Weekend Wrap-Up

Max Payne Knocks Off the Dogs

By John Hamann

October 19, 2008

We advise you not to invite that thing in.

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Fifth goes to Eagle Eye, the Shia LaBeouf-acted/Steven Spielberg-produced action flick. Now in its third weekend, Eagle Eye earned $7.3 million and was off 33%, another strong hold for a big picture. Eagle Eye cost Paramount and DreamWorks $80 million to produce and has now earned $81.3 million. I'm looking for it to earn $100 million before it's through.

Body of Lies lands in sixth, as the second weekend for the DiCaprio/Crowe starrer is almost as disappointing as the first. After starting with a soft, third place $12.9 million opening, the espionage thriller couldnĂ­t find any momentum, as it earned $6.9 million, off a harsh 47%. This one cost Warner Bros. $70 million to make, and at this point I'm thinking it will finish with a little over $40 million. It has a cume so far of $24.5 million, and proves again, kids, that throwing your phone at someone can cost you mega-millions.

Quarantine finishes seventh, and displays the usual horror film/Screen Gems box office pattern. After opening quite strongly to $14.2 million and outgrossing its $12 million budget, the horror flick dropped a nasty 56% this weekend, earning $6.3 million. Screen Gems, the studio behind Quarantine, can't count how many times this has happened to them. For example, When A Stranger Calls, the 2006 horror flick, opened to $21.6 million and dropped 58% in its second weekend to $9.1 million. It finished with $47.9 million domestically, but cost only $15 million to produce. Quarantine has now earned $24.7 million against that $12 million budget.

Eighth is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which did better in its third weekend than Sex Drive did in its first. Nick and Norah earned another $3.9 million, off a decent 39%, despite the new competition. The Sony flick has now earned $26.7 million against a budget of only $10 million - not bad work if you can get it.




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Ninth does go to new release Sex Drive from upstart Summit. Sex Drive earned $3.6 million from 2,421 venues. It was 45% fresh, which isn't bad for the genre, so it might have a chance on DVD.

Finally in tenth we have Nights in Rodanthe, the absolute, complete opposite of Sex Drive (we're talking 360 degrees). The Gere/Lane/Viagra romance earned $2.7 million and was off 41%. Its total now sits at $36.9 million.

Overall, the box office takes a significant step forward compared to last year. Over the same weekend in 2007, 30 Days of Night got off to a slower than expected start with $15 million, which led the box office to a $78.5 million weekend. This year, with a stronger crop of openers, the top 12 earned an estimated $86.4 million. Next weekend brings an interesting showdown: the kids of High School Musical 3 versus Jigsaw in Saw V. Go Jigsaw!


Top Weekend Box Office for 10/17/08-10/19/08 (Actuals)
Rank Film Distributor Estimated Gross Actual Gross Weekly Change Running Total
1 Max Payne Twentieth Century Fox $18,000,000 $17,639,849 New $17,639,849
2 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Walt Disney Pictures $11,200,000 $11,422,425 - 34.7% $69,282,560
3 The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight Pictures $11,050,000 $10,527,799 New $10,527,799
4 W Lionsgate $10,550,000 $10,505,668 New $10,505,668
5 Eagle Eye DreamWorks Pictures $7,343,000 $7,029,718 - 35.6% $81,021,825
6 Body of Lies Warner Bros. $6,880,000 $6,824,259 - 47.0% $24,424,928
7 Quarantine Screen Gems $6,300,000 $6,084,580 - 57.2% $24,471,512
8 Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Sony/Screen Gems $3,900,000 $3,693,384 - 42.5% $26,500,875
9 Sex Drive Summit Entertainment $3,566,000 $3,607,164 New $3,607,164
10 Nights in Rodanthe Warner Bros. $2,680,000 $2,657,440 - 41.5% $36,869,470
11 Fireproof Samuel Goldwyn/idp $2,674,933 $2,578,271 New $20,628,110
12 The Express Universal $2,276,100 $2,191,810 - 52.0% $8,214,570
  Also Opening/Notables
  What Just Happened Magnolia $216,000 $192,508 New $192,508
  Morning Light WALT DISNEY $134,422 $129,295 New $129,295
  Saving Marriage Regent N/A $8,044 New $8,044
  City of Ember Fox Walden $1,725,000 $1,730,755 - 44.7% $5,926,753
  RocknRolla Warner Bros. Pictures $131,000 $133,679 - 7.6% $403,892
  Happy Go Lucky Miramax Films $110,000 $107,947 New $217,388
  Religulous Lionsgate $1,450,000 $1,446,221 - 35.2% $9,068,325
  The Duchess Paramount Vantage $2,209,000 $2,121,588 - 35.8% $9,128,899
  Appaloosa New Line Cinema $1,985,000 $2,029,200 - 38.9% $14,326,286
Appaloosa New Line Cinema $1,985,000 $2,029,200 - 38.9% $14,326,286
Click here for all weekend data
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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