Sony Rules Again But Grudge 2 Disappoints
Weekend Wrap-Up for October 13-15, 2006 - Part Two
By John Hamann
October 15, 2006
BoxOfficeProphets.com

No one told me private school would be so creepy!
Sixth goes to The Marine, the latest film from WWE Entertainment. This Roadhouse-style action flick grossed an expectedly low $7.0 million from 2,545 venues. The John Cena flick was made back in 2004 and cost the wrestling-based studio only $15 million to make, so it certainly isn't a disaster. The Marine reviewed better than I thought it would, as it actually got one positive review out of a possible 12 at RottenTomatoes. Hopefully, this one is gone in a weekend and I won't have to write about it again.

Seventh goes to The Guardian, the Kevin Costner/Ashton Kutcher action flick. The Buena Vista release grossed $5.9 million and drops 39% in the process. The Guardian has now grossed a less-than-expected $41.1 million.

Eighth goes to the crash and burn that is Employee of the Month. After opening to $11.4 million last weekend, the Dane Cook comedy got dropped like a bad Jessica Simpson movie should, earning only $5.6 million and dropping a nasty 51%. Employee of the Month has still earned more than its budget as it has $19.9 million in the tank versus a cost of $12 million.

Finishing ninth is the religious movie, One Night With the King. From 20th Century Fox's new faith-based division, FoxFaith, One Night grossed $4.3 million this weekend from only 908 venues, giving it a decent-but-not-stellar venue average of $4,759. This one cost Fox $20 million, so if The King fails to show decent legs, it won't be a great start for the new division.

Rounding out the top ten and definitely not part of the faith-based division of any studio is Jackass: Number Two. Johnny Knoxville and company added another $3.3 million in their last weekend in the top ten as the Jackass sequel dropped 49%. The domestic take for the $12 million Paramount flick sits at $68.4 million.

Overall, things were way up compared to last year. In 2005, the top ten took in only $66 million as The Fog disappointed with only an $11 million opening; whereas this year, the top ten earned $98.1 million, which pretty much wipes out September's struggles. Next weekend we have four more new films in release, so the top ten will see another shakeup.

Read Part One