Box office will be down signifigantly from last years' October record....
The remake of Footloose tops the box office, as expected, with an estimated $5.57 million. That was down from all three Step-Up movies, and was slightly under analysts' expectations. Audiences and critics though enjoyed it, giving it an "A" CinemaScore grade, which could help its' overall weekend multiplier. I'm going to say that it will earn $16 million for the weekend.
That should narrowly edge Real Steel, which drops 46% from last Friday to an estimated $4.5 million, for a $40 million tally in eight days, and is looking for a $14.5 million weekend.
Debuting in third place, horror remake/prequel The Thing debuted with a modest estimated $3.2 million, which was short of Fright Night, but ahead of Dream House and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. It recieved mediocre critical reception and a distressing "B-" CinemaScore grade, though that didn't seem to affect Dream House. Thing should end up scaring about $9.5 million by the end of the weekend, which is average for a horror film this year.
The other new release, The Big Year, floundered with just an estimated $1.1 million and slotting in eighth place. It recieved mixed critical reception and a "B-" CinemaScore grade, and will be lucky to remain in the eighth slot as its' weekend may fall short of $3.5 million.
Among other holdovers, The Ides of March held well with a 37% drop to an estimated $2.3 million, and looks to reach about $7 million for the weekend. It is followed by fourth-weekend holdovers Moneyball and Dolphin Tale, who tied for fifth place with estimates of $1.7 million each. Both eased around 33% each from the past Fridays and will finish with $6.5 million and $5.5 million weekends. Out of all the holdovers, Courageous held the best, easing 23% to an estimated $1 million in ninth place, in what looks to be close to a $4 million third-weekend.
Here is the projected Top 10 (updated):
#1: Footloose ($15.8 million)
#2: Real Steel ($14.6 million, -47%)
#3: The Thing ($9.4 million)
#4: The Ides of March ($6.8 million, -33%)
#5: Dolphin Tale ($6.5 million, -29%)
#6: Moneyball ($5.3 million, -30%)
#7: 50/50 ($4 million, -29%)
#8: Courageous ($3.7 million, -25%)
#9: The Big Year ($3.4 million)
#10: The Lion King (3-D) ($3 million, -35%)
