Potter Soars to $397M Global Opening

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND The wait was over for

Hogwarts fans who rushed out to theaters around the world to see the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blo

od Prince powering the wizard sequel to a strong number one opening and the largest worldwide

debut for any film ever. In North America, the PG-rated fantasy pic grossed an est

imated $79.5M over the Friday-to-Sunday span and a colossal $159.7M since its debut on Wednesday. P

rince beat out the opening of the last installment of the franchise, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the P

hoenix, which also bowed on a Wednesday in July generating $77.1M on the weekend and $139.7M across the same five-day Wednesday-to-Sunday span. That put Prince 14% ahead in grosses and 7% ahead in admissions.

Anticipation was extra high this time around since Warner Bros. delayed the release of the new pic from last November to mid-July resulting in the longest gap ever between Potter films. Plus no new book has hit the market in nearly two years. The first film in the series, 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, still ranks as the top-grossing pic in the franchise with $317.6M which translates to about $413M at today's prices.

Prince's opening week performance was much more front-loaded than Phoenix's. The madness started on Tuesday night with a record $22.2M in post-midnight sales which nearly doubled the $12M figure for Phoenix from two years ago. The new installment's overall opening day tally of $52.8M on Wednesday was 32% stronger while Thursday's $22M take was 20% better. The lead slowed significantly by the weekend as Friday grossed $26.8M (up 4% from Phoenix), Saturday added $29.2M (up 3%), and Sunday is estimated to collect $23.4M (up 2%).

With the average cost of a movie ticket having risen by 7% in the last two years, the Friday-to-Sunday period for Prince's opening weekend actually saw fewer tickets sold than for Phoenix. But with the Wednesday-Thursday period being 28% better, the overall five-day debut period for the new pic was $20M higher. Phoenix's five-day start accounted for 48% of its eventual $292M domestic final. The global tally reached a stunning $938M with 69% of the gross coming from outside of North America.

Making Half-Blood Prince's debut impressive was the fact that IMAX grosses nearly vanished this time around since most of those screens are still playing the Transformers sequel until July 28. Phoenix's opening weekend included higher-priced ticket sales from 91 IMAX sites while Prince is currently in just three locations with the rest beginning their runs on July 29.

The well-reviewed Prince bowed on Wednesday in 4,275 theaters and expanded on Friday to 4,325 venues generating a sizzling $18,376 average over the Friday-to-Sunday session. It was the third widest launch in history after only The Dark Knight (4,366) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (4,362).

Globally, Half-Blood Prince was a juggernaut taking advantage of a day-and-date release around the world to generate a sensational $237M from 54 territories and 84 markets on 15,900 screens. Add in the domestic haul and the wizard film's $396.7M worldwide gross in five days stands as the film industry's biggest ever launch. Overseas accounted for 60% this weekend with the United Kingdom leading the way with a hefty $32.4M launch.

Claiming the number two spot for the third straight weekend was Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs which grossed an estimated $17.7M, down 36%, boosting the cume to a stellar $152M in 19 days. The 3D sequel has grossed exactly the same amount as its predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown did in 2006 over the same number of days. Dawn's summer release when kids are on vacation will help the new installment inch ahead in the coming days.

Yet another high-profile summer sequel followed in third. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dropped a reasonable 43% to an estimated $13.8M in its fourth session boosting the cume to a staggering $363.9M for Paramount. That puts the Autobots flick at number 13 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters behind The Passion of the Christ which grossed $370.3M in 2004. Fallen, the year's biggest hit and its studio's second-highest grosser ever after Titanic, is still on course to break the $400M mark.

With Transformers and Harry Potter, Paramount and Warner Bros. both saw their year-to-date domestic grosses climb to $1.13 billion putting the studios in a tie for the current market share crown.

The raunchy mockumentary Brüno suffered the worst second weekend drop of any major summer film this year tumbling a disturbing 73% to an estimated $8.4M as audiences abandoned Sacha Baron Cohen's latest shockfest. The Universal release has laughed up $49.6M in ten days and looks to finish its domestic run very soon in the neighborhood of $65M. Overseas, the film is fading fast as well and has collected $46M including $36.3M from Universal's territories.

Fifth place was too close to call as two leggy comedy blockbusters took in an estimated $8.3M a piece. The Warner Bros. smash The Hangover slipped by just 16% for a total to date of $235.9M for while Buena Vista's The Proposal slipped by only 22% and has banked $128.1M becoming the top-grossing film of Sandra Bullock's career. The phony engagement pic surpassed the $121.2M of 1994's Speed, however that action hit sold significantly more tickets since admission prices have jumped 76% since then.

Falling 45% in its third weekend was the Johnny Depp-Christian Bale drama Public Enemies which shot up an estimated $7.6M raising the sum to $79.5M for Universal which remains the only major studio without a $100M hit this summer. Enemies is not guaranteed an invite to the century club, but it certainly has a good shot. Disney and Pixar took in an estimated $3.1M for Up, down 33%, lifting the cume to $279.6M putting the animated flick at number 38 on the all-time list ahead of the $279.2M of 2004's Meet the Fockers.

Rounding out the top ten were the tearjerker drama My Sister's Keeper with an estimated $2.8M, off 34%, and the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper which fell 46% to an estimated $2.7M in its sophomore frame. Totals stand at $41.5M and $10.3M, respectively.

Opening to robust numbers in limited release was the indie comedy (500) Days of Summer which bowed to an estimated $837,588 from only 27 locations for a muscular $31,022 average per theater. The Joseph Gordon-Levitt-Zooey Deschanel starrer ranked twelfth for the weekend nationwide despite such a limited debut and expands next weekend into more than a dozen additional cities.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $152.1M which was down a steep 39% from last year when The Dark Knight broke the industry record opening in the top spot with $158.4M; but up 6% from 2007 when I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry debuted at number one with $34.2M.

Explosive $201M Debut for Transformers

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Robots ruled the box office as the highly-anticipated action sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen generated the second biggest opening in history with a gargantuan $201.2M in its first five days, according to studio estimates, sending the overall marketplace to its highest gross of the year. The eye-popping figure included $112M over the traditional Friday-to-Sunday period plus an additional $89.2M since its Wednesday launch. Playing ultrawide in 4,234 theaters including 169 IMAX screens, the Paramount release averaged a stunning $26,453 over the Friday-to-Sunday period and a gigantic $47,531 over five days.

The only other film to ever gross more in its first five days was last summer's The Dark Knight which hauled in a slightly better $203.8M

from 4,366 venues. The first Transformers bowed to $155.4M in 6.5 days and needed 12.5 days to break the double-century mark on its way to a $319.2M finish.

The Michael Bay-directed pic set a number of other box office milestones. It set new records for a June opener, beating the $93.7M of 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and for a live-action film from Paramount exceeding the $100.1M of last summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In fact, Shia Labeof hopes to become the first star with $300M+ blockbusters over three straight summers with Transformers, Crystal Skull, and Fallen. The new Optimus Prime adventure also set a new five-day debut record for a Wednesday opener easily beating the $152.4M ofSpider-Man 2 from 2004.

The onslaught began at 12:01am on Wednesday with an explosive $60.6M opening day haul which included over $16M in business from late Tuesday's post-midnight shows. It was the second largest opening day for any film after the $67.2M for Dark Knight which bowed on a Friday. Grosses dropped 53% to $28.6M on Thursday, rose 29% to $36.8M on Friday, and climbed again by 10% to $40.6M on Saturday. Paramount is being aggressive with its Sunday estimate of $34.6M projecting just a 15% dip from Saturday. Final grosses will be reported on Monday afternoon. The Friday-to-Sunday tally is the seventh best of all-time and the largest for a film not debuting on a Friday.

The new Transformers brought back the main cast members of the first installment including Labeouf and Megan Fox who have become even bigger draws with teens and young adults over the past two years. Fearing being crushed, competing studios left the whole month of June open when it came to big action tentpoles allowing Fallen to be the only action event film out there. A massive marketing campaign by the studio and its tie-in partners drove awareness for the product placement-friendly flick sky high. Critics were brutal and tossed every insult they could at the behemoth, but ticket buyers were more interested in two and a half hours of mindless popcorn escapism.

Overseas audiences were crazy for robot action too as the second Transformers flick has pulled in a stunning $181.6M since its launch a week ago making for a jaw-dropping $382.8M worldwide cume which already makes it the second biggest global blockbuster for the whole year trailing just Angels & Demons which has collected $467.7M in seven weeks. A whopping 72% of that take has come from outside of North America. Fallen is playing more evenly with domestic accounting for 53%.

A sizable drop is expected for Transformers next weekend, but with no effects-driven tentpoles scheduled to open until the July 15th launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the domestic haul could very well shoot past $350M in the weeks ahead.

Be sure to check BoxOfficeGuru.com all week for daily updates on Transformers.

Sandra Bullock followed in second place with what could become the top-grossing film of her career, The Proposal. The romantic comedy hit dropped a reasonable 45% in its second weekend to an estimated $18.5M giving Buena Vista a solid $69.1M in only ten days. Co-starring Ryan Reynolds, the phony engagement flick should be able to finish in the vicinity of $125M surpassing the $121.2M of 1994's Speed to be the highest earner for the actress. Admission prices have risen a steep 75% in the last 15 years so Proposal will not sell as many tickets though.

With robot fights hitting the multiplexes, the leggy comedy sensation The Hangover suffered its largest decline yet. Dropping 36%, still a good hold, the R-rated laugher grossed an estimated $17.2M lifting the cume to $183.2M. Hangover is set to smash through the $200M mark over next weekend's Independence Day holiday frame.

Carl and Russell overtook Kirk and Spock for the year's box office crown as the animated smash Up sailed past the quarter-billion mark. The tenth toon from Disney and Pixar dropped 45% to an estimated $13M in its fifth weekend to boost the amazing cume to $250.2M making it 2009's top-grossing title. Optimus Prime will steal away that prize later this week, but Up still has hopes of surpassing the $300M milestone and now sits at number 47 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters behind Night at the Museum's $250.9M. The flying house flick is running only slightly behind the pace of 2003's Finding Nemo which banked $14M in its fifth round for a cume of $254M.

The frame's only other new wide opener landed in fifth place. The family drama My Sister's Keeper starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin bowed to an estimated $12M from 2,606 locations for a moderate average of $4,616 per theater. The PG-13 film based on the best-selling book about a girl fighting leukemia earned good reviews and played to a more female audience and those in the market for a good cry.

Sony placed its pair of not-so-stellar performers in the sixth and seventh slots. The Jack Black-Michael Cera comedy Year One collapsed 70% in its second weekend to an estimated $5.8M for a ten-day total of $32.3M. The Denzel Washington-John Travolta hostage pic The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 grossed an estimated $5.4M, down a troubling 55%, to a cume of $53.4M after 17 days. The studio cannot be pleased with these declines.

Paramount's Star Trek slipped 35% to an estimated $3.6M and boosted its amazing total to $246.2M. Despite the arrival of studio stablemate Transformers, the Enterprise held up impressively. Close behind was Fox's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian which fell 55% to an estimated $3.5M giving the sequel $163.2M to date.

BoxOffice Guru :

THIS WEEKEND Fan frenzy for the Caped Crusader kept the unstoppable juggernaut The Dark Knight in the number one spot for the third weekend in a row in North America narrowly beating the new adventure sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor which settled for the silver medal. However on a global scale, the Mummy sequel won the gold with $100M worldwide beating out the Batman flick's $81M. Meanwhile, Kevin Costner's latest offering Swing Vote was met with apathy as it bombed and landed in sixth place with a dismal performance.
The Joker couldn't stop stealing more cash. Warner Bros. enjoyed a superb hold for The Dark Knight which only dropped by 43% in its third outing to $42.7M, according to final studio figures. Averaging a still-muscular $10,001 per theater, the superhero sequel boosted its total to a jaw-dropping $393.8M in only 17 days and might now cross the $400M mark on Monday. The dark PG-13 actioner also broke into the top ten among all-time domestic blockbusters and now sits at number eight surpassing the $380.3M of 2005's Star Wars Episode III.
The new Batpic is holding up so well that it is now virtually guaranteed to smash the $500M barrier too. The road ahead should be promising as late summer megahits that truly please audiences tend to have low declines in August. 2006's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest witnessed a 44% drop in its third outing at number one and its 17-day cume of $321.9M represented 76% of its eventual final. Last summer's The Bourne Ultimatum banked $164.7M by the end of its third session which accounted for 72% of its overall cume. At a similar pace, The Dark Knight would go on to approach the neighborhood of $520M for an astonishing box office run.
Internationally, The Dark Knight grossed an estimated $38M from 51 markets to boost its stellar overseas tally to $203.5M. That gives the comic book flick a worldwide cume of $597M with much more fuel still in the tank as major markets like Korea, Japan, Spain, France, Russia, and Germany have yet to open.
Opening close behind in second place was Universal's historical adventure sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor which grossed $40.5M. Invading 3,760 locations, the PG-13 film averaged a solid $10,760 per site. It was the smallest debut in the franchise's history trailing the $43.4M of 1999's The Mummy and the $68.1M of 2001's The Mummy Returns. At today's ticket prices, those two figures would translate to about $60M and $85M, respectively. Dragon, which finds Brendan Fraser returning to fight ancient evil in China, was expected by many to bow at number one. Its tally was slightly lower than anticipated while Dark Knight's legs were stronger than expected. Jet Li, Maria Bello, and Michelle Yeoh were newcomers to this installment. Studio research showed that males made up 52% of the audience while 56% were 25 and older. Reviews were mostly negative.
Budgeted at $145M, Dragon Emperor got off to a potent start around the world where its release was strategically timed so the effects-driven actioner would hit the marketplace just a week ahead of the start of the Olympics in Beijing. Overseas, the film grossed $59.5M from 28 territories putting the global cume at a potent $100M. Universal is expecting to reach the vicinity of $375-400M in worldwide grosses. The previous two installments each collected $410-420M globally.

Boxoffice Guru : Dark Knight Still Tops and Crushes $300M Mark

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND More records were smashed into bits by the unstoppable megahit The Dark Knight which remained at number one by a comfortable margin for the second straight time. Moviegoers had mixed feelings for the two new releases with the Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers scoring a solid second place bow while the sci-fi sequel The X-Files: I Want to Believe underperformed barely reaching double-digit millions.

Audiences once again filled theaters all weekend for the superhero blockbuster The Dark Knight which grossed $75.2M, according to final studio figures, dropping a reasonable 53% from its record-breaking opening. With the cume soaring to an eye-popping $313.8M after only ten days, the Warner Bros. release shattered the $300M mark in record time. The old record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which banked $258.4M of loot over its first ten days and crossed the triple-century mark in 16 days.

The new Batman film also set a new record for the largest second weekend gross outdistancing the $72.2M that Shrek 2 hauled in back in May 2004. Knight has now virtually matched the $314.9M collected by Iron Man over the last three months and will become the year's highest grossing blockbuster on Monday. On the all-time list, the new Joker saga has quickly climbed up to number 23 sitting right behind 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Dark Knight's hold was impressive considering how much business it already absorbed on the first weekend. Looking at the largest opening weekends in movie history, second weekend drops were 62% for Spider-Man 3, 54% for Dead Man's Chest, and 56% for Shrek the Third. Word-of-mouth has been strong for the Christopher Nolan-directed sequel and the Imax showings continue to be a major event creating even more excitement and repeat business.

Given its sturdy hold, Knight now looks to be on a trajectory that will see it zoom past the $400M mark by the end of its third week of release. With most of the summer's tentpole titles already played out, and a full month before students go back to school, the Caped Crusader now has a realistic shot of breaking through the $500M mark domestically joining only Titanic in that exclusive stratosphere.

Overseas, The Dark Knight was a dominant force grossing an estimated $65.6M and ranking number one in 43 markets. The opening in the United Kingdom which followed last week's glitzy London premiere led the way with $22.3M, including previews, while holdover markets dropped by an average of only 38%. The early international cume rose to $126.3M putting the global tally at a stunning $440.5M with major territories like Japan, Germany, Korea, and France still to open. A worldwide haul of more than $1 billion is certainly possible for Bruce Wayne and pals.

Sony scored a solid opening with the new comedy Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly which premiered in second place with $30.9M. It was the fourth best opening ever for Ferrell trailing Talladega Nights ($47M), Blades of Glory ($33M), and Elf ($31.1M). Brothers averaged a potent $10,000 from 3,094 locations and its R rating didn't seem to hurt its box office punch. The story of two 40-year-old slackers forced to live together after their single parents marry more than doubled the $15.1M bow of the comedian's last film Semi-Pro which also carried the R rating.

Produced for $65M, Step Brothers played to young men as expected. Studio research showed that 54% of the audience was male while 66% was under 25. Sony found a great slot on the calendar following a seemingly endless string of superhero and action movies from late June into July so moviegoers were in need of some star-driven comic relief. Plus the sibling rivalry film reached the marketplace ahead of two other R-rated comedies - Sony's own stoner flick Pineapple Express opening August 6 and Paramount's war romp Tropic Thunder launching a week later on August 13.

The ABBA musical Mamma Mia! held up remarkably well in its second weekend slipping only 36% to $17.7M for third place. The Meryl Streep-led pic has now grossed a stellar $62.6M in its first ten days and has been playing to female moviegoers at a time when so many other films in theaters are targeting guys. Mamma delivered slightly better results than last summer's Hairspray which dropped 42% in its sophomore frame to $15.9M for a $59.7M ten-day tally. A final tally of $120-125M could result for Mamma Mia!

Opening to weak results in fourth place was Fox's sci-fi sequel The X-Files: I Want to Believe with $10M from 3,185 locations for a mild $3,147 average. The disappointing debut was just a fraction of the $30.1M bow that its predecessor generated ten years ago in June 1998. Factor in higher ticket prices and the new adventure for Mulder and Scully attracted less than one-fourth of the audience of the first X-Files.

Audience erosion, direct competition from The Dark Knight, mixed reviews, and a weak marketing push all contributed to the lackluster performance. Budgeted at just $30M, the PG-13 film played evenly between males and females and saw adults 25 and older make up 70% of the crowd, according to studio research. Fox now looks to end the summer as the only major studio without a $100M hit this season.

New Line's 3D adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth enjoyed the best hold in the top ten dipping only 21% to $9.7M in its third session. The total for the Warner Bros. release is now a solid $60.5M. Will Smith followed close behind with Hancock which became the superstar's fifth career blockbuster to cross the $200M domestic mark. The Sony title grossed $8.3M, off 41%, for a cume to date of $206.5M.

The animated comedy WALL•E slipped 36% to $6.4M pushing its sum to $195.3M. After its fifth weekend, the G-rated pic is running 9% ahead of Pixar's Ratatouille from last year but 5% behind the pace for the company's 2006 summer offering Cars. The superhero flick Hellboy II: The Golden Army ranked eighth with $5.1M, down 50%, giving Universal a mediocre $66.1M to date.

Fox's intergalactic toon Space Chimps dropped 37% in its second weekend to $4.5M putting the ten-day total at just $16.2M. A final tally of $25-30M seems likely. Rounding out the top ten was the Angelina Jolie actioner Wanted with $2.7M, falling 46%, putting the assassin thriller at a robust $128.6M to date.

Boxoffice Guru : Serious B.O. Records for Dark Knight

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND The eagerly awaited new Batman film The Dark Knight broke the all-time opening weekend box office record and drove the overall North American marketplace to the largest frame in history with moviegoers dumping over $250M into theater cash registers over three days. The new musical Mamma Mia! managed to connect with its non-superhero fan base and posted a strong opening of its own in Knight's shadow while the animated comedy Space Chimps debuted to mild numbers. After back-to-back weekends when ticket sales were softer than last year's, the box office soared to heights never before seen.

Records fell this weekend thanks to sky high demand to see the latest Caped Crusader vehicle The Dark Knight which hauled in a jaw-dropping $155.3M over the Friday-to-Sunday period to set a new industry benchmark. Averaging a stunning $35,579 from 4,366 theaters, the PG-13 comic book flick edged past the previous opening weekend record of $151.1M held by another superhero sequel Spider-Man 3 from the first weekend of May last year. The Peter Parker pic even had more total screens with roughly 10,000 which was about 800 more than Knight's tally. Batman's gross included $18.5M from Thursday night shows between midnight and 3am which also set a record beating the $16.9M of 2005's Star Wars Episode III. Critics piled on praise for the $180M-budgeted Dark Knight which scored some of the best reviews of the year.

The new Batman film reunited director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale who successfully rebooted the franchise with 2005's Batman Begins after the series was left for dead after 1997's disastrous Batman & Robin starring George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Begins opened on a Wednesday in mid-June with $48.7M over three days and $72.9M over its five-day opening period leading to a solid $205.3M domestic final. The Dark Knight will surpass that mark in under a week's time. Veteran character actors Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman also returned while Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Heath Ledger joined the cast. Ledger's acclaimed performance as The Joker became a magnet attracting millions of comic and action fans and his accidental death in January only heightened the curiosity factor making the must-see film of 2008.

The Dark Knight blew open the bank vault door on Friday and made off with an eye-popping $67.9M (including Thursday night midnight sales) smashing the records for best opening day and best single day gross ever. Both of those marks were held by Spider-Man 3 with $59.8M. Sales fell sharply on Saturday by 29% to $48M, still an amazing haul, and Warner Bros. is estimating that Sunday's gross will slip by only 18% and come in at $39.5M. Knight's Saturday and Sunday tallies were the second best ever. The Spidey threequel can still claim those records with $51.3M and $39.9M, respectively. Rival studios on Sunday projected a three-day tally between $151-153M. Final numbers will be released on Monday.

Also adding excitement to the film's release was the fact that Dark Knight was the first regular movie to use IMAX cameras during filming. Six action sequences were shot with the heavy-duty equipment allowing those who see the film in IMAX theaters a greater entertainment experience. This helped Knight set a new record for biggest IMAX opening with $6.2M from 94 venues this weekend for a scorching $66,000 average. Ticket prices are also higher for the large screen format.

After just three days of release, The Dark Knight is already the sixth biggest blockbuster of the summer and is virtually guaranteed to swipe the 2008 box office crown away from Iron Man in the coming weeks. With all students out of school in July, midweek grosses will be much stronger than in early May when the metal man and the last webslinger pic debuted.

This weekend's achievement was nothing new for the Caped Crusader. In fact, Dark Knight is the fourth Batman film to break the all-time opening weekend record. The first Batman did the deed in 1989 with its $42.7M bow at a time when no film had ever debuted to $30M, much less $40M, over a three-day weekend. That record stayed for three years and was broken in 1992 by Batman Returns which bowed to $47.7M. Jurassic Park would swipe the record the following summer but Batman Forever took the title back with its $52.8M launch in 1995. All three Batman films opened in mid-June.

Warner Bros. did not opt for a global attack with The Dark Knight, but it did release the superhero pic in 20 markets this weekend and grossed an estimated $40M from 4,500 international screens led by Australia's $13.1M over five days. Many European markets open this coming weekend including Italy and the United Kingdom while Asia's top markets Japan and Korea will launch in early August.

Led by the staggering sales for the new Batman-Joker feud, the overall box office soared to more than $255M in ticket sales making it the best weekend in movie history. The previous high was $218.4M over the July 7-9, 2006 frame when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest bowed to a then-record $135.6M. Studios are hoping that the roughly 36 million moviegoers who saw trailers and posters at multiplexes this weekend will keep coming back in the weeks ahead for more summer films.

Box Office Guru : 5 1/2 Days Hancock $107.3 M

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Will Smith took home yet another gold medal at the box office with his superhero-with-an-attitude actioner Hancock which opened at number one over the Fourth of July holiday weekend nearly doubling the gross of the frame's silver medalist. Sony's critically-panned title collected an estimated $66M over the Friday-to-Sunday period and a solid $107.3M since its launch on Tuesday night with previews beginning at 7pm. The three-day average was a strong $16,646 from 3,965 locations.

Its five-and-a-half-day tally was the fourth biggest opening for the extended Independence Day holiday frame trailing 2004's Spider-Man 2 ($180.1M in six days), last year's Transformers ($155.4M in six-and-a-half days), and 2005's War of the Worlds ($112.7M in six days). Since the holiday falls on a different day each year prompting studios to bow their films in various ways, comparisons are not always fair. But in all three cases, the extended openings accounted for 48-49% of the eventual final domestic gross.

Smith once again proved that he's Hollywood's most bankable box office draw. Hancock was the actor's eighth consecutive number one opener, eighth consecutive film to break the $100M mark, and gave the actor his seventh consecutive year of having a film reach the nine-digit mark. Co-starring Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron, Hancock offers up a new take on the superhero story with a central character that drinks, curses, and roughs up children. The PG-13 film cost a reported $150M and Smith served as producer as well as star. Reviews were overwhelmingly negative but audiences came out anyway generating sales that were far from a record, but still very healthy nonetheless. Bad buzz could make the weeks ahead rocky though.

Hancock's journey began on Tuesday night with $6.8M, Wednesday's official opening day delivered $17.4M, and Thursday added in $17.1M more. The Fourth of July holiday fell on a Friday this year and saw Hancock take in $18.8M. Saturday climbed 39% to $26.1M while Sunday was estimated to dip by 19% to $21.2M. Sony launched the tentpole pic around the world this weekend and hauled in an additional $78M overseas bringing the global opening to a stellar $185.3M over the past week.

Following its top spot debut last week, Disney/Pixar's animated hit WALL•E fell 47% to second with an estimated $33.4M giving the G-rated toon a sturdy $128.1M in ten days. It was a larger than usual decline for a Pixar pic but the Fourth of July holiday falling on a Friday contributed to the slide. The robot adventure opened 34% higher than last summer's Ratatouille which debuted at the same time, but after ten days the lead was cut in half to 17%. Both periods include the Independence Day holiday.

But thanks to strong midweek sales at a time when kids are out of school, WALL•E's ten-day cume is 10% ahead of Cars and 9% ahead of Kung Fu Panda. Both of those animated hits opened in early June. The road ahead will not be an easy one as two more PG-rated family films open this Friday - the Brendan Fraser adventure film Journey to the Center of the Earth and the Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave. At its current pace, WALL•E could find its way to $235-245M domestically.

Universal's effects-driven actioner Wanted fell a steep 60% in its second weekend to an estimated $20.6M and boosted its ten-day total to $90.8M. The $75M Angelina Jolie assassin pic should find its way to $130-140M from North America making it the second biggest R-rated film of the year after Sex and the City. Overseas, Wanted grossed an estimated $18.8M from 23 markets pushing the international total to $64.2M and the global gross to $155M so far.

Box Office Guru : Indiana Jones Rules Slow Holiday Frame

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Harrison Ford scored his first number one opening in eight years with the much-hyped adventure sequel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which dominated moviegoing over the Memorial Day holiday weekend grossing more than all other films in the marketplace combined. But despite the explosive start for the long-awaited return of Indy, the rest of the box office slumped with few strong performances from supporting players. Overall it was the slowest Memorial Day weekend in five years.

19 years after the last installment, the Indiana Jones franchise proved that it was still relevant in today's entertainment world as Crystal Skull opened to a stunning $126.9M over the four-day Friday-to-Monday holiday period, according to final studio figures. The Friday-to-Sunday portion accounted for $100.1M and since the Paramount release's Thursday launch the cume has soared to $152M in five days. Playing in 4,260 locations, the PG-13 pic averaged a sensational $23,507 over three days and $29,793 over four days.

The Friday-to-Sunday figure ranks as the tenth highest debut in box office history while the cume is the sixth best five-day start ever. The only other films to gross more in their first five days of release were Star Wars Episode III ($172.8M, Thu-Mon), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($169.5M, Fri-Tue), Spider-Man 3 ($169.4M, Fri-Tue), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($153M, Thu previews-Mon), and Spider-Man 2 ($152.4M, Wed-Sun). Not bad company. The $185M-budgeted Kingdom also enjoyed the second largest Memorial Day weekend opening ever after last year's At World's End which looted $139.8M over its official Friday-to-Monday period.

Crystal Skull marked the reunion of Ford with director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas while newcomers like Shia LaBeouf and Cate Blanchett joined the cast for this fourth escapade. Reviews were mixed but generally positive. The five-day opening began with $25M on Thursday. Friday saw a 22% increase to $30.6M, Saturday jumped another 20% to $36.5M, Sunday dipped by 10% to $33M, and Monday declined 19% to $26.8M.

The new Indiana Jones adventure also attacked multiplexes around the world and grossed a stellar $160M internationally since its first launches on Wednesday. Indy ranked number one in all 61 territories it opened in and brought its global cume to $311M in less than one week of play.

Last week's top film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian tumbled in its second weekend of release to $29.8M over four days as the Friday-to-Sunday portion collapsed by a horrific 58%. It was the worst gross in nine years for the second place film over Memorial Day weekend. In 1999, Notting Hill claimed that spot with $27.7M over four days behind chart-topper Star Wars Episode I. However, that amount would be about $38M at today's prices so the new Narnia still sold fewer tickets.

Caspian boosted its 11-day total to $97.9M and looks as if it will top out at $140-150M from North America or about half of the $291.7M that The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe grossed. This is a major stumble for Disney which has been developing Narnia as a long-term franchise meant to keep revenue flowing in for several years to come.

The year's top-grossing smash Iron Man finished its fourth weekend in third with a strong $26.1M over four days and watched its cume skyrocket to $258.3M. The three-day portion dropped by just 37%. Paramount and Marvel continued to benefit from solid word-of-mouth as the super hero flick raced up to number 40 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters surpassing I Am Legend's $256.4M. With both Iron Man and Indiana Jones rocking the holiday box office, Paramount dominated the multiplexes accounting for a whopping 72% of the entire top ten. The Robert Downey Jr. sensation is a virtual lock to join the $300M club now.

Moviegoers looking for a comedy over the long weekend found it in the Cameron Diaz-Ashton Kutcher pic What Happens in Vegas which took in $11.4M over four days. Meanwhile Speed Racer continued to crash and burn falling to $5.3M. Each film was in its third weekend. Totals stand at a robust $56.6M for the Fox hit and a miserable $37.5M for the pricey Warner Bros. entry.

Both Speed Racer and Prince Caspian were expected to add muscular numbers to the May box office but moviegoers have not been too impressed. The weaker-than-expected openings and the steep declines have led to a lack of depth in the marketplace as the Memorial Day frame usually sees strong contributions from a number of different films.

Laughing up $4.2M was the romantic comedy Made of Honor raising Sony's cume to $39.9M. Universal's pregnancy comedy Baby Mama held up well again grossing $4.2M in four days boosting the overall take to $53M.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was still remembered by audiences in its sixth frame taking in $2.3M for a $58.8M total for Universal. New Line's Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay followed with $1.2M in its fifth outing for a $36.2M sum. Rounding out the top ten was the indie hit The Visitor with $940,037 lifting the cume to $4.6M.