Disney's 3-D re-release of The Lion King proved to be the top choice for audiences again, and without much competition, it eases just 27% to $21.9 million, for a strong $61.5 million tally in just 10 days. Even with the Blu-ray release just over a week away, I wouldn't be surprised if Lion King's reboot in theaters ended its' run with $100 million, as not many families have Blu-ray players. Worldwide, King's tally stands at over $840 million (including its' original run), and climbs into the Top 25 all-time overseas and 12th place on the all-time list domestically.
Brad Pitt's Moneyball opened solidly in second place, with an undeniably strong $19.5 million in its' debut weekend, for a per-theater average of a great $6,516 from around 3,500 screens at 2,993 theaters. That was the second-highest opening for a baseball film, falling just $200,000 behind The Benchwarmers (it was projected to beat it, but was overestimated). However, it was still far short of majority of Pitt's other movies, but remember, his heyday was in the mid-90's. Moneyball recieved a strong "A" CinemaScore grade and was produced for $50 million by distributor Columbia Pictures. The film looks to hold well due to no further competition over the next several weeks.
Even with Lion King to deal with, there was still room for Dolphin Tale. The inspirational drama earned an exceptionally strong $19.2 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a modest $5,461 from around 5,500 screens at 3,507 theaters (50% of business was 3-D showings). In estimates, the film came in third place, but could take second place from Moneyball when actuals are reported tomorrow. Nonetheless though, the films' start was much stronger than Secretariat and Hotel for Dogs through the same point. Produced for $37 million by distributor Warner Bros. and with no new competition for over a month, the film recieved a rare "A+" CinemaScore grade, which indicates good legs.
Taylor Lautner found little success outside the Twilight movies as Abduction landed in fourth place with $10.9 million, for a per-theater average of an okay $3,504 from around 3,400 screens at 3,118 theaters. The opening was on par with last weekend's Drive, and was a notch higher than fellow Twilight star Robert Pattinson's first movie outside of the chick flick series Remember Me, which opened to $8.1 million two years ago. It was in line with distributor Lionsgate's expectations, who produced it for $36 million. The film earned a discouraging "B-" CinemaScore grade (though girls under 18 gave it an A-), and it will be lucky to hit that mark by the time its' all said and done.
The final new nationwide release, Killer Elite, was also in line with expectations. The third true story-based film of the weekend earned a modest $9.3 million and fifth place on its debut, for a per-theater average of a mild $3,132 from 2,986 theaters. This was one of the highest openings for distributor Open Road Films (a joint venture between Regal and AMC theaters), who acquired the film for a small fee. And while the domestic gross won't cover the production budget (a hefty $66 million) and even though it was on the low end for a Jason Statham or Robert De Niro film, it will still end up profitable for the independent studio. CinemaScore audiences gave the action flick a "B" grade.
Even with more competition, Contagion still hung around with a 42% ease to $8.5 million, for a $57 million tally in 17 days. Its' about to pass the final tally of Matt Damon's last film The Adjustment Bureau and looks to finish at around $75 million. With its' discouraging B- grade from CinemaScore audiences, Drive took a 49% hit from its' debut last week, and earned $5.8 million for an okay $21.4 million tally in 10 days. Meanwhile, The Help kept showing strong legs in its' seventh weekend with a 33% ease to $4.4 million, for a $154.4 million gross in 49 days.
Second weekend holdovers Straw Dogs and I Don't Know How She Does It round out the Top 10, but neither held well. The hillbilly horror remake crashed 60% to $2.1 million, for a pathetic $8.8 million tally in 10 days. The Sarah Jessica Parker book adaption retreated 55% to $2 million, for a forgettable $8 million pick-up in the same amount of time.
Overall business was up 16% from the same time last year when long-awaited sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps took the top spot with a modest $19 million. The reboot, however would go on to finish with a mild $52.5 million, but collected $134 million worldwide. Also opening was Zack Snyder's first attempt at animation, but relatively few gave a hoot about Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which opened in second with $16.1 million. It would see good legs through the fall season though, finishing with a mild $55.7 million domestically and $140 million worldwide. Second-weekend holdovers The Town and Easy A followed with 35% and 40% drops to $15.6 million and $10.6 million. The other new release, Disney's comedy You Again debuted to okay results rounding out the Top 5 with $8.4 million, and would finish with $25.7 million.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Actual Number Projected Estimate My Prediction
1 The Lion King (3-D) $21,929,332 $22,130,000 $16,500,000
2 Moneyball $19,501,302 $20,600,000 $19,000,000
3 Dolphin Tale $19,152,401 $20,260,000 $15,300,000
4 Abduction $10,925,253 $11,200,000 $15,000,000
5 Killer Elite $9,352,008 $9,500,000 $10,000,000
6 Contagion $8,451,226 $8,561,000 $8,000,000
7 Drive $5,763,998 $5,651,000 $5,700,000
8 The Help $4,370,051 $4,400,000 $4,300,000
9 Straw Dogs $2,051,333 $2,082,000 $1,800,000
10 I Don't Know How She Does It $2,002,040 $2,053,000 $2,200,000
