Just a quick look at the numbers while I’m off on the other side of the Atlantic:
1. He’s Just Not That Into You: $27.8 million (NEW)
2. Taken: $20.5 million (2nd week; drops 17%)
3. Coraline: $16.8 million (NEW)
4. The Pink Panther 2: $11.6 million (NEW)
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop: $10.9 million (4th week; drops 22%)
actual numbers, not estimates
I refuse to see the enormous take of He’s Just Not That Into You as a sign I must actually see the film. Maybe when it comes to DVD…
Again with the peoples drowning their sorrows at the movies. This was a huge weekend at the box office, with business up 38 percent over this time last year. And the holdover business is amazing: Taken drops only 17 percent. Paul Blart drops only 22 percent (and will pass $100 million this week — sheesh, who knew Kevin James was so enticing?).
Outside the top 5, Push debuted at No. 6 with only $10.1 million, which is kinda pathetic (not that the movie deserves better), and Slumdog Millionaire, at No. 7, dropped only 6 percent and added another $7.1 million to its coffers — it’s now made more than $77 million in North America. All the other Oscar contenders are dropping fast, but this little-movie-that-could is hanging strong.
[numbers via Box Office Mojo]
I guess that means that people are finally getting fed up with all the talk of the financial crisis and are ready again to spent money on entertainment.
Hopefully this is the first sign of a turnaround so we can move beyond this issue and the economy starts working again.
It could just as well be the exact opposite PJK. When things are miserable and likely to get worse before they get better, simplistic, escapist entertainment usually does well. People are trying to distract themselves from the complications of reality with bland comfort food. Kevin James, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlet Johansson, and Ben Affleck to the rescue! (The Blandastic Four?)
Even in a best case scenario, we aren’t moving beyond this issue for a while. That stimulus package that has everyone’s trousers in a twist is just a drop in the bucket.
I’m kinda shocked actually. My girlfriend and I went to see Coraline (in 3D of course) on Saturday, and were met with lines out the door and around the building (this being an 18-screen megaplex, that is saying something). The show sold out before I got halfway through the line. Se we went home and bought tickets online for the next day’s matinee, which was also nearly full. So I’m kind of shocked that not only was it not first, it was third!
The only explanation is that it was not showing on enough screens. I’m willing to bet that per-screen, Coraline topped Taken and HJNTIY.
Okay, I’m doing the calculations now.
HJNTIY: $8751.33 per screen on 3175 screens.
Coraline: $7329.12 per screen on 2299 screens.
Taken: $6453.31 per screen on 3184 screens.
Damn. Well that’s depressing.
Still, it is pretty cool that Coraline is doing so well. I guess us geeky childish emo artsy losers need comfort food too in these uncertain times.