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Lack Of Family Films Accounts For Slow Q1 Box Office, Theater Industry Rep Says

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 2:06pm PDTTags: Box Office, John Fithian, National Association Of Theatre Owners, NATO

Attendance takes off when there’s a diversity of films and it was “just not there” in the beginning of 2013, National Association of Theater Owners chief John Fithian said in a conference call to discuss the MPAA’s report on business trends in 2012. “We have not performed as well as we’d like, we’re down about 12%….If you look at January in particular we had a lot of movies rated R that included a lot of violence. And those movies can sell, but not when that’s all you’ve got to offer.” The dearth of family fare in early 2013 contrasts with the last few months of 2012 when “we had comedies, we had dramas, we had family and we were up over 15% in that quarter.” Looking ahead, though, he’s “pretty confident about the remainder of 2013.” The upturn won’t take place right away: Last year had an outsized success with Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games. ”That was a $400M picture out of nowhere,” Fithian says. But by summer “the comps are strong and the fall period is strong, too. In 2012 our summer and fall were not record breaking types of numbers. It was the first quarter in 2012 that was out of control record breaking.”

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Kids And Young Adults Drive Uptick In 2012 Movie Attendance: MPAA

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 1:15pm PDTTags: Box Office, MPAA

The MPAA‘s yearly report on theatrical box office trends, out today, is a little more buoyant than it’s been in recent years. It shows global box office rising 6.4% to $34.7B last year, with the U.S. and Canada + … Read More »

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Brazil, Russia, India, China Box Office Expected To Hit Combined $12.1B By 2017

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 8:13am PDTTags: Box Office, Brazil, China, India, Russia

After doubling their box office takings over the past five years, the BRIC countries will see combined revenues of $12.1B and account for 25% of global sales by 2017, according to research group IHS. That would put the Big Four on a par with where IHS expects the North American box office to be at that time. (It was $10.8B in 2012.) Driving growth are increased ticket prices and new construction — China is building cinemas daily and is expected to have about 20,000 screens by 2015 alone. IHS analyst Charlotte Jones also noted the loosening of quotas in China for 3D and IMAX films, the popularity of premium pics in Russia and the rise of shopping centers in Brazil as market drivers. Read More »

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#1 ‘Oz’ Holds For $281.8M Worldwide Cume; Halle Berry In #2 ‘The Call’ Beats Carell-Carrey In #3 Bomb ‘Burt Wonderstone’

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday March 17, 2013 @ 8:07am PDTTags: Box Office, Oz: The Great and Powerful, The Call, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

SUNDAY 8 AM, 4TH UPDATE: Jetlagged from traveling but home at last. Let’s start with the domestic bad news because that’s what Hollywood craves. New Line’s The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (3,160 theaters) is a complete disaster despite no fresh comedy at the multiplex since Identity Thief opened … Read More »

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‘Django Unchained’ Set For April 11 Release In China

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 11:00am PDTTags: Box Office, China, Django Unchained, Sony Pictures

UPDATED: The controversy here in the U.S. over Django Unchained‘s depiction of slavery apparently didn’t bother China’s oft-finicky film czars. Django has been cleared for an April 11 release in the territory, after the film already has … Read More »

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‘The Hobbit’ Passes $1 Billion Worldwide

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday March 3, 2013 @ 5:37pm PSTTags: Box Office, The Hobbit

To date, the blockbuster has earned $301.4 million domestically. Now, with its recent release in China where it has grossed $37.3M in 10 days, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has earned an estimated $700 million internationally. That’s a … Read More »

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Big Budget ‘Jack The Giant Slayer’ Bombs On Bad Weekend For All New Releases

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday March 2, 2013 @ 11:00pm PSTTags: 21 And Over, Box Office, Jack The Giant Slayer, Phantom, The Last Exorcism Part II

SATURDAY PM, 2ND UPDATE: I’m traveling but will keep you posted about box office. In a word, it’s ugly. Maybe that really lousy Academy Awards show turned off America to the movies. “It’s a bad weekend across the board,” a studio exec warns while one more describes, ”Another soft weekend.” Total filmgoing of $100M looks to be a whopping -37% less than last year with every single new release underperforming tracking by a wide margin. This is usually a good time to release family fare, and even more so now because there’s next-to-nothing in the multiplex. That said, Warner Bros knew well before this weekend that Bryan Singer‘s 3D Jack The Giant Slayer (3,525 theaters, including 317 IMAX screens) was tracking very soft domestically and turning into major trouble. All those effects drove the cost to a ridiculously expensive $200 million shared with Legendary Pictures and New Line. Now it looks like this family fare with no stars (Nicholas Hoult who?) may only open to $26M – far less than the $30M hoped for by the studio which is still too low given the high cost. It’ll do a miserable 2X multiple even with a solid ‘B+’ CinemaScore. And, remember, Friday’s figure of $7.7M was inflated by Thursday 10 PM/Friday midnight showings of $400K. Saturday’s $12.2M was a +60% improvement over Friday but still not good enough.

This bomb continues what has been a disastrous beginning of the year for Warner Bros (despite its Best Picture Oscar win for Ben Affleck’s Argo). Jack is the studio’s 4th straight box office dud – beginning with Gangster Squad in January and continuing through an abysmal February with Bullet To The Head and Beautiful Creatures.  Upcoming The Incredible Burt Wonderstone isn’t likely to deliver, either. By May, the studio’s slate should deliver big grosses again starting with The Great Gatsby, The Hangover Part III, and the hotly anticipated Man Of Steel which by many accounts overdelivers. (That’s the buzz following its first internal screening.) But given Jack‘s jacked-up pricetag, not even big expectations abroad can save it – even though pic has opened to what the studio says are “very strong results” in Asia. Already insider autopsy reports are blaming Singer and the script by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney for the lack of edge in this entirely familiar fairy tale twist on the classic Jack And The Beanstalk battle into a PG-13 effects extravaganza. Jeez, enough with this fairy tale crap, puh-leeze. “Problem is it plays like a 12-and-under pic. Everybody’s at fault. It’s just not a great movie.” Shot by Singer in 2011, it originally was set to open in the heart of Summer 2012 (June 15) under the title Jack The Giant Killer. Then it was pushed back to March 22, and shifted again to March 1 where it’s coming out only a week ahead of the Disney juggernaut, Oz, The Great And Powerful.

If Relativity’s cheap frat comedy 21 And Over (2,771 theaters) looks like Hangover for the college crowd with a ‘B’ CinemaScore – it is. It was scripted by Hangover writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The studio is so embarrassed it’s not even publicizing the pic with me. It’ll make 1/3 what Hollywood expected – under $10M - and those were low expectations to begin with. Same with The Last Exorcism Part II (2,700 theaters), yet another unnecessary low-budget PG-13 horror movie and not even an audience pleaser judging by the ‘C-’ CinemaScore. Good thing CBS Films only paid a few million dollars for the movie. Marketing focus was kept on females under 25 and genre fans influenced by producer Eli Roth receiving a “Presented By” credit above the film’s title. (Who used to find Roth promising? No more…) Last and least, RCR Media’s thriller Phantom (1,118 theaters) looks to be a dreadful debut and won’t even exceed $500K.

Meanwhile, Universal’s Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman frenemies comedy Identity Thief now becomes the first 2013 pic to break $100M. And Best Picture winner Argo looks in line for a +17% Oscar bump – about half the usual +35%.

Here’s the Top Ten based on weekend estimates:

1. Jack The Giant Slayer 3D (Legendary/Warner Bros) NEW [Runs 3,525] PG13
Friday $7.6M, Saturday $12.2M, Weekend $26.0M

2. Identity Thief (Universal) Week 4 (Runs 3,230) R
Friday $2.7M, Saturday$4.2M, Weekend $9.7M, Cume $107.5M

3. 21 And Over (Relativity) NEW [Runs 2,771] R
Friday $3.3M, Saturday $3.6M, Weekend $9.1M

4. The Last Exorcism Part II (CBS Films) NEW [Runs 2,700] PG13
Friday $3.2M, Saturday $3.2M, Weekend $7.9M
Read More »

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‘Les Miserables’ Passes $400M At Global Box Office

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday February 28, 2013 @ 1:28pm PSTTags: Box Office, Les Miserables, Universal Pictures

Universal’s musical continues to hum along. After taking three Oscars on Sunday including for Best Supporting Actress Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables is crossing the $400 million mark in worldwide box office today, according to the studio. Internationally, … Read More »

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Are Popular Movies Losing Their Ability To Boost Ticket Sales?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday February 28, 2013 @ 1:14pm PSTTags: Box Office

It appears so according to an intriguing report out today from Cowen & Co analyst Doug Creutz. His conclusion comes from a 12-year comparison he’s been making of the total number of tickets sold domestically each year vs the average … Read More »

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Holdover ‘Identity Thief’ Steals Anemic Weekend; ‘Snitch’ And ‘Dark Skies’ Weak

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday February 24, 2013 @ 7:20am PSTTags: Box Office, Dark Skies, Snitch

SUNDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: Seriously, why do studios open movies on Oscar weekend? With attention otherwise diverted, it’s hard for me or Hollywood to care about these two newcomers Friday. Audiences didn’t either. That’s why the Melissa McCarthy/Jason Bateman frenemies comedy Identity Thief is #1 in its third weekend after going up +63% from Friday to Saturday for $14M through Sunday.

Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate’s father/son actioner Snitch (2,511 theaters) opened #1 Friday and dropped to #2 Saturday despite bumping +36%. It logged a mediocre $12.8M weekend. That’s a rare failure for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. (No harm, no foul: I hear he really excels in surefire hit Fast & Furious 6.) Audiences gave Snitch a ‘B’  CinemaScore which won’t help or hurt the pic.

Dimension Films/The Weinstein Company’s new extraterrestrial thriller Dark Skies (2,313 theaters) from Paranormal Activity‘s Jason Blum fell out of the Top Five altogether by the end of the weekend. It received only a ‘C+’ CinemaScore from audiences to hurt word of mouth for just an expected $8.4M weekend.

Finally Twentieth Century Fox’s first-place finisher from last weekend, A Good Day To Die Hard, fell apart Friday and struggled through Sunday. Guess those horrible reviews finally caught up with it.

Total moviegoing this weekend looks like $99M, down -26% from last year. Here’s the Top Ten based on weekend estimates:

1. Identity Thief (Universal) Week 3 [Runs 3,222]
Friday $4.0M, Saturday $6.6M, Weekend $14.0M, Cume $93.6M

2. Snitch (Summit/Lionsgate) NEW [Runs 2,511]
Friday $4.1M, Saturday $5.6M, Weekend $12.8M

3. Escape From Planet Earth 3D (Weinstein) Week 2 [Runs 3,353]
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $5.2M, Weekend $11.1M, Cume $35.2M

4. Safe Haven (Relativity) Week 2 [3,223]
Friday $3.5M, Saturday $4.7M, Weekend $10.7M, Cume $48.2M

5. A Good Day To Die Hard (Fox) Week 2 [Runs 3,555]
Friday $2.8M, Saturday $4.7M, Weekend $9.7M, Cume $51.5M

6. Dark Skies (Dimension/Weinstein) NEW [Runs 2,313]
Friday $3.0M, Saturday $3.5M, Weekend $8.4M
Read More »

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‘Ted’ Passes ‘Skyfall’ Box Office In Japan

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday February 19, 2013 @ 3:39pm PSTTags: Box Office, Japan, Media Rights Capital, Ted, Universal Pictures

Universal and MRC‘s Ted today passed Skyfall at the Japanese box office and now has grossed $32.5M in the territory, the biggest total so far in 2013. It already was the biggest R-rated comedy of all … Read More »

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‘Journey To The West’ Breaks China Box Office Records In Holiday Bow

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday February 19, 2013 @ 2:15pm PSTTags: Box Office, China, Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons, Say Yes, Village Roadshow Pictures Asia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

The Stephen Chow-directed action comedy scored RMB 76.85M ($12.3M) on its opening day February 10 during the Chinese New Year holidays, the biggest first day for a local production in history. Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons took in $93.5M during its first week, a record for any film in the territory — local or foreign — and reached $100M in receipts in eight days, also the fastest ever to the mark. The pic was one of the first two films released by the nascent Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, the Greater China film division of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group. VRPA co-produced the pic with Bingo Movie Development, Chinavision Media Group and Edko Films. It also has grossed $3.1M in Hong Kong, ranked No. 2 behind A Good Day To Die Hard; $2.56M in Taiwan; $2.3M in Malaysia and $1.4M in Singapore. The other VRPA title, Say Yes!, a Chinese-language remake of the 1991 Fuji TV drama 101st Marriage Proposal, grossed $7.5M on Valentine’s Day, a record for a romance movie. Valentine’s Day has become the highest-grossing day in China’s annual box office — this year it hit $32.1M, a single-day record. Village Roadshow Pictures Asia says it’s the first foreign co-producer to capture the top two box office spots in China at the same time. Next up for the company is Man Of Tai Chi, directed by and starring Keanu Reeves. Read More »

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‘Die Hard 5′ Wins Presidents Weekend, ‘Identity Thief’ #2, ‘Safe Haven’ Fades After Valentines Day, ‘Escape Planet Earth’ Weak, ‘Beautiful Creatures’ Bombs

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday February 19, 2013 @ 8:28am PSTTags: A Good Day To Die Hard, Beautiful Creatures, Box Office, Safe Haven

TUESDAY 10TH UPDATE… TOP TEN GROSSES BELOW…  This Presidents Weekend overall was a so-so moviegoing weekend and not a good one, even though this holiday is usually one of the hottest domestic. If only the opening pics had been better. Total moviegoing was $164M, or down -15% from last year. The race for #1 was closer than expected. Twentieth Century Fox’s critically panned A Good Day To Die Hard (3,552 theaters) went up more than +45% from Friday to Saturday and held Sunday to win the 4-day holiday. But Universal thought its 2nd place holdover, the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman frenemy comedy Identity Thief, was giving it a run for its money. As a Universal exec told me, “To think we could even scare a #1 film is a great accomplishment.” So it came down to Monday’s grosses with the $92 million budgeted actioner that’s a 25-year-old franchise ending up with an unimpressive $36.7M in its first 5 days. Last time around, 2007′s Live Free Or Die Hard opened on a Wednesday and earned $48.3M for the 5 days and $33.3M for the 3-day weekend. Fox shrugged off the awful reviews – only 13% positive on Rotten Tomatoes – for this R-rated mess directed by John Moore, scripted by Skip Woods, and produced by Alex Young and Wyck Godfrey. (“What reviews? There are reviews on this movie?,” a Fox exec laughed.) On Sunday, Fox released international numbers claiming A Good Day To Die Hard had an “explosive weekend” grossing its biggest weekend ever - $61.5M from 9,595 screens in 63 markets to hold the #1 market position in 32 out of 37 new openers. The worldwide cume went past $80M.

There was another holiday to score: Valentine’s Day, always a huge moviegoing event. (2012′s was a $30 million Tuesday.) Thursday was won by Relativity’s critically panned romantic drama Safe Haven (3,223 theaters) -even though it was worse reviewed than Die Hard 5 with only 11% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. The Lasse Hallstrom-directed PG-13 pic has been fading since VDay. Maybe because this latest tearjerker adapted from romance novelist Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John) starred Josh Duhamel who doesn’t have the sex appeal of Channing Tatum or the acting chops of Ryan Gosling. Both Die Hard 5 and Safe Haven earned ‘B+’ CinemaScores from audiences to help word of mouth. Bruce et al was #2 on Valentines Day because, when you think of romance, you think of Die Hard 5.

As for Friday’s release, The Weinstein Company’s critically panned PG toon Escape From Planet Earth (3,288 theaters) came in 4th Friday, then had a major kiddie business (Saturday +82%). But the $70M movie ($40M cost and #30 to open, according to Weinstein execs) earned only $20.8M this 4-day holiday even though there’s been nothing fresh in the family marketplace for months and most toons do $35M-40M on a 3-day weekend. With no new kid films for the next few weeks, let’s see what the multiple turns out to be. The film was directed by Cal Brunker.

Warner Bros’ Beautiful Creatures (2,950 theaters) opened Thursday as a huge disappointment after its ‘B’ CinemaScore. Scripted and directed by Richard LaGravenese, this PG-13 tween/teen goth romantic fantasy tried to capitalize on the Twilight target audience addicted to the book series – in this case, the first in the Caster Chronicles novels by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The marketing emphasized social media –from Instagram-released production photography to Facebook-hosted set visit contests to extensive Twitter-based interviews. There even were mall tours. But none of this could overcome the fact that the filmmakers altered the book, which annoyed fans who stayed away from the movie version.
Read More »

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#1 ‘Identity Thief’ Steals $36M Weekend (Bigger Than ‘Bridesmaids’), #2 ‘Warm Bodies’ $11.4M, #3 ‘Side Effects’ $9.5M: Blizzard Didn’t Blitz U.S. Box Office

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday February 9, 2013 @ 11:58pm PSTTags: Argo, Box Office, Identity Thief, Side Effects, Top Gun

SATURDAY 11:45 PM, 7TH UPDATE: Well, Winter Storm Nemo raged over the Northeast Friday but box office stayed really solid. Despite movie theaters closed by nightfall and venues with lost power. Even though Northeast governors shut down all road traffic and imposed fines and even jailtime. That could have been terrible news for this weekend’s two major openers but wasn’t. Now for the dig out. Both Universal’s frenemies comedy Identity Thief and Open Roads Films’ Steven Soderbergh crime thriller Side Effects scored middling ‘B’ CinemaScores which won’t help or hurt word of mouth. Yet grosses went up double digits – +35% and +52% respectively from Friday to Saturday for the pair. True, this weekend’s total moviegoing is only $100M which is down a disappointing 45% from last year.

Even so I’m astonished that weekend trends showed incredibly strong numbers for Identity Thief (originally in 3,141 theaters) with $11.2 million Friday and $15 million (+35%) Saturday trending for $36M this weekend. Despite (or because) it was critically panned as derivative drivel, the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman comedy is doing fantastic box office in nation’s center (which Hollywood derides as ‘flyover’ country). ”Everyone says Identity Thief is really good – even when it gets formulaic,” a rival exec admitted to me. And it only cost $35M, claims the studio. It’s even beating McCarthy’s Bridesmaids opening numbers - $26.2M weekend from 2,918 theaters on May 13, 2011. Of course, that Universal movie went on to do a huge multiple for the studio which would be happy with 3x now.

Identity Thief is doing 1/3 better than tracking predicted — and it was tracking well before the storm. Led initially by females, awareness and interest spread out to men, helped by 2 spots around the Super Bowl this past Sunday. But why Hollywood keeps making this story every decade is beyond me – 2003′s Bringing Down The House with Queen Latifah and Steve Martin, 1992′s HouseSitter with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. This one reteams Batemen with his Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon, and it’s McCarthy’s first starring role since Bridesmaids which earned her an Oscar nomination. Identity Thief was produced by Scott Stuber, Pam Abdy and Bateman who pitched Stuber the idea while they were working together on Couples Retreat. They originally developed the film for two male leads, but then they saw McCarthy in Bridesmaids and adapted the co-lead role for her with more physical comedy. Overseas, pic opens day and date in Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Taiwan and continues rolling out abroad beginning February 21st.

#3 is last weekend’s winner, Summit Entertainment’s zombies rule comedy Warm Bodies, which grossed $3.2M Friday and $5.4M Saturday for maybe $11.7M after its big $25.1M opening a week ago. New cume is $36.8M.

#3 is Side Effects  (originally 2,605 theaters) opening with $2.8M Friday and $4.2M Saturday (+52%) for a $9.4M weekend. Open Road, underwritten by both AMC and Regal, claims it will make a profit at that result even with a production budget of $30M and a marketing spend of $20M. Open Road in January 2012 pre-bought the U.S. rights to Side Effects which was financed by Endgame Entertainment. Pic’s producers are Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Gregory Jacobs, and Scott Z. Burns who is also the screenwriter. With a marquee director in Steven Soderbergh and a marquee cast in Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, it’s perplexing why pic didn’t do better at the box office. Obviously, kicking off the publicity campaign with a New York Times piece doesn’t mean anything anymore. Rooney Mara even appeared on the cover of Vogue and Interview Magazine. But the hip stayed home. The trailer launched on November 2nd with Flight and the media campaign was focused on adults 18-49. A heavy word-of-mouth screening program included screenings for psychiatric doctor groups accompanied by niche publicity about the psychiatric medicine of the movie. The online campaign kicked off with a viral push for the fictional drug featured in the film. Interestingly, much of the content featured on the film’s website could only be revealed by rollover – alluding to the theme of the film that there is much more beneath the surface. Oh, well.

Warner Bros pushed up the print count to 1,405 for its Best Picture Oscar lead contender Argo in its 18th week to jump back into the Top Ten Films for a $2M weekend and $123.2M cume. And Paramount’s Top Gun reissued in 3D IMAX (300 locations) rounded out the Top Ten with $2M for the weekend  in support of the Blu-ray debut this month.

Here’s the Top Ten based on weekend estimates:

1. Identity Thief (Universal) NEW [Runs 3,141]
Friday $11.2M, Saturday $15.0M, Weekend $36.0M

2. Warm Bodies (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 2 [3,009]
Friday $3.2M, Saturday $5.4M, Weekend $11.7M (-43%), Cume $36.8M

3. Side Effects (Open Road) NEW [Runs 2,605]
Friday $2.8M, Saturday $4.2M, Weekend $9.4M

4. Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein) Week 13 [Runs 2,809]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $3.1M, Weekend  $6.4M, Cume $89.5M

5. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Paramount) Week 3 [Runs 3,285]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $2.7M, Weekend $5.7M, Cume $43.8M
Read More »

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Robert Downey Jr Knows How Important China Is To Foreign Box Office: Video

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday February 8, 2013 @ 11:43am PSTTags: Box Office, Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr.

With Iron Man 3 out May 3, Robert Downey Jr, along with veteran Chinese actor and co-star Wang Xuequi, made sure to offer a Chinese New Year’s greeting (the holiday is Monday). Iron Man 3 of course was shot partially in mainland China.

Related: ‘Iron Man 3’ Casts … Read More »

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‘The Hobbit’ Passes Two ‘LOTR’ Pics At Worldwide Box Office

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 28, 2013 @ 3:52pm PSTTags: Box Office, The Hobbit

Warner Bros and Peter Jackson have taken heat (including from Deadline) for turning JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit into three movies, but if the first film’s box office performance is any indication they might not much care. This weekend … Read More »

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‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’ Weak $18M But Opens #1; ‘Parker’ And ‘Movie 43′ Flop

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday January 27, 2013 @ 1:31am PSTTags: Box Office, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Movie 43, Paramount Pictures

SUNDAY 3:30 AM,  4TH UPDATE: Saturday’s box office was big after Friday’s business slowed when R-rated newcomers dominated North American movie theaters. The turnaround put this weekend around $100M for all moviegoing but that’s still -15% from last year. “Tough sledding for the new films this week – and next week won’t get any easier with the Super Bowl,” one studio exec warned me. First up: fairytale characters who are heavily armed. Not exactly PC for the serious gun control discussion begun in this nation over recent violence in real life and entertainment. Paramount‘s Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D co-financed with MGM playing on 3,372 theaters opened to $5.9M Friday then went up +40% to $8.4M Saturday. That still makes for a disappointing $18M for the weekend, especially with the 3D premium. On 2,000 screens for its midnight opening, this mashed mash-up masquerading as an action comedy made $500K in midnight grosses, less even than Warner Bros’ recent disappointing Gangster Squad. Even though Hansel & Gretel will be #1 this weekend, Paramount has another underperformer. The R-rated pic only had one semi-star, machinegun-toting Jeremy Renner. Good thing Paramount claims it only cost $50M (though sources say budget was $83M). Audiences gave it a ‘B’ CinemaScore which won’t hurt or help its prospects. Exit polls showed filmgoers were 55% male with 57% over 25.

This reimagined dark twist on the classic Grimm tale kept moving its release date – never a good sign – from March 2nd, 2012, to January 11th, to now. “This should really set up the international,” a studio exec gave me as an excuse back then. ”Jeremy Renner’s international profile should be in great shape after being in Mission: Impossible 4, then The Avengers, then The Bourne Legacy.” Nope. Renner’s Bourne grossed only so-so: he just can’t carry a movie solo. It didn’t help that guns are falling out of favor. So I was surprised that Paramount didn’t change the TV ads to delete that shoot-em-up nonsense and instead show more comedy. Then again, this new film picks up the fairy tale 15 years after Hansel and Gretel’s evil encounter at the gingerbread house. They’ve become bounty hunters tracking and killing wicked witches. Tommy Wirkola directed and co-wrote the script with Dante Harper. Will Ferrell’s and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Prods produced.

Major studios are great marketers but only if they have the goods. To announce the IMAX release, Paramount debuted pic on MGM’s Skyfall IMAX screens – but without generating any buzz. The studio also negotiated coverage of an exclusive custom content piece with talent intros that launched at all Regal theatres on January 18th with Django Unchained, Broken City, and The Last Stand. Problem is, filmgoers only turned out for Quentin Tarantino’s pic. On opening night, the first 100 Hansel And Gretel fans at all Cinemark XD theatres across the country received a free movie shirt, while the first 60,000 Regal IMAX 3D audience members received a collector’s print of exclusive movie art. Kinda late for that. Media-wise, Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton did the usual press junket and talk show circuit plus Hispanic and African-American targets. Street teams visited nearly 50 high profile sporting events covering the NBA, NFL, NGL and College Football. New Years Day featured male-targeted cable marathons. H&G also had presence three weeks in a row in NFL playoff games. There was partnering with MTV. The online campaign focused on movie’s red band trailer. A custom Hansel & Gretel Play & Win sweepstakes on Xbox aligned with the rabid Halo 4 audience. And still pic’s grossed domestically underwhelmed.

But international prospects look good after Russia opened to huge $8.6M. Latin America and Southeast Asia are debuting after a strong lead by Brazil and Mexico. These markets represent 30% of the international box office.

#2 is last week’s PG-13 suspense thriller topper Mama from Universal in 2,682 theaters. Developed and presented by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Zero Dark Thirty‘s Best Actress Oscar likely Jessica Chastain as a brunette, pic had a second Friday of $3.8M and $6.2M Saturday for a weekend of $13.2M (-54%) for an expected cume through Sunday of $49M.

#3 is The Weinstein Company’s R-rated Oscar-buzzed Silver Linings Playbook in 2,641 theaters with a $2.3M Friday and $4.3 Saturday for a $9.3M weekend and $68.8M cume through Sunday. “Notice that Silver Linings is going to beat Zero Dark Thirty this weekend which is pretty impressive in my book,” a Weinstein exec gushed to me. “It is the best hold of the top films by far and that is after 11 weeks!”

#4 is another R-rated Oscar-touted pic. Zero Dark Thirty financed by Annapurna Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures. Playing in 2,929 theaters, it made $2.3M Friday and $4.3M Saturday for a $9M weekend and cume of $69.1M through Sunday.

#5 is FilmDistrict’s barely registering R-rated crime drama Parker despite a ‘B+’ CinemaScore which could help word of mouth. It was directed by Taylor Hackford and stars Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez who only is in shadow on the main one-sheet and whose film career truly is DOA. in 2,224 theaters. Parker opened to $2.1M Friday and +40% for $3.1M Saturday for a lousy weekend of $7.2M. FilmDistrict licensed the U.S. distribution rights and knew pic would only gross in the single digits. Film had been tracking strongest with males ages 17-34 so primary media focused heavily on channels and programming tailored to men as well as actions fans and Hispanics. Based on the series of bestselling novels by Donald E. Westlake, Parker was financed by Sierra/Affinity, Incentive Filmed Entertainment, and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Doubtful whether future films based on the franchise will be made given this outcome. Current Entertainment’s Steven Chasman produced along with Sidney Kimmel, Les Alexander and Jonathan Mitchell via their Alexander/Mitchell banner, and Taylor Hackford.

Falling from #6 to #7 is Relativity’s $6M R-rated ensemble comedy Movie 43 that earned a dreaded ‘D’ CinemaScore from audiences to hurt word of mouth. Playing in 2,023 theaters, its gimmick is 12 directors, 30 name actors, and 18 writers working on different shorts stitched together. I’m already hearing a lot of them regret taking part. Movie 43 debuted at $1.8M Friday and +10% to $2M Saturday for a weekend of $4.0M. That’s only half what Relativity predicted. “If you are going to take a creative risk, what better way to do it than on a $6M budget with the opportunity to work with a large pool of writers, directors and actors including Peter Farrelly and Charles Wessler – two comedic geniuses.” Actors worked for scale and the production moved to accommodate schedules. This explains why the film was shot over 3 years. Seriously, how much longer is Relativity going to keep claiming its risk is mitigated by international pre-sales, outputs and Netflix before P&A spend? Meanwhile Ryan Kavanaugh, listed as a producer, may well be in the Witness Protection Program because he’s mercifully stopped publicizing himself. With Alliance Films distributing in Canada, Relativity owns worldwide rights and Lionsgate International handled international sales and distribution. Movie 43 has supposedly taken in $10M overseas.

Here are the Top 10 films based on weekend estimates:

1. Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D (MGM/Paramount) NEW [Runs 3,372] R
Friday $6.0M, Saturday $8.4M, Weekend $18.0M

2. Mama (Universal) Week 2 [Runs 2,682] PG13
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $6.2M, Weekend $13.2M (-54%), Cume $49.0M

3. Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein) Week 11 [Runs 2,641] R
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $4.3M, Weekend $9.3M, Cume $68.8M

4. Zero Dark Thirty (Annapurna/Sony) Week 6 [Runs 2,929] R
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $4.3M, Weekend $9.0M, Cume $69.1M

5. Parker (FilmDistrict) NEW [Runs 2,224] R
Friday $2.1M, Saturday $3.1M, Weekend $7.2M

6. Django Unchained (Weinstein) Week 5 [Runs 2,007] R
Friday $1.2M, Saturday $2.2M, Weekend $4.8M, Cume $146.1M

7. Movie 43 (Relativity) NEW [Runs 2,023] R
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $2.0M, Weekend $4.0M
Read More »

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Worldwide Consumers Spent $62.4B On Movies In 2012, Up 2.1%

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday January 21, 2013 @ 11:30am PSTTags: Box Office

The number includes spending at theaters and to buy and rent movies (on discs, pay TV, and digitally) in 37 countries. It’s up $1.3B vs 2011 according to the tally out today from the IHS Screen Digest Cross Platform Movie Market Monitor. The increase indicates that global consumer spending for movies “is recovering after declines across 2008 and 2009, with spending forecast to continue to rise by 2 to 3 percent every year from 2013 to 2016,” IHS says. North America is still the No. 1 region, accounting for 41% of worldwide movie spending, or $80 per capita. But much of the increase is coming from Asian and Pacific countries which accounted for 25% of worldwide movie spending last year, and in 2016 likely will pass Western Europe, now at 26%, to become the second-largest region for movie spending. “With new cinema construction in markets such as China driving increased movie transactions, coupled with the popularity of higher-priced premium content, the amount of money that Asia-Pacific consumers spend on going to the cinema is rising rapidly,” IHS says. Last year consumers in the region spent $10B at theaters, a 12% increase vs 2011. Theaters also were strong in other regions as worldwide spending at box offices increased 7% to $33.4 billion in 2012. Read More »

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MLK Box Office: ‘Mama’ Tops With $33.2M, Arnold Flops, ‘Silver Linings’ Expands, ‘Broken City’ Tanks

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday January 20, 2013 @ 9:30am PSTTags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Box Office, Broken City, Mama, The Last Stand

SUNDAY AM 2ND UPDATE: The big news is that washed-up Arnold Schwarzenegger flopped in 10th place playing a washed-up lawman in The Last Stand (2,913 theaters). “Nobody wants to see Arnold,” one rival studio exec giggled to me. Lionsgate should demand … Read More »

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