OPENINGS: BRAVE (Pixar/Disney) opened right in the Pixar range at $66.7M. That’s better than WALL-E ($63.1M), not quite as good as Up ($68.1M). Those 2 movies ended up with $224M and $293M, respectively, so the magnitude of Brave‘s success has yet to be determined. The film is in only 10 overseas territories, where it grossed $13.5M for the weekend.
There’s little uncertainty about either of the other weekend openings. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER (20th) had a $16.5M start that only John Wilkes Booth could love, and even that number will require a Pixar-level Sunday retention at the boxoffice, which is far from certain. The film also made $8.1M in 17 overseas markets, not very promising. At a reported $70M production cost, don’t expect a sequel. SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD (Focus/Universal) is a smaller but as complete a failure, with a $3.8M opening in 1625 theatres. It was a movie that needed good reviews to grab a handhold, and didn’t get them.
HOLDOVERS: Even with Brave in the market, MADAGASCAR 3 (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) held beautifully with only a 41% drop to $20.2M. It’s running ahead of both previous Madagascars by $20-30M in the US, and was #1 overseas this weekend for an international total so far of $208M in only 44 territories. Even though the movie’s ending plays as the conclusion of a trilogy, no one will be surprised to see DreamWorks reach into its checkbook and generate another chapter. PROMETHEUS (20th) took another 52% hit and seems unlikely to reach $130M in the US, but is doing better overseas, where it has a $153M total in 61 territories after a $12.7M weekend. SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN (Universal) fell 40% to $8M, and also made $22.6M from 60 territories overseas, for a $160.4M international total that should get considerably higher. MEN IN BLACK 3 (Sony) remains on track for $600-625M worldwide. Last week’s flops ROCK OF AGES (Warners) and THAT’S MY BOY (Sony) dropped 45% and 41%, respectively, and may reach the $50M area–unfortunately, both cost $70M even without worldwide marketing, not to mention Adam Sandler’s expensive back-end deal. (Ages is also flopping overseas, with $8.6M in 24 territories; Boy is just getting started internationally.) One additional international note: although US comedies tend to be hit-or-miss overseas, AMERICAN REUNION (Universal), which made an unremarkable $57M in the US, has grossed an unbelievable $175M outside this country–so if another movie in the series gets produced, that will be the reason why. The movies people have really enjoyed this year continue to draw audiences: THE AVENGERS (Disney) down 21%, THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (Fox Searchlight) down 29%, and after 14 weeks in theatres, THE HUNGER GAMES (Lionsgate) down only 24%. Avengers and Hunger Games, incidentally, are between them responsible for a full $1 billion, or about 20%, of 2012’s total US boxoffice to date.
LIMITED RELEASES: Woody Allen’s TO ROME WITH LOVE (Sony Classics) got off to a lovely start, with a $76K average in 5 NY/LA theatres. That’s in 2d place to the $100K average for Midnight In Paris among Allen’s releases, and if Rome can continue to do 75% of Paris‘s boxoffice, Sony Classics will be a very happy studio. MOONRISE KINGDOM (Focus/Universal) more than doubled its run to 395 houses, and saw its per-theatre average drop to $8600, suggesting that a truly wide release isn’t in the cards. Still, the film should be a tidy success for Wes Anderson, allowing him to finance his next effort. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED (FilmDistrict) tripled to 129 theatres with an OK $3700 average. YOUR SISTER’S SISTER (IFC) went from 13 to 47 theatres with a decent $4600 average.
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