Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
January 21, 2006
Thanks to Kate Beckinsale and skintight latex outfits, the big winner this weekend is the audience.
Underworld: Evolution
The Kate Beckinsale sequel opened with a solid $10.5 million Friday, an uptick from the $9 million Underworld earned in September of 2003. That movie had a stellar 2.41 weekend multiplier on its way to a $21.7 million weekend. With the sequel factor and all, I don't see why history won't repeat itself here, so we're looking at a weekend tally of $25.3 million, still a very good opening number for January.
The End of the Spear
The religious drama earned $1.5 million on just 1,162 theaters, about as good as it could have hoped for considering its subject matter, target audience and screen count. It should come in at a little under $5 million for the weekend.
The New World
Note to Terrence Malick: nobody cares when you release a movie any more. The New World did take in $1.2 million on Friday, and around $4 million awaits it as a weekend total, but still.
Notable Holdovers
Glory Road falls 41.2%, which is pretty good since Coach Carter fell 53% on its second Friday. Look for a 35% weekend decline.
Hoodwinked drops only 22% from last Friday, and if it has a similar multiplier as it did last weekend, we'll be looking at an incredibly low weekend decline, perhaps around the 10% mark.
On the heels of its Golden Globes performance and screen count increase, Brokeback Mountain has a 34% increase from last Friday. Don't look now, but $50 million is in striking distance by next weekend.
|
Projected Estimates for the Top Ten (Three-Day)
|
Projected
Rank |
Film |
Estimated Gross |
|
1
|
Underworld: Evolution
|
25.3
|
|
2
|
Hoodwinked
|
10.5
|
|
3
|
Glory Road
|
8,8
|
|
4
|
The Last Holiday
|
8.2
|
|
5
|
Brokeback Mountain
|
7.7
|
|
6
|
Fun WIth Dick and Jane
|
6.0
|
|
7
|
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
|
5.5
|
|
8
|
The End of the Spear
|
4.9
|
|
9
|
Hostel
|
4.2
|
|
10
|
The New World
|
3.8
|
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