Friday Box Office Analysis
By Kim Hollis
January 29, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Rite
The Anthony Hopkins exorcism movie is top of the heap this weekend, though that's not really saying much. It barely tops last weekend's winner, No Strings Attached, with a Friday total of $5.1 million. As we all know, horror films don't generally have the greatest of multipliers over the weekend, though in the case of The Rite and its PG-13 rating allowing it to reach a broader audience, it might do slightly better than typical expectations. A weekend total of $13.3 million will have to be enough for Warner Bros.
The Mechanic
Jason Statham and Ben Foster star in this CBS Films action flick, but it didn't particularly distinguish itself to audiences, as its Friday total was a small and unexciting $3.5 million. It's possible that the studio will go ahead and estimate the film over $10 million, but a more realistic expectation is $9.1 million before it begins its quick slide to being forgotten by everyone.
Notable Holdovers
No Strings Attached actually held up rather well considering how unremarkable it is, falling 39% from last Friday to $4.4 million. That number should improve a bit as the weekend progresses, which means that the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher flick will see a three-day total of $12.8 million. Depending upon estimates, it might even repeat at the top of the box office charts.
With an expansion to 2,553 screens from last weekend's 1,680, The King's Speech increased from last Friday's number. It was up 30% to $2.8 million, and should see a nice three-day total of $10.2 million, its first double digit total. This Oscar co-favorite is already well past the $60 million mark, and may be worth quite a bit more for the Weinstein Company if it can take home the big prize.