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SUNDAY AM: Even though they’re getting a divorce after two dysfunctional years, Steven Spielberg and Paramount have still had a successful marriage with films starring Shia LaBoeuf, including Disturbia, Transformers and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. (I suspect DreamWorks and Paramount will work out joint custody of the 22-year-old action star…) Now Shia is in another of their joint PG-13 thrillers, newcomer Eagle Eye, which wound up the #1 pic in North America this weekend with $9.8 million Friday and $12.3 million Saturday from 3,510 theaters for a $29.2M FSS. It was the 4th best September opening of all time. Even so, studios felt the U.S. presidential debate dampened Friday’s box office with young and older males, but numbers bumped up 25% for Saturday. (Paired with the film was the new trailer for Tom Cruise’s Nazi Christmas movie Valkyrie, and UA/MGM boasted to me that it ”killed”.)
After a heavy TV marketing campaign, Warner Bros’ mature romantic tearjerker based on the Nicholas Sparks novel Nights In Rodanthe starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere opened surpisingly well. It was No. 2 with $4.7 million Friday and $5.5 million Saturday considering it was only playing in 2,704 venues. Its weekend was $13.5M thanks to the older female quadrant which studios are now starting to recognize and respect. Holdover Lakeview Terrace from Screen Gems/Sony grabbed the #3 spot with a $2.0M Friday and $3.3M Saturday for a $7M weekend and new $25.7M cume.
A big surprise at the box office this weekend was the 4th place opening of Provident/Samuel Goldwyn’s Fireproof, the small budget and limited release pic about a firefighter who recommits to his marriage and his faith. The movie is the latest from Sherwood Pictures, a nonprofit ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, that previously put out the popular Facing the Giants and the lesser-known Flywheel. 
Samuel Goldwyn Films is the theatrical distributor, while Provident Films handled Fireproof‘s outreach and marketing to Christian audiences. It debuted to a $2.3M Friday and $2.6M Saturday for a $6.5M gross weekend though released into only 839 dates and costing just $500K. The reason why is that the pic used grassroots methods to directly reach evangelical churches and target Christian audiences to go see the PG film starring the grown-up TV child star of Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron. (The ultra-religious actor claims he donated his pay to a camp for seriously ill kids he runs with his wife.) It had the year’s highest grossing opening weekend return of any film (except 3-D Hannah Montana) released on 1,000 screens or less. Faithbased “Action Squads” bought up blocks of tickets. “Just between you and me, keep your eye on the Fireproof per screen averages this weekend,” a source at Grace Hill Media, which markets to the religious community but wasn’t involved with this movie, tipped me. “On Sunday, I think there will be some distribution execs around town who will be asking ‘What the hell is Fireproof?’ ” That’s exactly what the studios did. But what’s interesting about the pic’s success is that not all Christian-themed movies do well: in fact, most don’t, especially those made by the majors trying to cash in on Mel Gibson’s blockbuster The Passion Of The Christ. Hollywood still can’t figure out what works and what doesn’t for faith-based audiences. Today, Fireproof is still going strong with advance ticket sales, accounting for the largest share — 22% — of all sold, according to big online ticketseller Fandango.com. “Because of the sold-out screenings and strong word-of-mouth, we expect next weekend’s ticket sales for this movie will be equally healthy,” 
spokesman Harry Medved told me.
Burn After Reading from Focus Pictures snuck in at #5 with $1.6M Friday and a $3M Saturday for a $6.1M weekend. No. 6 Igor from Exodus Film Group/MGM experienced a minimal 2nd week drop of only 30%. Three R-rated new movies also opened in limited release, including Spike Lee’s drama about black soldiers who fought in World War II, The Miracle Of St. Anne. The director’s attempt to repudiate Clint Eastwood came in No. 9 for the weekend with $965K Friday, and $1.5M Saturday, for a $3.5M weekend. Lionsgate’s The Lucky Ones about returning Iraq war vets Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena made $142K from 459 theaters this weekend. And Fox Searchlight’s dark comedy Choke with Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston took in $1.3M from 434 venues. The weekend will total over $93.7M, which is +10% over last year’s.
1. Eagle Eye (DreamWorks/Paramount) NEW [3,510 theaters], wkd $29.2M
2. Nights In Rodanthe (Warner Bros) NEW [2,704], wkd $13.5M
3. Lakeview Terrace (Screen Gems/Sony) Friday [2,467], wkd $7M, cume $25.7M
4. Fireproof (Provident/Samuel Goldwyn) NEW [839], wkd $6.5M
5. Burn After Reading (Focus Features) [2,649], wkd $6.1M, cume $45.5M
6. Igor (Exodus/MGM) [2,341], wkd $5.5M, cume $14.3M
7 Righteous Kill (Overture) [3,011], wkd est $3.8M, cume $34.8M
8. My Best Friends Girl (Lionsgate) [2,636], wkd $3.8M, cume $14.5M
9. Miracle at St Anna (Touchstone/BV) NEW [1,185], wkd $3.5M
10. Tyler Perry’s Family That Preys (Lionsgate) [2,642], wkd est $3.1M, cume $32.8M
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Looks like the Hollywood establishment succeeded in killing “Miracle At Saint Anna.” Why they found it so difficult to rally around an important film for African-American and why Shia LaBeouf and his garbage- pail acting to get a free pass,I guess will never no.I guess Spike Lee will learn his lesson and not step out of line again and dare to question the Hollywood “Elite.”By the way,both of Eastwood’s WWII films were poorly directed,souless sacks of you know what,yet that didn’t stop the across the board praise from critics,did it?
Rodanthe is good news for fans of Mr Gere in France. If the movie comes to our town we’ll see it and anyway we’ll buy the DVD for sure. And I’m not in the “Older female Quadrant”… (laughs)
Good news indeed, I felt rather sorry for him about that commercial where he drives from Hollywood to Tibet faster than you can say “Beam me up, Scotty” (do I here a voice screaming “It’s poetic licence, stupid”?) But Richard Gere is a true Hollywood Star, in the classic sense of the word, not one of these walking tragedies for special editions of E! True Hollywood Story.
Kyle,
I’m sorry, but “elite” Hollywood did not “kill” Miracle at Saint Anna. Everyone has known that movie would bomb for months and months.
And as for Clint Eastwood: I agree that Flags of Our Fathers was a miss, but Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterpiece.
Shia LaBoeuf, what’s the story with this guy. He seems like a nice enough kid, but am I supposed to believe he’s the reason ‘Transformers’ and ‘Indie 4′ were successful? I’m not trying to rip his ability as an actor, but he doesn’t come off as a big box office draw to me.
Um, Kyle, Eagle Eye got horrible reviews. I don’t think it got a “free pass”, people just opted to see it. As for Miracle at St. Anna, you sound silly trying to act like the Hollywood elite are responsible for its failure. The film is being released by Disney man. It was made by the Hollywood elite, of which Spike is included. I doubt most critics care about the personal feelings of either Clint Eastwood or Spike Lee either. The reviews are his own fault for trying to cram so much into one film, and its financial failure was almost assured by the subject matter. Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, critical acclaim and all, were box office flops in the US, the latter making money thanks to Japan.
Is Shia pigeon-holed now as an action star? Eem.. think can do better than just one genre. Am a fan so here’s hoping for more from him. Having said that, glad to see his new movie topping the B.O
As for Spike’s new movie, well pity to see it tank at the B.O. So much for his big talk. Oh! Not a fan of Eastwood either so there, no favouritism here
Yea, it was the presidential debates which reduced the box office of “Eagle Eye”. It couldn’t possibly be the fact that LaBoeuf can’t act or that the film has been getting horrible reviews.
I wish the main stream media would expose Kirk Cameron
for the dangerous nutjob that he is. He is a religious fanatic and bible fundamentalist with perhaps the scariest program on TV, WAY OF THE MASTER on CBN religious network. His partner Ray Comfort and himself damn viewers to hell for a half hr at a time and come across as two of the scariest people on the planet. The program is pure child abuse for any kid who watches it! I wouldn’t pay a dime to see a movie he’s in! I say this in all seriousness!
The Miracle Of St. Anne is a film I would otherwise look forward to seeing at the megaplex. However, I refuse to support anything with Spike Lee’s name attached—I am quite euphoric that it will be yet another bomb. I am hoping that Mr. Stone’s new project falls on the same indifference. Many of us will stay home.
Regarding the Valkerie trailer: Saw it last night with Eagle Eye, and I just can’t get past the notion that Cruise is the only person speaking without an accent. ANY accent. Apparently, German is too strong so some of the actors use the generic movie “Vaguely European” accent, but Cruise is 100% American, which is distracting. BTW, didn’t like Eagle Eye.
And as for Spike Lee? Look, I LOVE Inside Man. But I resent him for this film. Because for all the “anger” he had at Eastwood, he juuuust happened to wait a few years after Eastwood’s war films came out to complain about the lack of black soldiers. And — wouldn’t you know it?? — he juuuust happens to have a black soldier movie coming out around the same time as this new “controversy.” It was a manufactured argument, and I lost a lot of respect for him.
Why, for at least the last two weeks, has race been injected into the boxoffice comments? If “Miracle at St. Anna” had looked compelling and distracting/entertaining for the majority of the Friday night audience – whether the actors/director were black or white or whatever – people would have seen it. The argument isn’t even relevant, and frankly, it’s annoying.
Does “Kyle” understand that the majority of Americans are about to vote for an African-American as President of the United States? Please understand that this isn’t the 1950s anymore, we’re way beyond that. Heck, I would argue that based on the trailers, the reviews, and the length, that “Miracle” wouldn’t have done much better if it starred Brad Pitt or George Clooney or Tom Hanks. Totally irrelevant.
Since no one else will take on the rant against Kirk Cameron in an earlier post, I’ll bite. Kirk doesn’t need to be “exposed” – his religious beliefs are widely known and are his to hold. Like Tom Cruise and Madonna, Cameron is an avid cheerleader for his doctrine, but he doesn’t need to be silenced. If you don’t like what he says, here’s a novel approach – don’t watch his religious broadcast. Simple, huh?
As for boycotting his movies, knock yourself out. But do you hold all actors, religious and non-religious, theist and atheist, to the same standard of outrage? Or is it just Christian actors who get you all stimulated? Inquiring minds would like to know . . .
First, Spike blew it.
I am black and I couldn’t believe that he picked a fight with Eastwood over something so trivial and then played the race card when Clint told him to “shut up.” Critics love war movies and they love Clint. What they hate are self-important filmmakers who try to manipulate the selling of a film with issues that have nothing to do with quality.
Second, there is a disturbing trend in Hollywood when it comes to blacks. We are doing a lot of period pieces from eras when blacks had no rights or were struggling. “Talk to Me,” “Great Debaters,” Secret Life of Bees,” “Cadillac Records,” and Spike’s own “Miracle.” None of the one that have been released did anything at the box office. “Lakeview Terrace” is contemporary and it opens at #1.
We are busy putting a black man in the White House but Hollywood is working hard to keep the images of black men in the past.
Hey, Spike how about “Inside Man 2?”
St Anna has a few problems :
the trailer doesnt make it clear – war movie? drama? mystery?
the audience is not in the “war movie” mode – even the Eastwood films and the recent Iraq films didnt do great box office
a lot of the audience just dont like Spike Lee and wont support his movies
Nikki, I’m not sure why you’re surprised that Nights In Rodanthe opened well. Movies based on Nicholas Sparks bestsellers tend to succeed (see The Notebook). Plus, add Gere and the likeable Lane to the mix, it was bound to open well.
And Spike Lee’s latest flick didn’t bomb because of “those racist Jews in Hollywood” but rather because, left to his own devices, Lee can’t make a compelling film. The only reasons Inside Man did well were because he used actual stars and it was a for hire job for Lee. He didn’t have a damn thing to do with the story which has always been Lee’s weakest point.
Miracle at St Anna needed good reviews. It didn’t get them. I was looking forward to the film because even when Spike’s movies aren’t good there always interesting. However, I am not about to spend 10 bucks an watch a 3 hour war movie that I know will be mediocre. I will wait for video. Eagle Eye is hollywood trash that doesn’t need the reviews to succeed. It’s a glossy over plotted film made on the Hollywood assembly line. It goes down easy and people will go see it for the action.
CinefileX,
How are those films a “Hollywood” trend? The films you mentioned were all fought for and made by African-Americans. I’m not sure how you can fault the establishment for that. (If there’s something to keep an eye on it’s that the black man as threat succeeds at the box office while inspirational African-American stories fail.)
Wow, I must be totally out of it. I had no chance to get to a theater this weekend, but I was thinking “St. Anna” looked interesting and would probably do well. Oh well . . .
The fact that Barack Obama might be leading in the polls does not absolve Hollywood of it’s deep-seated racism.Besides he hasn’t won yet, has he. And what does that have to do with lack of casting of black women in major motion picture, the lack of people of any color behind the scenes working as directors,writers,or producers? Where are they MR.CommonSense? It is it a problem, face it.The fact that Lakeview Terrace opens number one featuring a menacing black man terrorizing a white man speaks volume of Hollywood’s disassociation with the black community at large.It’s no surpise that the producer of this drivel is none other than Will Smith,who would rather be cast with a white or hispanic love interest in his movies, who he rarely is allowed to touch or show any true moments of intimacy with, than risk the fact that “mainstream” movie audiences might be turned off by seeing an “urban” movie.In this case Will is as much to blame as anybody else.
I have to agree with Crystal Diane Stevens about Nights in Rodanthe. I’m not sure where your surprise comes from, Nikki. This is the kind of movie that appeals to older females, not the half-baked, unfunny The Women that you so tirelessly and blindly supported.
Can you tell us how the Duchess is doing Nikki?
Kyle – Hollywood as a industry is probably the LEAST racist of any private sector business I can think of. On the subject of Obama, I’ve worked in this business for over 20 years, and with the exception of many teamsters (though not all), they’re about the most progressive anti-racist groups I’ve met. Most studios and film/TV productions try to hire as many qualified minorities as possible, not to NOT seem racist, but because they want to. The problem is there isn’t that huge of a pool of African-Americans seeking those jobs (ie attending film school, DGA trainee programs, etc.). There are many top TV shows run by, or directed by, or starring many African-Americans, from “The Shield” to “Grey’s Anatomy” to “The Unit.” The effort is there. I don’t see Spike Lee pursuing a TV series. I’m sure if he did and done well it would be well received. I just disagree with your premise and your evidence and, for what it’s worth, when I’m in a position to hire, I ALWAYS try and favor minorities or veterans or people who didn’t grow up with a silver spoon and graduate from USC or the Ivy League schools. There are many of us. If you are involved in the business then I suggest you work to do something about it as well. If you’re looking to break in, I don’t think you’ll have a problem. Good luck.
Nikki –
The SEC banned short selling on hundreds of financial companies and WaMu, Wachovia and several other smaller banks still went under this weekend.
What’s your next expert solution to this crisis? We’re all waiting to hear.
i’m sure transformers and indiana jones would have flopped without shia. ha.
woah you don’t think the dark knight wil be in the top 10 anymore !
not sure if thats a good or bad thing!