Daily Box Office Analysis for July 1, 2008
By David Mumpower
July 2, 2008
Circling back to WALL-E for a moment, the latest Pixar release fell 14.7% from its Monday result. The obvious question is how this stacks up to other Pixar titles as well as Kung Fu Panda. We will stick to the same three we discussed yesterday. Those are Ratatouille, Cars and Finding Nemo. Ratatouille actually increased 4.6% to $7.9 million on its first Tuesday. Meanwhile, Cars fell 10.4% to $5.7 million and Finding Nemo fell between them. It earned $7.2 million, a 3.4% Monday/Tuesday increase. Obviously, the news for WALL-E is much less positive than it was yesterday in terms of depreciation relative to comparable Pixar releases. It had the worst drop of the four titles. Its drop is also more than the 4.0% decline Kung Fu Panda had on its first Tuesday, a $6.1 million outing. Those of you who are more alert are probably realizing that Ratatouille, the title with the worst opening weekend, actually had the best Tuesday of the group, a particularly impressive feat. So, it's a bit of a phenomenon in this regard. Even so, WALL-E has the second best Pixar Tuesday in terms of actual dollars, and it's hard to get too torn about this result. I will only grow alarmed if the behavior continues over the next two days.
Wanted, on the other hand, experiences the same sort of Monday/Tuesday decline that wiped out The Love Guru a couple of weeks ago. I have no good explanation for the behavior, but both titles had remarkably strong Monday performances. Then, on Tuesday, the bottom fell out. Wanted fell a stiff 27.9% to $4,603,750 yesterday. This is 4.1% less than the $4,801,850 The Incredible Hulk managed in its first Tuesday.
I know that my Canadian brethren are chomping at the bit to notify me that Tuesday was Canada Day, and this is why box office was so good Monday night. I am aware of this phenomenon, but it should have impacted Tuesday to some degree as well. Clearly, there is some effect as six titles in the top 10 experienced drops of 20% or more, but Wanted had the third worst decline. The only releases that fell harder are word-of-mouth disasters The Love Guru and The Happening. So, the question to track in coming days is whether or not Wanted experienced (Canadian) holiday-related deflation or whether Tuesday was the first tell-tale sign of a movie whose buzz is hurting it. Reagen Sulewski, who happens to be Canadian, informs me that Canada Day is like July 4th in the way it's celebrated. If this is the case, it's a similar example of an anti-holiday. Tomorrow's numbers will tell the tale.
Overall box office for the top ten was exemplary. A $26,094,824 for the top ten is the best total we have seen this summer to date, and tomorrow's numbers will be even better. The next week of box office is going to be huuuuuge.
| 1 |
WALL•E |
Walt Disney Pictures |
$7,601,082 |
- 14.7% |
N/A |
$79,601,894 |
| 2 |
Hancock |
Sony/Columbia |
$6,835,034 |
N/A |
N/A |
$6,835,034 |
| 3 |
Wanted |
Universal |
$4,603,750 |
- 27.9% |
N/A |
$61,912,585 |
| 4 |
Get Smart |
Warner Bros. |
$2,306,248 |
- 20.0% |
- 51.7% |
$82,664,632 |
| 5 |
Kung Fu Panda |
DreamWorks |
$1,585,558 |
- 11.9% |
- 44.9% |
$182,662,882 |
| 6 |
The Incredible Hulk |
Universal Pictures, Marvel Studios |
$1,039,225 |
- 21.5% |
- 55.5% |
$118,221,560 |
| 7 |
The Love Guru |
Paramount |
$603,981 |
- 31.4% |
- 60.8% |
$26,707,084 |
| 8 |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |
Paramount |
$574,829 |
- 21.7% |
- 41.2% |
$301,394,348 |
| 9 |
Sex and the City |
New Line Cinema |
$552,401 |
- 11.8% |
- 44.8% |
$141,349,068 |
| 10 |
The Happening |
Twentieth Century Fox |
$392,716 |
- 28.5% |
- 65.9% |
$60,062,743 |
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Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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