex with four major wide releases — and not one of them a four-quadrant film. Focus Features’ political comedy Burn After Reading finished No 1 for the weekend with $19.4 million, and Lionsgate’s The Family That Preys No. 2 with $18 million. With yet another PG-rated Tyler Perry crossover hit on its hands, the studio understandably made an overall deal with the writer/producer/director/actor recently. 
Given that Preys was playing in 581 less theaters than Burn yet had a better per screen average ($8,705 vs $7,319), it’s quite a feat that it finished Friday neck and neck with the first post-Oscar Coen Brothers feature starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton who have either won or been nominated for Academy Awards. Then again it was R-rated, and Prey was PG (but starring Kathy Bates who also has an Oscar and Alfre Woodard a nominee). Burn received better reviews than Prey. So it’s a wash.
Overture Films only paid $12 million to acquire North American rights to Righteous Kill, which earned 3rd place and $16.5 million for the weekend. Stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino attracted just a one-quadrant older male audience. The problem is that neither actor has starred in a decent drama lately, including this hackneyed script.
Picturehouse’s The Women took the 4th spot with $10 million. Written and directed and produced by Murphy Brown creator Diane English, it’s a low-budget $16.5 million update of the famed 
Clare Booth Luce play and 1939 George Cukor film. Full disclosure: it’s hard for me to speak objectively about this chick flick because I keep campaigning for more movies about women over 40. Last June, I bitched that it was wrong to let a pic starring a quality cast of Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Bette Midler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Candice Bergen, and Debra Messing die a quick death in limited release with a tiny P&A put out by a shuttering studio. Even if rotten, I saw potential for some savvy Sex In The City-exploiting. Warner Bros heard me, took another look, and decided to release The Women wide with a normal marketing budget. And I applaud them for that decision. Of course, it’s disappointing that this frenemy comedy received the worst reviews of all four opening films (although Roger Ebert loved it). But considering its low cost, The Women had a successful debut: it’ll do nearly twice the opening weekend gross of two wildly more expensive pics starring male stars: Kevin Costner’s Swing Vote and Eddie Murphy’s Meet Dave this past summer. As I’ve remarked before, if there’s room in a studio’s slate for Harold & Kumar-type pics aimed at stoners, there’s room for women’s films aimed at mature females, too.
The rest of the Top 10 were holdovers. DreamWorks/Paramount’s Tropic Thunder crossed the $100 million mark on Friday.
1. Burn After Reading (Focus) $6.5M Fri, $8M Sat, $5M Sun (2,651) $19.4M Wkd
2. Tyler Perry (Lionsgate) $6.4M Fri, $7.3M Sat, $4.4M Sun (2,070) $18M Wkd
3. Righteous Kill (Overture) $5.8M Fri, $6.4M, $4.2M Sun (3,152) $16.5M Wkd
4. The Women (PH/WB) $3.7M Fri, $3.9M Sat, $2.3M Sun (2,962) $10M Wkd
5. The House Bunny (Sony) $4.3M Wkd, $42.1M cume
6. Tropic Thunder (DWorks/Par) $4.1M Wkd, $102.9M cume
7. The Dark Knight (WB) $4M Wkd, $517.6M cume
8. Bangkok Dangerous (Lionsgate) $2.4M Wkd, $12.5M cume
9. Traitor (Overture) $2.1M Wkd, $20.7M cume
10. Death Race (Universal) $2M Wkd, $33.1M cume
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Is it just me, or does an airbrushed Annette Bening look an awful lot like an airbrushed Vanessa Williams? Now that they are making a few movies with women over 40, maybe someday they can actually let them look their age on the posters.
Ok, you’re right– that would be crazy.
As a woman, I’m insulted by the idea of this hideous remake being touted as ideal for my demographic. A lot of us don’t just want movies targeted at women, we want INTELLIGENT movies targeted at women, thanks very much. I’ll stay in this weekend and pop in my DVD of the original. Now THAT was a movie worth watching.
What was the marketing budget for Righteous Kill, approx.?
Yes, reader — the great dirty secret that no one in Hollywood — even Nikki Finke — likes to deal with. A movie’s quality does have SOME bearing on how well it does, particularly if it’s aimed at an over-12 audience.
Ummm… so everyone hates THE WOMEN and it really won’t be considered a success no matter what. Nikki, what happened to your little misunderstood movie-that-could? (Don’t get the comparisons to MEET DAVE and SWING VOTE… Just sour grapes, I guess?)
“you liberal Clooney kool-aid drinkers need to give it a rest”
Wha?! I dare you to find me one person in the theater for that Tyler Perry movie who’s not voting for Obama.
Let Tyler Perry have his weekend. Tyler Perry’s films all have one big opening weekend before disappearing from sight. “Burn After Reading” will have legs.
crystal? or is it Sarah?
Come now Sarah, George bought you the boobs and teeth let him have his movie.
I expect Burn After Reading will do fine at the box office. Look at the success of Oh Brother Where Art Thou? they did 7 yrs ago. I was part of that project and as movie extra and I did end up screen it’s one I’m proud of. Listen George Clooney made me laugh on the set. I recall when he and first saw each other. He was in charactor for one of the scenes and I was one of the jailbird extras. He made direct eye contact and I quote: “Look’em Kill’em.” It freaks me out to this day.
Anyway any Coen’s Brothers comedy is going to do real well. I want to see this one myself.
Should be called “Burn Before Watching”.
Pacino has become a parody of himself and De Niro should change his name to Verizon because he’s been phoning it in for years.
Doc, what the hell movie are you watching?
Glad to see the Coens with a good opening, the film was mid-tier for them but still enjoyable. I couldn’t believe the diverse demographic I saw in the theater for it.
Also glad to see Tyler Perry didn’t manage to grab another #1 spot – his House of Payne nonsense is bad enough on TV, glad some real filmmakers took the weekend.
All of this “opening weekend” stuff is a bunch of PR crap. It’s something that the studios can use for more press – film gross/$ comparisons that have little to do with each other; new “records” set or broken every other weekend; such-and-such movie made more than the other such-and-such movie… It’s apples to oranges – to bananas, to grapefruit, to plums, to a bunch of grapes. Dollars are worth a different amount than last year (not to mention years and decades past); films are distributed to different numbers of theaters on the same weekend; audience members are different (socially and financially) than in years past; a “weekend” can start on Wednesday midnight (as if that’s an accurate measurement of anything other than how long fanboys will wait in a line). Films are re-released at particular times to garner Oscar buzz (“Michael Clayton”, for instance). It’s all a marketing game and people shouldn’t get their panties in a wad when reading the comparisons. It doesn’t mean anything, and the numbers are less than accurate in the first place.
Speaking of which…
While women may bemoan a film like “The Women”, they also argue that not enough films are targeted at women, nor are there enough “good roles” for women past a certain age. Same goes for the black (AA) community. The fact is, there would be more of those movies written, cast and produced if those quadrants of people would go to movies more often, or if there was enough of an audience in those quadrants in the first place.
The movie industry is a business. The people who make (pay for the) movies want to make a profit. They want your money! They’re going to make films that the most people will pay to see. Black films; kung fu films; horror films; gay films… they don’t care, they just want the audience to pay for and go see them. If women would go to (and pay for) movies, they’d make more “chick-flicks”. Simple as that. “Sex…City” had a built-in audience, so no matter how terrible (or good) the film was, it was bound to make lots of money. And it did. Putting big name actors in a lousy film is, sadly, not unheard of in this industry – any race, any gender. “The Women” (and “Righteous Kill”) may not be any different.
Tyler Perry has done a great job of branding his productions (same for Spike Lee). While there is obviously a market for his films, they may not have the legs of “BAR”. Still, he knows his audience well and he’ll make some good coin from his efforts. Sounds to me like he’s got great control on how his films are budgeted, made, marketed and distributed. Smart man.
You women out there want better movies? Movies that you can relate to? Movies that touch your heart, and/or deal with your particular issues? Then WRITE THEM. Really – I mean it. Show the old boys that your idea can make a profitable movie. Show them that your idea can make a better film than is produced for women’s TV networks. Show them that women will come in droves to the theater to see your film.
Until that happens, it’s James Bond, horror flicks and franchise sequels (“Traveling Pants IV”).
Actually, The Women is getting excellent word-of-mouth. I work at a movie theater, and everyone walking out (Mostly older women, as expected) were talking about how great it was. Just like Mamma Mia, this will stay in theaters for a good period of time.
And to Crystal… Family That Preys only beat Burn this weekend on a per-theater basis. And if you think Family will have better staying power than Burn or something, you’re sadly mistaken. Perry’s films are infamous for opening huge and then dropping like a rock. The Family that Preys will clock out in the high $40′s whereas Burn After Reading will reach $60 million or more. Burn is the better hit, ma’am.
What’s all of this political hanky panky goin’ on here? BAR looks to be a kooky fun ride, while Mr Perry’s film will certainly make his fanbase happy. Can’t we all just get along?
Everybody, just take a chill pill. OK?
Obviously the Clooney kool-aid drinkers are forgetting that Clooney, Pitt, McDormand etc all have massive backend deals on Burn After Reading while Woodard and Bates don’t with their movie. So even if Burn After Reading supposedly makes a profit, the studio won’t be seeing it. The actors and filmmakers will. Whereas, the profit from The Family That Preys will actually reach back to the person who paid for the film – Tyler Perry. I know the fact that a black man is successful irks you so but try to make it a little less obvious hmm?
Burn After Reading reflects The Americans more. Tyler Perry makes cover rubbish for The Americans. Righteous Kill may be fiction but it also reflects The Americans a little more. The Women, to The American audience, would have to be more Kill Bill, or Burn After Reading for that matter, meets The Bold and The Beautiful, than strictly As The World Turns, if you catch my drift. This is why only a small percentage of Americans go to movies in general, but these figures are allowed to change.
Wow, what a looney. So now Crystal is privy to all the backend deals that stars have on films? How the hell do you know what deals any of these actors DO OR DON’T have? And who gives a shit about Tyler Perry and his parade of melodramatic pablum? Yes, it’s ridiculous and a disservice to the industry that there aren’t enough working directors in Hollywood that don’t happen to be white males, but if you want to support a black director, look to genuine talents like Spike Lee, Clark Johnson or Carl Franklin, not this Hallmark/Lifetime level tripe Perry pushes upon his fanbase. Feh.
Wow actors that only take money once a film has earned money aka the “back end” what a concept.
A successful black man? wow now there’s something we’ve never seen before
Crystal, what’s up your ass about Clooney? Or is it the fact Clooney ISN’T up your ass?
Tyler Perry is a one trick pony, he makes his money, Lionsgate is a scummy studio but they’re allowing him to make the films he wants and Lionsgate slimes all the way to the bank.
Go back to lusting after Tom Selleck and hope that Desperate Housewives calls you for your opinon.
WTF? Now racism is thrown into the mix? Ms Stevens please quit throwing around stupid comments. Nobody is attacking Mr Perry here. You are the one doing the attacking.
STFU or just don’t post here anymore. Nobody needs your poisonous opinions here. Madame, you are a fool.
Obviously the Clooney kool-aid drinkers are forgetting that Clooney, Pitt, McDormand etc all have massive backend deals on Burn After Reading while Woodard and Bates don’t with their movie. So even if Burn After Reading supposedly makes a profit, the studio won’t be seeing it. The actors and filmmakers will. Whereas, the profit from The Family That Preys will actually reach back to the person who paid for the film – Tyler Perry. I know the fact that a black man is successful irks you so but try to make it a little less obvious hmm?
Comment by Crystal Diane Stevens — September 14, 2008 @ 10:17 am
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So what is your problem?? It doesnt change the fact that your beloved Tyler’s movie lost out to Burn after Reading as to the no 1 spot in the box office this weekend.
Anyway, Who cares about Tyler (who??)? No one knows him outside the US!!!!
All I can say is that I saw the trailer for BAR last night and was immediately turned off. Watching George Clooney try to act is embarrassing enough but when he tries to be funny he’s simply painful. Brad Pitt looked embarrassing as well. In fact, I have no idea why the Coens only cast one actor who can do comedy (Frances McDormand) and filled every other slot up with actors more suited to drama (or as in George’s case, washing dishes).
Nice to see an actual movie theatre employee tell the truth about “The Women”: people like it! I am a 50ish man and saw it with my wife in a packed suburban theatre. True, the crowd was mainly women over 25, but they had a blast! The film is certainly not nearly as bad as reviewers make it out to be. It is literate, entertaining and sharply written for adults instead of teens…hardly the lowly stuff of true degenerative drivel such as “Saw”, “Hostel” or “Death Race”. Get real. This anti-”Women” bandwagon is bald-faced sexism. I say, go see it for yourself. Can an afternoon spent with Midler, Bergen, Messing, Bening and Ryan, et al. be that bad for the soul?
Are you nuts? The Women is a BOMB. $10 million for a film that has been in turnaround forever and was browbeaten into getting a big budget marketing campaign isn’t going to even come remotely close to making it’s money back. The total cost going into that POS was over $30Mil with PR+D+P factored in. It’s going to be one of those wonderful tax write offs for being a massive loss.
Sometimes the Studio heads really do know best. When they see a bloated, horrible pile of shit they axe it sometimes when they know there is no chance of it making money. This is one that should have remained DEAD.
The Women. Everybody knew it was a horrible film, even if this site incessantly championed it. I get it… there should be more older female movies. But – for the most part – they are niche at best. Way to find a silver lining though… it outperformed Meet Dave and Swing Vote?!?!? Gasp!!! Fantastic!!!
All the top movies sound like terrible movies.
Tyler Perry: I respect what Tyler Perry has done as a businessman/movie maker in racist/segregated Hollywood with no help or support for casting black actors. The Coen Brothers are a good example of this racism because, with the exception of small roles for Chris Thomas King and Cedric the Entertainer (come on!), their movies tend to be rigidly segregated (whites only) and apparently even exposure to the liberalism of Pitt and Clooney (liberal except for the well-known misogyny of the latter, of course) has not encouraged them to expand their racial viewpoint or outlook one bit. In that environment, Tyler Perry’s focus on the life and issues of African Americans who are not thugs or hookers and are not invisible is welcome. But the writing and acting in his movies are generally weak.
BAR: I have heard that people were walking out of BAR at one particularly brutal killing in the movie. If a black rap star made movies consistently featuring brutal cop killings, people would be up in arms. But because the Coens are white “artists” of great technical skill, not enough questions are raised about the racism or sadism, including cop killing, in their storylines.
The Women: The blatant misogyny in Hollywood isn’t addressed by making ANY movie featuring women. On the other hand, there seems to be no problem making bad movies featuring men. Why is it so hard to make worthwhile, entertaining movies starring the other half of the population?
Tropic Thunder: The only truly bright spot in the top list from an artistic standpoint is the fact that Robert Downey, Jr. has another $100 million movie notch in his belt this year. I hope he stays clean and keeps working. Love him.