Box Office Breakdown: Coen Brothers Show True Grit

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Period, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Box Office, Lists,

Their film didn't top the box office, nor did it have the best per screen average -- but Joel and Ethan Coen still have reason to smile.

True Grit, a two-time second-place finisher, has now grossed $86.7 million domestically -- a new record for the writing/directing duo. The Western, which added another $24.4 million to its total this past weekend, has officially surpassed the Coen brothers' previous record. (No Country for Old Men, released in 2007, raised $74.3 million.)

The only other notable item in the Top Ten this week was The King's Speech. The critically-acclaimed film replaced The Tourist in the tenth-place spot and averaged $11,108 per theater.

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Box Office Breakdown: Big Win for Little Fockers

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Remakes, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

A lack of a clear plot apparently meant very little to theatergoers this past weekend.

Little Fockers, which added another $30.8 million in ticket sales ($45.1 million since Wednesday) to the Fockers series, finished in first place after the holiday frame. Although the Ben Stiller/Robert De Niro production failed to top Meet the Fockers’ debut in 2004 ($46.1 million), the comedy did bring in more than the 2000 original. (Meet the Parents opened to $28.6 million.)

Meanwhile, the Jeff Bridges from the past found himself passing the Jeff Bridges from the future. True Grit, costarring Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld, roped in $24.9 million – the best number for the Coen brothers to date – and second place. The Western wound up landing just one notch above Tron, Bridges’ current sci-fi entry.

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In Theaters This Holiday Week: December 22, 2010

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Independent, Music, Remakes, Sequels, Comedy, Lists, New Releases, Trailers,

Here are a few selections in theaters this holiday week:

• Gulliver's Travels (PG): starring Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt (directed by Rob Letterman) **opens on Dec. 25**
• Little Fockers (PG-13): starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson (directed by Paul Weitz)
• True Grit (PG-13): starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin (directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)

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Box Office Breakdown: Ben Stiller Defeats Christian Bale

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Religious, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Was it a result of Christian Bale’s rant? The presence of that other science fiction movie? Or the lack of family-friendly fare?

When the dust from the weekend settled, a surprising entry emerged as the winner. Despite the country’s current love for action sequels/prequels, a much calmer feature - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - was the choice for entertainment this holiday. Ben Stiller’s comedy follow-up raked in $70 million giving the actor his best live-action debut ever. Smithsonian also became the best PG-rated opener for Memorial Day.

Museum‘s victory meant a disappointing 2nd place finish for Terminator Salvation. Although the saga’s fourth installment earned more than T3‘s debut, its $51.9 million gross ($65.3 million since Thursday) put it nowhere near the estimated $200 million budget. The numbers did give director McG, though, his best premiere since 2000’s Charlie’s Angels.

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Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Angels & Demons was never as popular as The Da Vinci Code...and its big screen numbers reflected that.

Despite huge success with the overseas box office this weekend (the movie had the 10th best international open ever), the latest Ron Howard/Tom Hanks collaboration barely struck gold domestically. Over the last three days, Angels grossed $46.2 million—just enough for first place. Unfortunately, the Dan Brown adaptation only earned $3 million more than last week’s champ and over $30 million less than the previous installment.

Star Trek, in the meantime, continued on its warp speed pace. The second place finisher pulled in another $43 million and put itself within $3 million of Wolverine‘s overall total. (The Hugh Jackman film, this week’s #3, had a 7-day head start on the sci fi adventure.)

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Box Office Breakdown:  Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases,

Based on these numbers, a Star Trek sequel would seem like the logical response.

After a five-month delay, the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature finally unspooled to an eager crowd. And though it didn’t outearn last weekend’s office champ, the science fiction adventure appeared to be in a galaxy far, far away.

Since it’s debut late Thursday night, Trek grossed approximately $79.2 million. (That’s nearly $3 million more than was estimated a day ago, but still $6 million less than Wolverine‘s premiere.) Around $8 million of Paramount’s haul came from IMAX ticket sales alone. (That figure bests the $6.2 million raked in by The Dark Knight last year.)

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Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Music, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Despite a growing list of hurdles (leaked footage, swine flu, mediocre reviews), X-Men Origins: Wolverine proved it was a force to be reckoned with last weekend. Although it failed to surpass X-Men: The Last Stand (that 2006 entry debuted at $122.9 million), the Fox feature trounced the competition with an $85.1 million open. In other words, Wolverine earned over $20 million more than the other Top Ten entries…combined.

Sitting far back in second place was Ghost of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring a little muscle into the box office. The romantic comedy, costarring Jennifer Garner, grossed $15.4 million on the weekend before Mother’s Day. (That’s less than a million more than what Made of Honor pulled in at this same time last year.) Meanwhile, last Friday’s only other wide release, Battle for Terra, raked in a disappointing $1.1 million for a 12th place finish.

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Drawn to Obsessed

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Musicals, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

It was a battle between two Dreamgirls stars at the box office this weekend.

After back-to-back roles in music-related dramas, Beyonce Knowles proved she could deliver without having to sing a note. Obsessed, a thriller produced for approximately $20 million, pulled in nearly $29 million for a 1st place finish. The film, also featuring two NBC stars (The Office’s Idris Elba and Heroes’ Ali Larter), more than doubled last week’s champ, 17 Again.

Meanwhile, an Academy Award winner and an Iron Man joined forces for a surprising fourth place finish. The Soloist, costarring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., didn’t even cross the $10 million mark. Although it was once considered as a pre-Oscars release, the film’s debut grossed less than last week’s nominee-filled entry, State of Play.

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Box Office Breakdown: 17 is the Lucky Number

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Zac Efron may be cute, but he’s no Hannah Montana.

This weekend the Disney veteran got a chance to prove his worth in his first starring role. And though he managed to hit #1, Efron pulled in approximately $8.6 million less than Miley Cyrus did last week. The premiere of 17 Again also opened to $18.3 million less than High School Musical 3 did last October. (Then again, those two family-friendly films were a bit more accessible with their G-ratings.)

Russell Crowe, in the meantime, had far much more to groan about. The Oscar winner found his new movie, State of Play, sandwiched in between the two tween idols. The thriller, costarring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, earned nearly $10 million less than the age-reversal comedy for a second place finish.

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Box Office Breakdown: Another Win for Miley Cyrus

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,

Miley Cyrus got a big treat in her goodie basket this weekend.

Just over a year after breaking a record for Super Bowl weekend releases, the tween idol has made waves again. The 16-year-old’s new film is now the 2nd best Easter opener ever. Hannah Montana: The Movie slowed down last week’s hot property, Fast & Furious, to win the holiday frame. Cyrus’ 2-D offering pulled in $32.3 million and earned the best first-day ever for a live-action G-rated feature.

The only other wide releases last weekend were Observe and Report and Dragonball: Evolution. Although Paul Blart debuted to a surprising $40 million, Seth Rogen’s mall comedy earned only $11 million and a fourth place-finish. (Observe did do slightly better than Zack and Miri‘s $10.1 million premiere.) Dragonball, in the meantime, barely went noticed with its $4.7 million take. That was just enough for a Top Ten appearance.

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