Home
Box Office Analysis, April 9: 'Blades' Still in Winner’s Circle
HOLLYWOOD - Campy B-style movies weren't as appealing as a frothy comedies at the North American box office this Easter weekend. The skating comedy Blades of Glory took the No. 1 spot for the second week with $23 million, while Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse, a double-feature ode to bloody exploitation flicks, tanked in fourth place with $11.5 million.
Grindhouse fell well below expectations, a blow to the film’s distributor, the Weinstein Co., who are still struggling to make a name for themselves since brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein departed their old outfit, Disney-owned Miramax. Box-office forecasters had figured Grindhouse would premiere in the ballpark of Tarantino's two Kill Bill movies and Rodriguez's Sin City, whose opening weekends ranged from $22 million to $29 million, The Associated Press reports.
"With these two filmmakers' pedigree and the overall cool factor that this film had going for it, you would have figured it would have done a lot more business," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told AP.
Meanwhile, Disney's Meet the Robinsons held on to second place in its second week of release with $17 million, followed by Ice Cube’s family-comedy sequel Are We Done Yet?, which opened in third place with $15 million. Hilary Swank’s biblical horror flick The Reaping rounded out the Top Five with $10 million.
The newcomer Firehouse Dog didn't fare well either: The canine family comedy opened in 10th place with $4 million.
The Top 12 movies grossed $112.7 million over the weekend, up 9.69 percent from last year’s draw of $102.8 million but down 3.15 percent from last weekend’s total of $116.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Century Fox’s Ice Age: The Meltdown, which stayed at No. 1 with $33.8 million for its second week of release in 3,969 theaters, averaging $8,522 per theater; Sony’s The Benchwarmers, which opened in second place with $19.6 million in 3,274 theaters, averaging $6,004 per theater; and New Line’s Take the Lead, which opened in third place with $12 million in 3,009 theaters, averaging $4,005 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Blades of Glory (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $23 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,410 (+38)
• Per-theater average: $6,745
• Cume to date: $68.3 million
No. 2: Meet the Robinsons (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $17 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,435 (+22)
• Per-theater average: $4,950
• Cume to date: $52.2 million
No. 3: Are We Done Yet? (Sony, PG)
• Gross: $15 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,877
• Per-theater average: $5,214
No. 4: Grindhouse (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $11.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,624
• Per-theater average: $4,417
No. 5: The Reaping (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $10 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,603
• Per-theater average: $3,872
No. 6: 300 (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $8.8 million (-23%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,674 (-330)
• Per-theater average: $3,300
• Cume to date: $193.8 million
No. 7: Wild Hogs (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.8 million (-21%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,825 (-375)
• Per-theater average: $2,421
• Cume to date: $145.4 million
No. 8: Shooter (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $5.8 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,353 (-453)
• Per-theater average: $2,465
• Cume to date: $36.6 million
No. 9: TMNT (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $4.9 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,811 (-309)
• Per-theater average: $1,756
• Cume to date: $46.7 million
No. 10: Firehouse Dog (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,860
• Per-theater average: $1,399
OTHER OPENINGS
The Hoax (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $1.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 235
• Per-theater average: $6,387
Black Book (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $120,476
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 9
• Per-theater average: $13,386
Photo(s) by Hollywood.com Staff- © 2007- Dimension Films- All Rights Reserved