It’s Bombs Away at the Box Office Again

Just when you thought the summer box office was turning itself around, Hollywood drops two more stink bombs on audiences as Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy both tanked in their opening weekends. You can add those bombs to this seasons list of underachievers like Dark Shadows and The Dictator and disasters like Battleship and The Chernobyl Diaries. In fact, only The Avengers and Madagascar 3 (which won the weekend again with a strong $35 million for $120 million after only 2 weeks) can be considered big summer successes. Prometheus and Snow White which both opened well don’t look like they will gross more than their production costs and MIB3 will be saved with international grosses. So, it’s been pretty bad news all around… Heading back to this week’s releases Adam Sandler has his worst opener in ages with the dreadful That’s My Boy which took in a paltry $13 million while the delightfully fun and incredibly entertaining if rather slight rock musical Rock of Ages nabbed an underwhelming $15 million. I’m sad for Rock as I truly enjoyed the film with fantastic performances from Tom Cruise and Catherine Zeta Jones and gave it an overall “B+” grade. Maybe I’m just partial to that amazing 80′s music. We’ll see if it can hold up in the weeks ahead as musicals sometimes have good legs, but this auspicious start is not a good one…. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted P/DW $35,500,000 -41.1% 4,263 +5 $8,327 $120,451,000 $145 2
2 2 Prometheus Fox $20,200,000 -60.4% 3,442 +46 $5,869 $88,858,000 – 2
3 N Rock of Ages WB (NL) $15,060,000 – 3,470 – $4,340 $15,060,000 $75 1
4 3 Snow White and the Huntsman Uni. $13,805,000 -40.1% 3,701 -76 $3,730 $122,602,000 $170 3
5 N That’s My Boy Sony $13,000,000 – 3,030 – $4,290 $13,000,000 $70 1
6 4 MIB 3 Sony $10,000,000 -28.0% 3,135 -657 $3,190 $152,679,000 $225 4
7 5 Marvel’s The Avengers BV $8,848,000 -21.3% 2,582 -547 $3,427 $586,737,000 $220 7
8 6 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel FoxS $2,200,000 -32.7% 1,184 -114 $1,858 $35,133,000 – 7
9 10 Moonrise Kingdom Focus $2,181,000 +39.8% 178 +82 $12,253 $6,779,000 – 4
10 7 What to Expect When You’re Expecting LGF $1,330,000 -52.3% 1,216 -871 $1,094 $38,766,000 – 5

Snow White and the Huntsman breaks the Box Office Curse… Sort of…

The 2012 summer box office has been pretty dismal so far. While The Avengers is a unequivocated smash and now the 3rd highest grossing film of all time (passing The Dark Knight), the rest of May’s releases all bombed (Battleship, The Dictator, The Chernobyl Diaries) or underperformed (Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows). So, studio heads can breathe a tiny sigh of relief that Universal’s new film Snow White and the Huntsman performed ahead of projections for a good $56 million opening. The question is can the film hold on and make some money back as it will face off against Prometheus and Madagascar 3 next week. The expensive (over $170 million budget) tentpole suffered mixed audience reaction and tepid critical response, so it will be an uphill climb. That said, it was a nice start…. As for the holdovers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel continues to hang on the best only dropping 27% and now the indie has totaled a nice $25 million and $106 million worldwide. For more on all these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Snow White and the Huntsman Uni. $56,255,000 – 3,773 – $14,910 $56,255,000 $170 1
2 1 MIB 3 Sony $29,300,000 -46.3% 4,248 – $6,897 $112,300,000 $225 2
3 2 Marvel’s The Avengers BV $20,273,000 -44.7% 3,670 -248 $5,524 $552,737,000 $220 5
4 3 Battleship Uni. $4,810,000 -56.5% 3,144 -558 $1,530 $55,123,000 $209 3
5 4 The Dictator Par. $4,725,000 -49.1% 2,649 -365 $1,784 $50,835,000 $65 3
6 8 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel FoxS $4,600,000 -27.9% 1,294 +61 $3,555 $25,497,000 – 5
7 7 What to Expect When You’re Expecting LGF $4,430,000 -37.9% 2,907 -114 $1,524 $30,723,000 – 3
8 6 Dark Shadows WB $3,860,000 -48.6% 3,002 -402 $1,286 $70,834,000 $150 4
9 5 Chernobyl Diaries WB $3,045,000 -61.7% 2,433 – $1,252 $14,416,000 – 2
10 N For Greater Glory ArcEnt $1,800,000 – 757 – $2,378 $1,800,000 – 1

“Men in Black 3″ rules the Memorial Day Box Office but Still Underperforms

Well, the 2012 summer movie season is proving to be a big disappointment. After a fantastic start with the record-breaking The Avengers which has now amassed $513 million (currently sitting at 4th place on the all time money makers list for a U.S. film, not adjusted for inflation), all of the major releases have either bombed or underperformed upon their release. This weekend’s big new entry, Men in Black 3, continues that trend as it disappoints with a $70 million debut after the long 4 day holiday. Now, that is a good number, but most expectations thought it might hit $90 million, and it needs to gross a lot to cover its reported $250-300 million price tag (before marketing!)… We’ll see how the film holds up in the weeks ahead. I gave it a “B-” grade because it’s just not all that fun, interesting or inventive despite a bravura turn by Josh Brolin… The weekend’s other new film outright bombed as the horror flick The Chernobyl Diaries barely managed $ 7.9 million joining Battleship, The Dictator and What to Expect When You’re Expecting on the big bomb list…. For more on these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N MIB 3 Sony $55,000,000 – 4,248 – $12,947 $55,000,000 – 1
2 1 Marvel’s The Avengers BV $36,799,000 -33.9% 3,918 -331 $9,392 $513,484,000 $220 4
3 2 Battleship Uni. $10,902,000 -57.3% 3,702 +12 $2,945 $44,408,000 $209 2
4 3 The Dictator Par. $9,275,000 -46.8% 3,014 +6 $3,077 $41,123,000 $65 2
5 N Chernobyl Diaries WB $7,965,000 – 2,433 – $3,274 $7,965,000 – 1
6 4 Dark Shadows WB $7,460,000 -40.7% 3,404 -351 $2,192 $62,943,000 $150 3
7 5 What to Expect When You’re Expecting LGF $7,110,000 -32.6% 3,021 – $2,354 $22,131,000 – 2
8 6 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel FoxS $6,365,000 +97.0% 1,233 +879 $5,162 $16,568,000 – 4
9 7 The Hunger Games LGF $2,268,000 -23.1% 1,421 -643 $1,596 $395,277,000 $78 10
10 8 Think Like a Man SGem $1,400,000 -47.2% 786 -936 $1,781 $88,272,000 $12 6

The Box Office Drops Bombs Left and Right with Battleship and 2 More Newbies

Aside from The Avengers, this year’s summer box office has been a giant disaster. Last week, Dark Shadows opened to disappointing grosses and this week, all three new released bombed big time. Opening in second was Universal’s dreadful alien action picture Battleship which barely grabbed $ 25 million. The film which reportedly cost $209 million (before marketing and distribution costs) has made a good deal of money outside the U.S., but will end up a big liability when all is said and done. And unfortunately, that gives Taylor Kitsch two big box office bombs in a row after John Carter… Debuting in 3rd was the poorly received new comedy from Sacha Baron Cohen, The Dictator, which nabbed $17 million for a total of $24 million since Wednesday which is way under studio expectations. Looks like another money loser… Tanking in fifth was the romantic baby comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting featuring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock and more which pulled in a sad $10 million… So, with those four films all giving us the summer movie blues, it was up to The Avengers to continue to shatter records and please audiences as it grossed another $55 million for a gargantuan $457 million total and $1.18 billion worldwide. This is one for the record books. Also doing well is the delightful geriatric comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which rose to 6th place and will expand even farther next week…. For more on all these films and The Avengers records, head to Box Office Mojo here, and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Marvel’s The Avengers BV $55,057,000 -46.6% 4,249 -100 $12,958 $457,078,000 $220 3
2 N Battleship Uni. $25,300,000 – 3,690 – $6,856 $25,300,000 $209 1
3 N The Dictator Par. $17,415,000 – 3,008 – $5,790 $24,456,000 $65 1
4 2 Dark Shadows WB $12,770,000 -57.0% 3,755 – $3,401 $50,908,000 $150 2
5 N What to Expect When You’re Expecting LGF $10,500,000 – 3,021 – $3,476 $10,500,000 – 1
6 8 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel FoxS $3,250,000 +21.6% 178 – $18,258 $8,257,000 – 3
7 4 The Hunger Games LGF $3,000,000 -33.4% 2,064 -467 $1,453 $391,631,000 $78 9
8 3 Think Like a Man SGem $2,700,000 -53.6% 1,722 -330 $1,568 $85,888,000 $12 5
9 5 The Lucky One WB $1,765,000 -57.0% 2,005 -834 $880 $56,921,000 – 5
10 7 The Pirates! Band of Misfits Sony $1,450,000 -53.9% 1,840 -1,239 $788 $25,362,000 $55 4

Sacha Baron Cohen Dumps on Ryan Seacrest

Ok, yes, that is perhaps the worst title of a blog entry in the history of my blog. However, it’s pretty apt and completely hilarious. As is the clip I’m referring to…. So , let me explain…. On today’s red carpet for the Oscars, E! host Ryan Seacrest was interviewing Sacha Baron Cohen who was in character as The Dictator from his upcoming comedy of the same name. “The Dictator” was carrying what appeared to be an urn with the supposed remains of Kim Jong Il (the horrible North Korean leader) and he “accidentally” spilled them all over Seacrest. It was so uncomfortable and totally hysterical. In fact Seacrest’s outrage was the funniest part. He must surely thank his E! counterparts Giuliana Ransic and Kelly Osbourne for diffusing the situation or he might have flown into an outright hissy-fit. Anywho, enough of me trying to explain it… just watch and enjoy.
Oh and The Dictator hits theaters this summer while you can see Seacrest hosting three nights of American Idol this week and every daydaily on E!