Based on Friday’s grosses, Weekend #11 of 2013 is the second weekend in a row up somewhat from prior years: $103 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday (up 6% from the same weekend last year). Oz continues to carry Hollywood on its back. Opening this weekend, Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey flopped in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, while Halle Berry exceeded modest expectations in The Call.
Opening at 2,507 theaters, The Call from Sony grossed $6.2 million Friday and is on track for an $18.3 million opening weekend (well ahead of the $11.5 million ShowbuzzDaily forecast). The film is averaging a decent $7,300 per theater for the weekend (comfortably above the $5,333 opening weekend average for all wide-release films the last two years), while critical sentiment is a soft 42% positive. The Call is headed for maybe $53 million total domestic.
Opening at 3,160 theaters Friday, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone from Warner Brothers grossed a pitiful $3.7 Friday and is on track for an $11.3 million opening weekend (below the very modest $13.5 million ShowbuzzDaily forecast earlier this week). The film is averaging a bad $3,600 per theater for the weekend. Critics are not amazed: only 39% positive reviews at RottenTomatoes. Burt Wonderstone should finish with $32 million total domestic.
| Weekend 11 March 15-17, 2013 | ($ millions) | |||||
| Pre-Wknd Showbuzz Forecast | Early Weekend Estimate | Actual Friday Gross | Showbuzz Domestic Final Proj. | |||
| Oz the Great and Powerful | Dis | [43.5] | 44.4 | 11.6 | 261 | |
| The Call | Sony | [11.5] | 18.3 | 6.2 | 53 | |
| Incredible Burt Wonderstone | WB | [13.5] | 11.3 | 3.7 | 32 | |
| Jack the Giant Slayer | WB | [5.4] | 6.9 | 1.8 | 67 | |
| Identity Thief | Uni | [4.2] | 4.6 | 1.4 | 141 | |
| Snitch | Summit | [3.3] | 3.8 | 1.1 | 45 | |
| 21 and Over | Rel | [3.7] | 2.8 | .95 | 27 | |
| Escape from Planet Earth | Weins | [2.2] | 2.8 | .62 | 61 | |
| Silver Linings Playbook | Weins | [2.4] | 2.6 | .75 | 130 | |
| Dead Man Down | FilmDis | [2.8] | 2.0 | .64 | 11 | |
Note: The table above summarizes an early look at the weekend. The first column is a reminder of each film’s ShowBuzzDaily Forecast for the weekend (in brackets). The second column, on which the films are sorted, displays the new weekend projection for each film, based on the Friday numbers (the third column). The final column is a preliminary estimate of the ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Total number for the film’s total run in North America. A “++” indicates the Domestic number has been upgraded; a “–” indicates a downgrade.
In case you missed them, click to see this week’s Weekend Predictions.
Total Box Office Volume
The Top 12 Films this weekend are looking like $103 million total Friday-Sunday, matching the four-year average for the comparable weekend and up 6% from the same weekend last year.
| WEEKEND #11 | ($ millions) | ||
| Weekend Volume: Top 12 Films | Top Movies Opening Each Weekend (Fri-Sun only) | ||
| 2013 | $103 | The Call $18, Incredible Burt Wonderstone $11 | |
| 2012 | $98 | 21 Jump Street $36, Friends with Kids $1.5 | |
| 2011 | $103 | Limitless $19, The Lincoln Lawyer $13, Paul $13 | |
| 2010 | $115 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid $22, The Bounty Hunter $21, Repo Men $6 | |
| 2009 | $96 | Knowing $24, I Love You Man $18, Duplicity $14 | |
| Avg 2009-12 | $103 | ||
Check back tomorrow for more complete Weekend Studio Estimates based on Saturday’s actual box office, as well as the International Box Office report.
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