Box Office Report Week of December 18th

Dude here again. Coming at you from the frozen tundra of New Jersey, far, far away from palm trees and pina coladas and all the other nifty things that Hollywood has to offer. Although the number of transsexual hookers in front of my apartment is significantly reduced. And that’s a good thing. Or is it?

This week, a big monkey took the top of the Empire State Building, as well as the top of the box office. And the top of my heart. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. Numbers could change on Monday).

1.  King Kong (Uni) - $50.148, 3568 screens, week 1, $66.2 total (Wed. opening)
2. The Chronicles of Narnia (BV) - $31.184, 3680 screens, week 2, $112.5 total
3. The Family Stone (Fox) - $12.7, 2466 screens, week 1, $12.7 total
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (WB) - $5.9, 3185 screens, week 5, $252.55 total
5. Syriana (WB)- $5.465, 1775 screens, week 4, $22.3 total
6. Walk the Line (Fox) - $3.6, 2664 screens, week 5, $82.5 total
7. Yours Mine and Ours (PAR) - $3.4, 2723 screens, week 4, $45.1 total
8. Brokeback Mountain (Focus)- $2.359, 69 screens, week 2, $3.3 total
9. Just Friends (NL) - $1.95, 1882 screens, week 4, $29.4 total
10. Aeon Flux (PAR) - $1.675, 2058 screens, week 3, $23.1 total

Ok, those are the numbers, so what does this all mean? Well, if you're Kong, there might be a small tinge of disappointment. Scoring significantly less than the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films (all of which opened at this time in the previous years, and has just about the same running length), Kong still opened big. But less than most people may have predicted. A lot is being placed on the running time, and the limited showings theaters can run. But that’s a little strange, again, when you consider that the Lord of the Rings ran about the same time. Granted, those films had a built in audience, while Kong (although big amongst many) didn’t have that fan base come out. Very strange, but it will still continue to perform well, hopefully, due to great word of mouth.

If you're The Family Stone, you gotta be happy. Opening against something as big as Kong is pretty gutsy, and to perform this well, again bolstered by good reviews and a solid cast, is a mighty feat. I know it’s getting my money based solely on my future wife Rachel McAdams acting in it. Hi honey. Oh right. Anyway, this should also hold strong for the next couple of weeks into the holiday season, looking for something that isn’t a huge blockbuster experience or Oscar bait. The few Golden Globe nominations it received should also pique people’s interest.

Brokeback Mountain opened up on a few more screens, and took 8th place. The heaps of awards from critics groups across the country, Golden Globe nominations, and unanimous praise seem to have broken through and made this the must-see film this weekend. (The per screen average was $34,188, compared to Kong’s $14,054). Expansion will see if people in more conservative areas will buy tickets, or if this is limited to more “liberal” audiences. (I’m not being condescending, I’m merely pointing out what others have noted, and passing it off in my own words).

The holdovers all dropped, as to be expected. Narnia, taking 2nd, dropped almost half of it’s audience, mostly losing audiences to Kong. Still it crossed the $100 million mark this weekend, which is nothing to be shy about. The rest of the films though barely grossed more than $5 million at best. People are losing interest, or waiting for home video. It’s the way things are going, I suppose. Of course, based on what I’ve heard, I don’t see too many people paying to see Aeon Flux, but that’s not important.

Below the radar, The Producers opened in limited release on 6 screens, and made $156,000. Not bad, and this will probably increase as it expands. (Even though in this critic’s opinion the movie is a horrible waste of time and celluloid). I’m sure that audiences will enjoy it. I so didn’t. Speaking of movies I didn’t care for in limited release, Memoirs of a Geisha in its second week of release, expanded to 52 screens and took in $1.235 million. Impressive for limited release, but critics are still not warming up to it. The lack of nominations from critics and Globes also must sting. Not that I’m enjoying the failure of movies I didn’t like.

Well, maybe just a little.

And in the "just because it's there and because I can" series: Shopgirl has taken in $78,000 this weekend, bringing its total to $9,951,000 in 9 weeks.

There you have my wonderful break down. Next week, we get a whole slew of new movies opening on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (X-mas Day). It’s fun to watch these movies open, because there’s always one that is hyped beyond all belief that winds up failing miserably. Bets anybody?

Until next weekend....