Box Office Report Dec 10th 2007

Dude here again. You know something? The numbers are surprisingly week for this time of year. What's going on? Is there not enough filmed entertainment to delight your minds and hearts? Is there something more important than going to the movies? Name one! That's right. You can't. For shame.

This weekend, only one movie was released wide, and it did atypical given the kind of film it is and the time of year. However, a number of smaller, more award friendly films opened and did much better. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates, the actuals will be available on Monday. Just to prove me wrong).

1. The Golden Compass (NL) - $26.1, 3528 screens, week 1, $26.1 total

2. Enchanted (BV) - $10.7, 3520 screens, week 3, $83.8 total

3. This Christmas (ScrGems) - $5.0, 1879 screens, week 3, $42.7 total

4. Fred Claus (WB) - $4.6, 3185 screens, week 5, $65.5 total

5. Beowulf (Par) - $4.4, 2976 screens, week 4, $75.9 total

6. No Country For Old Men (Mira)- $4.2, 1324 screens, week 5, $28.8 total

7. August Rush (WB) - $3.5, 2310 screens, week 3, $25.1 total

8. Hitman (Fox) - $3.4, 2418 screens, week 3, $35.8 total

9. Awake (MGM/Wein) - $3.3, 2023 screens, week 2, $10.7 total

10. Bee Movie (Par/DW) - $2.6 2707 screens, week 6, $121.0 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means The Golden Compass is no Lord of the Rings. Boasting decent reviews that all seem to say the same thing ("Movie looks gorgeous, but it's all exposition and set up for sequels we'll likely never see"), The Golden Compass failed to attract a nominal fantasy audience. While $26 million is nothing to be ashamed of (especially where I come from), when your movie costs infinitely more times than that, you want to be making more money. Something is amiss, but I think the audience is fickle, and while a time tested classic like Rings can make money, these new films (no matter how good the book may be according to my old roommate) have an uphill battle ahead of them.

Below the radar, a plethora of films that cover a wide variety of topics opened in limited release, some for awards and some just because there was no other weekend to release them. Atonement, the new film from Joe "Pride and Prejudice" Wright, coincidentally also starring Keira Knightly, opened on 32 screens and took in $817,000. Very impressive, and the word of mouth can only help out more. Juno, another critical darling of the moment (I include myself in that group) took in $420,000 on 7 screens, with the highest per screen average of the weekend ($60,000 per screen!!!).

And two released that have been gathering dust on shelves for around two years finally opened up. Guy Ritchie's Revolver, a much maligned return to crime cinema starring Jason Statham with hair, took in $41,700 on 18 screens. And The Amateurs, starring Jeff "The Dude" Bridges as the leader of a group of amateur porn makers, took in $12,000 from 3 locations. I guess time did not age either of these films well.

And in the "Because It's There" series: Death At A Funeral took in $11,000 on 19 screens, bringing it's grand total to $8,543,000 in 17 weeks.

There you have my break down. Next week, Will Smith shows us how to survive as the last man on Earth. And as punishment for an as yet unknown sin, we have a live action Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Until next weekend....