Weekend Wrap-Up
Religion and Politics Smatter Box Office
By John Hamann
October 5, 2008
An unbelievable number of new films hit screens as the first movie going weekend of October 2008 saw Hollywood continuing to use the "see what sticks" method of releasing films. Seven (!) new films hit screens and one film, Apaloosa, jumped from the art house cinema to the mall. New releases included (take a breath): Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Disney), Nick and Norah's Infinite Play list (Sony), An American Carol, Religulous (Lionsgate), Flash of Genius (Universal), Blindness (Miramax), and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (MGM). Add to that a sneak for next weekend's The Express and an expansion for The Duchess, and we've got a frenetic weekend at the box office.
Our number one film is an atypical Disney flick. Beverly Hills Chihuahua is the usual "see it and dispose it" kid feature. Chihuahua did the expected this weekend, and won the weekend by almost $10 million more than its nearest competitor. The Disney movie began its box office reign with a weekend tally of $29 million from a huge 3,215 venue launch; and earned an average of $9,020 - the best in the top ten. Disney has been pushing Chihuahua for months - seeing the trailer before WALL-E still sticks in my head. It's no wonder the marketing for this one is so extensive; the higher paid names are doing voice work (Drew Barrymore, Salma Hayek) and the live actors, Jamie Lee Curtis and Piper Perabo are definitely B-list, but known to family audiences (Freaky Friday, Cheaper by the Dozen). So, despite some CG-Chihuahuas, the production budget on this one has to be somewhat inexpensive, while the marketing budget is most likely quite high. This opening weekend result is exactly what Disney needs to launch a franchise. This is almost sure to be a $100 million plus finisher.
Talking animals can be gold. Going way back to 1959 and The Shaggy Dog, Disney has always had a strong hold on this genre. Technology changed Disney's stranglehold on the genre, as Universal's Babe earned $250 million worldwide, and more recently, Alvin and the Chipmunks proved that a mix of live action and CGI animals could earn more than $200 million domestic for 20th Century Fox. Where Disney shines, though, is in marketing, and the studio was able to get Beverly Hills Chihuahua to open on a non-traditional weekend for kids movies. Chihuahua nicely fills a hole in the Disney schedule prior to when High School Musical 3 hits screens on October 24th.
Reviews were much better than expected. Chihuahua actually improved on the 25% fresh rating that Alvin and the Chipmunks received , as the RottenTomatoes rating came in at 43% (I thought it would be lower), with 23 of 53 reviewers finding something to like. Paid critics liked it even more, with that score coming in at 50% - so it couldn't be all that bad, at least for kids. Word-of-mouth will be interesting to watch next weekend - will it become a cultural phenomenon or fade against the family adventure City of Ember? Check back next weekend to find out.
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