Weekend Wrap-Up
No Brain, No Problem at the Box Office
John Hamann
April 13, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Probably scarier than the actual movie this weekend is the fact that the remake of Prom Night is our number one film of the weekend. Not only is it our number one flick, Prom Night broke out, grossing $22.7 million over its debut frame, from a relatively tiny venue count of 2,700. This dog had a venue average of $8,407, and is by far the biggest thriller/horror open of they year (unless you count that Miley Cyrus concert movie). There is no reason for Prom Night to perform like this, except for sheer boredom from teenagers. In reality, this is a scary looking flick that looks like horror (but isn't), and it carries the PG-13 rating that exhibitors love - our favorite mall patrons can get in without having to show the McLovin I.D. Many of this weekend's patrons were in diapers when Mom and Dad saw the original Prom night in 1980, which oddly enough was also a big hit for its time. The original starred Jamie Lee Curtis, who, at the time, was coming off Halloween, The Fog, and episodes of The Love Boat and Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century. But I digress. According to IMDB, the original cost $1.6 million in Canadian funds to make, and earned $15 million US, all in 1980's dollars of course (which is about $6 trillion today). The original went on to have a plethora of sequels, none of which came close to being as popular as the first film in the series.
The 2008 version of Prom Night stars Brittany Snow and Scott Porter, two names I'm not overly familiar with, though I'll probably know them soon enough. Snow was in last year's popular Hairspray with Ravolta and Michelle Pfeiffer; Porter is in the upcoming Speed Racer - the $100 million summer blockbuster from the killers of the Matrix franchise (you're damn right I'm still bitter). The Scott Porter situation is similar to that of Shia LaBeouf, as after 2007's Disturbia, Shia was heading straight towards last summer's $300 million winner, Transformers. The biggest difference between Disturbia and Prom Night are those stubborn reviews - Prom Night is all of 14% fresh at RottenTomatoes, where Disturbia actually finished fresh at 68%. Unless something extremely strange happens, expect Prom Night to be flushed in about 3 weekends (but I think I said the same thing about Disturbia).
Fox Searchlight's Street Kings manages to finish second this weekend, but really, in mid-April, so that's not saying much. Street Kings finished the weekend with a so-so gross of $12 million, earning that amount from a slim screen count of 2,467. Street Kings had a venue average of $4,864. For Keanu Reeves, this is his first trip back to the big screen since the summer of 2006, when he appeared in A Scanner Darkly and The Lake House with Sandra Bullock. Street Kings was directed by David Ayers, whose biggest claim to fame might be writing Denzel's performance in Training Day, or directing Christian Bale in Harsh Times. Street Kings also stars Hugh Laurie, from TV's House, this time playing against type as a Police Captain. The violent drama did not review well at 32% fresh, and I'm thinking this will stay in the collective memory as much as Dark Blue with Kurt Russell did.
Finishing third this weekend is our top film from the last two weekends, 21. The college gambling flick finally got busted down a bit this weekend, but still manages to hover around $10 million, with a gross this weekend of $11 million. I think 21 is 2008's version of Disturbia, as this is a film that has no right doing as well as it is, but despite my feeling drops a fairly steady 28% this weekend, after dipping 36% last weekend. 21 has now raked in $62.3 million, and should have no problem reaching $85 million at the domestic box office.
Nim's Island does not see the solid hold I was expecting from last weekend, and gets dropped down to fourth this weekend. The kid's flick with Jodie Foster earned $9 million in its second frame, and was down a larger than I expected 31.9%. Kid's flick usually hold better than this, however a low production cost won't turn Nim into a nightmare for the Fox. So far, this one has earned $25.28 million, and could earn $45 million or more.
Fifth this weekend is George Clooney's miss with Leatherheads, a film folks seem to be abandoning quickly. After a soft debut last weekend of $12.7 million, Leatherheads got beat up this frame, with a gross of only $6.21 million. That equals a drop of 51%, which is hideous for a comedy that skews older. George better pull another Danny Ocean role out of his hat, as this one has grossed only $21.9 million.
Horton Hears A Who manages another weekend in the top ten, its fifth, as its totals continue to rise. Horton earned another $6 million in its fifth frame, but was off large again this weekend - 34% - after chucking 49% of the previous weekend's audience in the last frame. Still, there's nothing but good news for Fox, Blue Sky, Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell, as the gross so far for Horton has hit $139.62 million.
New release Smart People gets buried this weekend, as there are so many poor choices at the movies, why pick this poor choice? Smart People stayed away this weekend, and this dramedy earned $4.2 million (albeit from only 1,106 venues), and had a venue average of $3,797. This one had a smart cast that included Ellen Page, Thomas Hayden Church, Dennis Quaid, and one of my personal non-faves, Sarah Jessica Parker. Review wise, this was the best of the openers, but even that's not saying much. At RottenTomatoes, reviews mixed almost right down the middle, with 43 positive out of a possible 90. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is going to destroy this next weekend, so Ellen Page could go from 10 consecutive weekends in the top ten with Juno, all the way down to one with Smart People.
The Ruins manages an eight place finish, as folks abandon real horror with The Ruins for fake horror in Prom Night (go figure). The Ruins managed to earn $3.25 million this weekend and drops the typical-for-horror 59%. The good news for Paramount is that this one managed to cross the $10 million mark. Yay!
The dregs in ninth and tenth are both comedies, Superhero Movie and Drillbit Taylor. Superhero Movie managed to earn $3.11 million this weekend, dropping 42.5% and bringing its cume up to $21.2 million. Drillbit Taylor finishes tenth with a gross of $2.07 million. It dropped 39.2% and has now earned $28.46 million.
Overall this weekend, the bad news just continues. The top ten this weekend pulled in only $79.54 million, which doesn't hold a candle to last year's Disturbia-led top ten of $98.8 million. Will things get better before May? Believe it or not, the answer is yes, at least in terms of film quality. Next weekend brings Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and R-rated comedy from producer/writer Judd Apatow, then on April 25th, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. It may not be much, but hell, its April.