Friday Box Office Analysis
By Kim Hollis
October 11, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com

He doesn't look like he appreciates her hanky panky.

The October movie release fest continues.

Quarantine

The "found footage" horror movie leads the way on Friday with $5.4 million. It's October, which is prime time for scary flicks, and it's been awhile since we had a good one enter the market. Like all movies of the genre, though, Quarantine will have a low Friday-to-Sunday multiplier. If we give it a 2.4, the Sony production will earn $12.9 million for the weekend, which is pretty darned good when you consider that it's going to earn back its budget in its first three days

Body of Lies

With Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe as its stars, Body of Lies really should have done better than the $4.4 million it earned on Friday. Reviews were middling and the commercials made the movie out to be a jumbled mess. It's looking at a solid weekend multiplier (especially if Warner Bros. lies about the weekend total) of around 2.9. That would give it $12.7 million for the weekend and put it within spitting distance of Quarantine.

The Express

Sneak previews last weekend didn't help the football-themed The Express any. I guess people didn't feel like watching the story of a Heisman winner they'd never heard of when they can be watching real competition between players like Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. It's probably going to do okay as far as the weekend multiplier goes, and will wind up with a three-day total of about $4.4 million.

The Duchess

Keira Knightley's The Duchess expands to 1,207 locations and earns $990,000. I'm sure Paramount Vantage was hoping for a little bit better, however. It's looking at $3.3 million for the weekend.

City of Ember

City of Ember, the kid flick that stars Bill Murray, just misses the top ten with a total of $965,000. Fox will have to be content to have this movie earn most of its revenue during its DVD run. It will take in $3.2 million for the weekend.

Notable Holdovers

Beverly Hills Chihuahua drops 44% from last Friday, but it's still going to win the weekend for the second time in a row. Look for it to earn around $15.8 million. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist fell a tough 50%, but should recover a bit on Saturday and Sunday. Its three-day total should be $6.8 million.