Would be interested in reading reactions to INCEPTION. One friend of mine loved it but felt it was too long. Another felt it was interesting but cold and emotionless, much like Nolan's past work.
Sadly the drop on PREDATORS was the largest of any film this summer. Good thing the budget wasn't high.
1. What an impressive start for the Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures mind-bending scifi thriller from 3,792 theaters, with Friday's $21.6 million including $3M midnight shows in 1,600 locations. Audiences rated it an overall "B+" Cinemascore, with the under-25 crowd giving it an "A". Then again, this is Summer 2010's most anticipated film because of Chris Nolan's incredible track record for critically acclaimed big box office actioners (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) as well as smaller psychological dramas (Memento and Insomnia) films -- and Inception represents both genres. (By the way, have you seen Inception's comic book preview? This rather innovative marketing gimmick is here.) But I've rarely seen Hollywood all over the map when it came to a movie's expected 3-day weekend grosses like this time.
That's because this was an original film not easily explained in a 30-second spot. Rival studios gave me predictions ranging from a low of $40sM to a high of $60M -- and everything inbetween. Now it could get close to $55M even though, surprisingly, tracking didn’t jump quite as much from last Monday to now. Comps include Shutter Island with a bump for summer, or Batman Begins plus inflation. But no one is certain what to add for "The Nolan Factor". Yet everyone agrees that the pic will have considerable legs if audiences don't find it too dark or too hyped or -- god forbid! -- too smart. Though one reviewer complained, Nolan's visionary film has "no soul, no sex, and almost no joy".
Overseas, Warner Bros plans a 3-week roll-out for the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer with Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This weekend, 10 markets open, including the UK. From July 21st to 25th, a total 29 markets open, including France, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Australia, Russia, and the Benelux. Then, from July 28th to August 1st, another 13 markets come on line, including Germany.
2. Despicable Me 3D (Universal) Week 2 [3,501 Theaters]
Friday $10.3M (-52%), Estimated Weekend $33M, Estimated Cume $118.5M
Solid hold after last week's big Friday for this Illumination toon.
3. What a big disappointment for Disney. Sorcerer's Apprentice only made $5.4M Friday from 3,504 theaters for what should be a paltry $16.5M for the 3-day weekend. The studio even moved up its opening to Wednesday to garner extra attention but added only a 2-day cume of $7M ($3.7M Wednesday from 3,385 locations, and $3.2M Thursday). The estimated cume is $21.8M. Little wonder that Hollywood thinks this may well be the last film at Disney where megaproducer Jerry Bruckheimer just phones it in. The pic's 5-day projection kept going down, from $35M to $30M to $25M for the costly Nic Cage starrer. But I'd been following the pic's tracking, which at no point hinted at a blockbuster. At 2 1/2 weeks out, Sorcerer's Apprentice was tracking worse than Bruckheimer's U.S. underperformer Prince Of Persia did.
Though exhibitor screenings had gone well, Disney was concerned. A week later, numbers for Sorcerer's Apprentice showed gains. But then, Sorcerer's Apprentice stalled at 8% first choice, which is unusual. "You'd like to see that weekend before opening show some real growth. But the pic is not showing a heck of a lot of strength with family audiences," a source told me at the time. Then again, Prince Of Persia was a North American disappointment when it opened to $30M. But it has made 72% of its money internationally. That is the only hope for Sorcerer's Apprentice now.
4. Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Week 3) [4,001 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M, Estimated Weekend $14M, Estimated Cume $265M
5. Toy Story 3 3D (Disney) Week 5 [3,177 Theaters]
Friday $3.4M, Estimated Weekend $12M, Estimated Cume $363M
6. Grown Ups (Sony) Week 4 [3,074 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Estimated Weekend $12.2M, Estimated Cume $129.5M
7. Last Airbender 3D (Paramount) Week 3 [2,805 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Estimated Weekend $7.2M, Estimated Cume $114.5M
8. Predators (Fox) Week 2 [2,669 Theaters]
Friday $2.1M (-79%), Estimated Weekend $6.8M, Estimated Cume $40M
Huge Friday to Friday drop. Another summer disappointment for Fox.
9. Knight & Day (Fox) Week 4 [1,925 Theaters]
Friday $1.1M, Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $69M
10. Karate Kid (Sony) Week 6 [1,532 Theaters]
Friday $635K, Estimated Weekend $2.1M, Estimated Cume $169.1M
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/solid-3 ... inception/
Weekend Box Office 7/20 - INCEPTION Opens #1
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AndyDursin
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Loved it-period, end of story, and did not feel that it was joyless or cold. It just blew my mind and along with Proyas' DARK CITY, an incredible exploration of what the mind is capable of and what can be done to it.
I think Nolan is up there with Cameron, Lassiter, Bird and Tarantino as one of the few filmmakers whose work I will see without hesitation.
I think Nolan is up there with Cameron, Lassiter, Bird and Tarantino as one of the few filmmakers whose work I will see without hesitation.
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AndyDursin
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Full weekend numbers...ouch if you are, say, THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE! lol.
1 N Inception WB $60,400,000 - 3,792 - $15,928 $60,400,000 $160 1
2 1 Despicable Me Uni. $32,734,000 -42.0% 3,501 +25 $9,350 $118,365,000 $69 2
3 N The Sorcerer's Apprentice BV $17,373,000 - 3,504 - $4,958 $24,461,000 $150 1
4 2 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Sum. $13,500,000 -57.4% 4,001 -467 $3,374 $264,900,000 $68 3
5 4 Toy Story 3 BV $11,742,000 -44.1% 3,177 -576 $3,696 $362,709,000 $200 5
6 6 Grown Ups Sony $10,000,000 -36.7% 3,074 -389 $3,253 $129,254,000 $80 4
7 5 The Last Airbender Par. $7,450,000 -55.2% 2,805 -398 $2,656 $114,833,000 $150 3
8 3 Predators Fox $6,800,000 -72.5% 2,669 - $2,548 $40,084,000 $40 2
9 7 Knight & Day Fox $3,700,000 -52.1% 1,925 -703 $1,922 $69,209,000 $117 4
10 8 The Karate Kid Sony $2,200,000 -59.0% 1,532 -926 $1,436 $169,202,000 $40 6
11 10 Cyrus FoxS $1,075,000 -16.0% 446 +246 $2,410 $5,065,000 $7 5
12 15 The Kids Are All Right Focus $1,027,000 +108.8% 38 +31 $27,026 $1,776,000 $4 2
1 N Inception WB $60,400,000 - 3,792 - $15,928 $60,400,000 $160 1
2 1 Despicable Me Uni. $32,734,000 -42.0% 3,501 +25 $9,350 $118,365,000 $69 2
3 N The Sorcerer's Apprentice BV $17,373,000 - 3,504 - $4,958 $24,461,000 $150 1
4 2 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Sum. $13,500,000 -57.4% 4,001 -467 $3,374 $264,900,000 $68 3
5 4 Toy Story 3 BV $11,742,000 -44.1% 3,177 -576 $3,696 $362,709,000 $200 5
6 6 Grown Ups Sony $10,000,000 -36.7% 3,074 -389 $3,253 $129,254,000 $80 4
7 5 The Last Airbender Par. $7,450,000 -55.2% 2,805 -398 $2,656 $114,833,000 $150 3
8 3 Predators Fox $6,800,000 -72.5% 2,669 - $2,548 $40,084,000 $40 2
9 7 Knight & Day Fox $3,700,000 -52.1% 1,925 -703 $1,922 $69,209,000 $117 4
10 8 The Karate Kid Sony $2,200,000 -59.0% 1,532 -926 $1,436 $169,202,000 $40 6
11 10 Cyrus FoxS $1,075,000 -16.0% 446 +246 $2,410 $5,065,000 $7 5
12 15 The Kids Are All Right Focus $1,027,000 +108.8% 38 +31 $27,026 $1,776,000 $4 2
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AndyDursin
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haha. Someone was calling PREDATORS a disappointment -- and let's be honest, the 72.5% drop is REALLY, really bad -- but at least it didn't cost that much. And at least it did better than THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, with a budget of $150 million!mkaroly wrote:Good to see PREDATORS made back its cost...is it too much to hope that Nicholas Cage will retire from acting now that TSA has bombed???
Seriously, Nicolas Cage in a "reimagining" of the Mickey Mouse segment from FANTASIA? Whose idea was this exactly? I know Disney probably felt after NATIONAL TREASURE they could take Cage and the director and Bruckheimer and turn anything into gold, but the whole idea to me felt like a MAJOR disconnect with the audience. Who would WANT to see it??
Big time bomb of a summer for Bruckheimer too with PRINCE OF PERSIA. Disney rakes in cash on TOY STORY but they have to share some of that with Pixar (I guess?), it's been a real struggle otherwise for them.