SUNDAY AM: The bottom dropped out of Disney's Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience to Hollywood's immense surprise.
What were weekend predictions of as much as $30 million and even $40 million had to be revised down, down, down as it opened to $4.8M Friday and then $4.7M Saturday for only a $12.7M weekend with Sunday's estimate of $3M. "Concert pics usually look better on paper than they actually are because the fans drive tracking but it doesn't go beyond fans," one marketing guru told me. Of course, you have to remember that it's playing in just 1,271 3-D theaters, and even so it was the 2nd highest grossing concert pic of all time with a big per screen average of $9,992. "Many had unrealistic expectations for this pic. But they forget the coup that Disney pulled off on Hannah Montana 3-D," a rival studio exec told me. That's because the latter was a "one week lock" engagement. (They held it over, of course). But Disney really created a sense of urgency among moviegoers to see that 3-D event which shocked Hollywood with a $32.1M opening. This time around, Disney's marketing gimmick was to send out the Jonas Brothers on surprise personal appearances.
The weekend started out promisingly for the pic with MovieTickets reporting 700+ sold-out screenings hours before it opened at midnight Thursday. But advance ticket sales weren't anywhere near the level of pre-sales for Hannah Montana. Then again, Miley Cyrus is the star of her own Disney show whereas the Jonas Brothers' series won't begin to air until summer. Still, they were nominated for a Grammy for New Artist, and Disney Records is simultaneously releasing a soundtrack of the film.
So Tyler Perry's controversial (for its racial stereotyping) Madea Goes To Jail grabbed the No. 1 slot with a solid per screen average of $8,041. Twentieth Century Fox's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li debuted stillborn in 1,136 venues, and The Weinstein Co's specialty film Crossing Over starring Harrison Ford opened with a heft pe screen average in 9 dates. Meanwhile, Fox Searchlight's Slumdog Millionaire got an Oscars bump after adding 700 runs. And 20th Century Fox's thriller Taken is now the 2nd January opening to cross the magic $100M mark because of its tremendous hold.
It's looking like an $80+M weekend, about equal to last year.
Weekend Top 10
1. Madea Goes To Jail (Lionsgate) [2,052 Thtrs] $16.5M Wkd (-60%), Cume $64.8M
2. Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience (Disney) [1,271] OPENER $12.7 Wkd
3. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight) [2,943] $12.1M Wkd, Cume $115.1M
4. Taken (20th Century Fox) [3,089] $9.9 Wkd, Cume $107.8M
5. He's Just Not That Into You (NL/Warner Bros) [2,858] $5.8M Wkd, Cume $78.5M
6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Columbia/Sony) [2,698] $5.6M Wkd, Cume $128.1M
7. Coraline 3-D (Focus Features) [2,063] $5.2M Wkd, Cume $61.1M
8. Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li (Fox) [1,136] OPENER $4.6M Wkd
9. Confessions Of A Shopaholic (Disney) [2,534] $4.4M Wkd, Cume $33.6M
10. Fired Up (Sony) [1,811] $3.8M (-31%) Wkd, Cume $10.1M


Being upfront about the two-week window this time indeed made a lot of difference. Meanwhile… The kids are alright!
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I think you’ve been had; I’d be shocked if it only did $20m.
Well they’re only showing it in 1200 theaters. After learning that I was surprised that people were predicting a $40 million.
The apocalypse has arrived.
WATCHMEN…coming for all of your asses!
Looks like Crossing Over is going to have the second highest screen average for the weekend. Pretty impressive for a film that had no marketing.
Only 20 million dollars? Maybe if the Jonas Brothers were more conservative, friendly to middle america their movies would do better, lol
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Jonas brothers 12 million ? COME ON EVEN IF IT WAS A REGULAR MOVIE OR YOU HAD A SHOW YOU STILL COULDN’T DO IT RIGHT ?
Anyone else get the feeling that we’re going to be seeing alot more of this ‘phantom hit tracking’ this year?
I can see Abrams’ Star Trek film doing exactly the same thing this summer.
But why wait for that? We need only look to next weekend and the mass game of Russian roulette that will be Watchmen’s opening weekend gross.
My guess? $40 million plus opening and 200+ comments on DHD.
I’m shocked that Jonas bros couldn’t even grab the number one slot? Especially since I saw that many of the screenings were sold out.
Madea is controversial — for racial stereotyping? That’s crazy. wouldn’t gran torino fall into that category Madea is fun for all races.
My faith in humanity has been restored. For now.
The JBs soooooooooooooooooooooooo got their talent-less asses kicked (by a week-old, single quadrant pic with over a 50% drop in audience). Even the manufactured hype couldn’t save this pile. Maybe all of these young swooning females, who are supposedly from assorted countries around the world (many of whose website links are JB fansites – wink, wink) will see it when it comes to their town(s). That should make another couple o’ thousand dollars.
Am I the only who who finds it odd when white journalists decry Tyler Perry for racial stereotyping?
The genius — if unintentional and certainly unrepeatable — marketing ploy of the “Hannah Montana” concert film was preceding it with the concert tour itself for which it was almost impossible for ordinary fans to get a ticket. The film was everyone’s chance to finally see that show. If there was any similar hysteria around a Jonas Brothers tour prior to this film, I missed it.
No, Abrams’ “Star Trek” will be huge. That franchise has a 40 year demographic drag. People who haven’t gone to a movie theater in ten years will get off the couch for an iconic childhood favorite. That’s the audience you need to reach, not the same dozen kids who go to the movies once a week…
I hear the Jonas show for Disney is bad, bad, bad. Unfunny and because it’s shot on single cam, much slower paced than regular Disney shows. Didn’t you wonder why it’s being held up until the summer? Think, people!
It will be interesting if the show will be huge because tweens will watch all things Jonas. Or, because they do so many YouTube videos, will fans just watch those instead. I’d also be interested as the Jo’ Bros. becomes bigger – do they really want to work the grueling sched. of TV filming rather than touring, making music, appearances, etc.
Time will tell. No doubt Disney TV is sweating a little harder this weekend.
This is not surprising (about Jonas Bros film). The majority of kids (the ones who would see this film) get their money from mom and dad and times are economically tight right now. When Hannah Montana was released last year, the economy was still bad but not as bad as it is today.
If mom and dad are going to take their kids to the movies, they would see a film that the whole family can enjoy. I doubt mom and dad want to sit through a concert film watching three teens perform songs they don’t know.
I think we will see more that erroneous estimates. I think we will see out and out bombs.
The studios have abandoned thinking for regurgitation. And this for a generation who thinks P. Diddy is a star. “Star Trek” means nothing to them and “Watchmen’s” cold war plot and Nixonian nightmare even less. (BTW can we all just agree that JJ Abrams is a connected hack?)
Marvel has invested million into it’s B-lit titles hoping for the same new gen zeitgeist. Thor, Capt. America, Ant Man?
I’ll be reading books this summer. I suggest Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series.
Looks like it’s all hype for Jonas Brothers. Slow movie week for the most part.
Watchmen will open at $55 million +, and that’s conservative
Anonymous- when you say you’re readind Dark Tower, do you mean the novels by King or the current Marvel comics based on same? Because I think you may have just undercut your own point…
Please stop linking to Jonas Bros sites. Enough pain already…
That said, I also think Watchmen will be huge next week. Will be interesting to compare US BO with Europe. Not sure how known it is outside English speaking countries overall, but worldwide, I see it pulling down at least 100 mill the opening weekend alone.
I spend my life surrounded by 12 yr old girls (because I have one). Out of the 20 or so in the room last week, only one was going to see the Jonas movie. It’s OLD, it’s OVER. Soooo last week.
Adults are making crazy BO predictions because y’all have started to believe the Disney PR machine.
Disney (Nick too, but Disney is worse) has GOT to find some original ideas. They are constantly regurgitating the same plots…average kid gets discovered and becomes a rockstar/tvstar/webshow star/fashionstar/ STARstar. The kids have seen this, and it is OLD now. Hannah Montana + iCarly = Sonny With a Chance. Now add in Tru Jackson, J.O.N.A.S, and the pilot, MacKenzie Blue. Yawn.
Then Disney makes them sing and do concerts. Actors who can’t sing, singers who can’t act. Camp Rock, with one of the JoBros was HORRIBLE, and the merchandise is now in the clearance bin. But Disney still moved ahead, with the new JONAS series.
Junior highers get BORED. They liked Lizzie Maguire because it was different at the time. They liked Hannah Montana because it was different at the time. They liked All That because it was different at the time.
Disney is underestimating their tween audience. The studio is famous for thinking they can create the trends. But every parent knows there is nothing you can do to MAKE a junior higher like something.
Where’s the creativity??
@ Tween Industry Mom -
I totally agree. The biggest test to me will be the Jonas Bros. show on Disney. By the time it premieres, the pilot will be 2 years old – it was shot months before the strike.
Tween girls yelling for 20 years olds (Kevin) and nearly 20 year olds (Joe) is a little creepy.
PS – you are totally wrong about Disney having no creativity – the Jonas show is going to be like 3 Hanna Montana’s instead of one!!! Oh… wait. I guess you were right.
Hahaha! Finally some justice, after what can only be considered an awful run at the BO by the likes of Paul Blart, Bride Wars & Madea goes to Jail ’cause heshe loves man un uniform’.
There is some justice (or perhaps some intelligence left in some of us)
I’m not the demo for this flick, but I absolutely found the whole “Jonas Bros. are the new Beatles” angle obnoxious in the extreme. Not that ‘tween girls care (honestly, this is not a truly bright group), but the ridiculous deification of this product – I mean group – by the media in the last week or so was a severe turn-off to everyone not in a training bra. I’d like to think parents are smart enough to realize this is just a money-vacuum, and nothing more.
@ Philly Paul
Fyi, Miley Cyrus’s movie open in around 700 theaters so you could see why they predicted around 40 million with almost double the theaters. But really, the whole one week only thing is what got people to the theaters opening weekend.
How do Watchmen and Stark Trek compare to the Jonas Brothers film? With Jonas, everyone predicted the same gross as Hannah Montana, but no one seemed to notice the complete lack of sell-out reports… remember the 200+ sell-outs recorded on Lee’s Movie Info two weeks before the film was even released? Anyone who made that observation could have called this… I was surprised it made as much as it did.
“Phantom hit tracking”? Ah, yes, as we observed when Indy 4, Transformers, The Simpsons Movie, Sex and the City, High School Musical 3, Cloverfield, and Twilight all bombed… oh, wait…
Watchmen is no Grindhouse; early ticket sales, which are still the strongest indications as to how a film will do, suggest an opening well above $50 million. I don’t expect a debut quite as high as 300, but anyone who expects a bomb is foolish… hell, The Mummy 3 made $100 million…
The only movie that offended any of my race sensibilities this year was Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood, old and angry with a gun tackling America’s biggest problem…minorities.
I personally don’t like Madea or Tyler Perry, but the fact that this guy doesn’t have ridiculous clout at a time when so many other movies are underperforming is emblematic of just how prejudiced Hollywood remains.
Reminds me of Tropic Thunder. I liked RDJ’s performance. But then Hollywood went and nominated him for an Oscar, and then it just wasn’t funny anymore.
You know it’s a bad movie weekend when the top films are geared to low-brow comedy and teen idols…
Does anyone know who determined the admission pricing for the Jonas Bros. movie? Was it Disney or theaters who decided it would be a good idea in a recession to charge $15 per ticket (with no children’s ticket pricing) for a 75-minute film?
How could the Jonas brothers flop?
GOD!
Not even beating out Miley?!
I love The Jonas Brothers, and I even seen this film 3 times in 2 days, to make sure that the Jonas Brothers would make it number one at the box office. Got some of my friends to go too. The 3D glasses are pretty cool, I think that the shirtless scene was acted, becuase it would make more people go just to see them half naked. OHHHH And when Kevin did his SOS dance in 3D I almost died!
Ha! I guess there’s justice after all!
Calling the Jonas Bros. the new Beatles is just silly and frankly moronic. The Beatles changed music. That’s something the Jonas Bros. will never do. The Beatles will be remembered forever. The Jonas Bros. are just a fad. Frankly, I think the Jonas Bros. would be better off without Disney. Sure, it’s nice to have the Disney machine behind you, but people would take them more seriously if they weren’t just another product from the Disney assembly line. But, hey, as long as the money keeps pouring in, who’s complaining?
hi jonas brothers!,i hope that concert will give you and your brothers a thousand and thousand of people watching your show and i know they want to make you and your brothers anew album that’s why i want it also,but for now i want to congrats you and your brothers for an new TV show and i know that show give you a higher rating and awards.Paulo PH.