Box Office Report Feb 18th 2008

Dude here again. I apologize for another truncated box office report, but I just moved all my stuff into a new apartment that's being difficult with the internet service. Thank goodness for the fine folks at the Coral Cafe, who provide amazing food at good prices, and whether they realize it or not, free wifi.

This weekend, four new movies opened up, on a Thursday, for some weird reason. And that knocks Rambo out of the top ten. Which is not cool. Seriously. Think about what you've done. 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, or maybe Tuesday because of a holiday. Just to prove me wrong).

• 1. Jumper (Fox) - $27.2, 3428 screens, week 1, $33.8 tota
• 2. Step Up 2 The Streets (BV)- $19.6, 2470 screens, week 1, $26.2 total
• 3. The Spiderwick Chronicles (Par) - $19.0, 3847 screens, week 1, $21.3 total
• 4. Fool's Gold (WB) - $13.0, 3125 screens, week 2, $42.0 total
• 5. Definitely, Maybe (Uni) - $9.6, 2204 screens, week 1, $12.8 total
• 6. Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Uni) - $8.8, 2387 screens, week 2, $29.1 total
• 7. Juno (FoxS) - $4.6, 1865 screens, week 11, $124.0 total
• 8. The Bucket List (WB) - $4.1, 2307 screens, week 8, $81.0 total
• 9. Hannah Montana... Concert Tour (BV)- $3.2, 685 screens, week 3, $58.4 total
• 10. 27 Dresses (Fox) - $3.1, 1936 screens, week 5, $69.9 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? It means Anakin Skywalker can open a movie without being Anakin Skywalker, even if Mace Windu is spending the movie kicking his ass. (Man, I love Star Wars). It also means that something called Step Up 2 The Streets can sell a lot of tickets, when what the public truly wants, neigh, NEEDS, is You Got Served... Again!

Spiderwick Chronicles opened up to decent numbers, and might prove to be profitable in the upcoming weeks, but I think fantasy films, specifically those based on children's fantasy novels, are fading from popular opinion, regardless of the quality. (Spiderwick seems to be the best reviewed of this week's flicks.) And Definitely, Maybe kinda, sorta, didn't do all that great, no doubt inspiring countless writers far more talented than me to come up with a pun on the title far below their talent that's still far more decent than my "Kinda, sorta" quip. (It's been a long week, kids, bear with me).

Below the top ten, George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead took in $225,000 on 42 screens. I'd like to point out my happiness (For the Hitchhiker's Guide significance) at the number of screens being 42.

And in the "Because It's There" series: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a movie that made me weep worse than a 9 year old, second-place beauty pageant contestant, took in $354,000 on 181 screens, bringing it's grand total to $4,843,000 in 12 weeks.

There you have my break down. Next week, more movies open. My pancakes are here, so I'm gonna go knock these out. Then drink heavily. So my new neighbors will know what they're getting themselves into. Until next weekend....