Weekend Wrap-Up

Madagascar Rules Box Office; Role Models Real Winner

By John Hamann

November 9, 2008

Fly the penguin skies.

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Changeling winds up in fourth this weekend, despite Universal only adding a handful of screens. The Angeline Jolie flick went wide last weekend on 1,850 venues and earned $9.4 million, which wasn't bad considering the scheduling and tone of this picture. In its follow up weekend, Changeling earned $7.2 million from 1,855 venues, and drops a slight 23% compared to last weekend. I'm looking for Universal to expand or die next weekend. Currently, the Clint Eastwood flick has a total of $20.5 million.

Fifth spot goes to Zack and Miri Make A Porno, Kevin Smith's return to the big screen, this time with Seth Rogen. Considering the subject matter, Zack and Miri got off to an okay start over that crazy Halloween weekend with a $10 million opening. It follows that debut up with a decent second frame with a gross of $6.4 million. The gross gives Zack and Miri a second weekend drop of only 36%, which is not bad considering Clerks II, Smith's last flick, fell over 60% in its second weekend. Zack and Miri has now earned $20.8 million, a number that is okay when you consider that this one must have cost about $20 million.

New release Soul Men finishes sixth as one of Bernie Mac's last films opens softly. Soul Men found $5.5 million from 2,044 venues for MGM, and had a venue average of $2,688. I'm thinking Soul Men could disappear quickly, as if reviews are any indication, this won‘t be a talked abut picture.

As expected, Saw V sees another big drop, moving from third last weekend to seventh this weekend. Saw V took in $4.1 million and was off a big 59%. The Lionsgate effort has now earned $52.2 million against a budget of $11 million, and should finish close to Saw IV's final figure of $63.3 million.




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After a poor showing last weekend, The Haunting of Molly Hartley has a better frame this weekend, but it's too little too late. Molly Hartley earned $3.2 million and was off 41% compared to its opening. The flick from Freestyle Releasing has now earned $9.9 million.

Ninth spot goes to The Secret Life of Bees, the Queen Latifah/Jennifer Hudson starrer. Bees earned $3.1 million and was off a decent 22%. This $11 million production from Fox Searchlight has turned into quite a success, as it's now earned $29.9 million.

Finally in tenth is Eagle Eye, the seven-week-old thriller. Eagle Eye earned $2.6 million and was off 27%. It now has a total of $96.4 million.

In limited release, Rachel Getting Married moved up to 370 venues this weekend, and earned $1.4 million in the process. It had a venue average of $3,813 and has a total so far of $5.4 million.

Overall this weekend, we have a very big win. A year ago, the top 12 films at the box office failed to reach $100 million, as Fred Claus came in quite lower than expected, showing a debut weekend of only $18.5 million, and Bee Movie won the weekend despite being in its sophomore frame. The top 12 tally last year came in at only $97.8 million, and with Madagascar 2 and Role Models opening strongly, the 2008 weekend put that figure in the dirt, coming in at $129.2 million. Next weekend brings Bond, all by himself, so Quantum of Solace could have a Madagascar 2 kind of weekend. Check back next weekend to see how it all unfolds.


Top Weekend Box Office for 11/7/08-11/9/08 (Actuals)
Rank Film Distributor Estimated Gross Actual Gross Weekly Change Running Total
1 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DreamWorks $63,500,000 $63,106,589 New $63,106,589
2 Role Models Universal $19,250,840 $19,167,085 New $19,167,085
3 High School Musical 3: Senior Year Walt Disney Pictures $9,293,000 $9,159,523 - 40.2% $75,573,993
4 Changeling Universal $7,280,875 $7,252,940 - 22.4% $20,559,497
5 Zack and Miri Make a Porno The Weinstein Company $6,521,000 $6,274,530 - 37.7% $20,686,907
6 Soul Men Dimension Films $5,610,000 $5,401,605 New $5,401,605
7 Saw V Lionsgate $4,200,000 $4,067,071 - 58.3% $52,187,337
8 The Haunting of Molly Hartley Freestyle Releasing $3,490,480 $3,318,694 - 38.8% $10,063,348
9 The Secret Life of Bees Fox Searchlight Pictures $3,125,000 $3,089,467 - 23.0% $29,902,363
10 Eagle Eye DreamWorks Pictures $2,594,000 $2,541,602 - 27.0% $96,348,829
11 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Walt Disney Pictures $2,485,000 $2,518,049 - 48.2% $88,258,841
12 Max Payne Twentieth Century Fox $1,825,000 $1,789,136 - 51.5% $38,653,498
  Also Opening/Notables
  House Roadside Attractions $335,000 $329,836 New $329,836
  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Miramax Films $255,000 $253,085 New $253,085
  Repo! The Genetic Opera Lionsgate $51,578 $53,684 New $53,684
  The Alphabet Killer Anchor Bay N/A $11,000 New $11,000
  Prey the Devil Back To Hell Balcony Releasing N/A $8,227 New $8,227
  Synecdoche, New York Sony Pictures Classics $314,957 $293,646 +195.5% $675,537
  I've Loved You So Long Sony Pictures Classics $187,511 $186,821 + 53.7% $739,911
  Happy Go Lucky Miramax Films $439,000 $402,085 + 45.2% $1,248,218
  Rachel Getting Married Sony Pictures Classics $1,657,807 $1,505,507 +111.6% $5,415,820
Click here for all weekend data
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
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