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March 26, 2011
 

BOX OFFICE FOOTNOTES – 3/26/11

Warners is claiming that Sucker Punch cost around $80M, which given the scale of the film suggests either admirable cost-effectiveness or a lowball number–in any case, word of mouth is likely to be terrible (see my review, not to mention that its overall Rotten Tomatoes number is at 20%), so it’s doubtful to get past red ink.

In Wimpy Kid 2, Fox has a modestly-budgeted franchise that should be able to crank out sequels for the next several years.

Lack of any new adult-skewing product helped Limitless (review) and Lincoln Lawyer (review) to solid holds.

In limited debuts, Miral is riding its controversy to around $17.5K in each of 4 theatres (review); Poticheshould do about $10K in each of 8 theatres (review); Peep World is headed for around $2K in each of 3 theatres (review); and White Irish Drinkers may do around $4K in each of 6 theatres. Meanwhile, Jane Eyre expanded to a very nice $10K or so in each of 90 theatres, and Win Win likewise should get to around $17.5K in each of 23 theatres (review).

Next week doesn’t bring much in the way of major openings: the thriller Source Code (Summit) with Jake Gyllenhaal, the Easter-timed animated Hop (Universal) with the voice of Russell Brand (preceding Brand’s live-action Arthur by 1 week), and the haunted house thrill ride Insidious (FilmDistrict).  Also, for curiosity Weinstein Company will put its pre-DVD PG-13 version of The King’s Speech into 1000 theatres.  Limited releases include the Foreign-Language Oscar winner In A Better World (Sony Classics) and the very violent comic-book parody Super (IFC).



About the Author

Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."