When actuals were reported, Real Steel once again matched its' projected estimate with $16.3 million, a drop of 40% from its' opening, which is actually a solid hold for a big-budget action pic. With $51.7 million in 10 days, it still is out-grossing other boxing films through the same point. With over $100 million worldwide so far (its' topped the foreign box office for two weeks straight), it looks like the Hugh Jackman flick will be mildly profitable for DreamWorks/Disney. The real question is that will it reach the $100 million mark domestically? The question will be answered within the next couple of weeks.
Originally projected to pick up $16.1 million for the weekend, the remake of Footloose actually earned $15.6 million, for a per-theater average of a so-so $4,383 from around 4,400 screens at 3,549 theaters. That was just short of last years' Step Up 3-D ($15.8 million), though with better attendance due to the other film benefiting from 3-D grosses, and was also in line with expectations. Critical reception has been generally positive and audiences gave it a strong "A" CinemaScore, which indicates good legs to follow. Distributor Paramount Pictures/MTV Films produced the film for $24 million, a number that it will easily go past.
I guess audiences are getting tired of horror films. Distributor Universal Pictures scored a second-straight disappointment with the remake/prequel The Thing, which earned $8.5 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a dismal $2,835 from around 3,300 screens at 2,996 theaters. The debut was on par with Dream House, Fright Night, and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, and was unable to break past the average range for horror films this year (the only exceptions were Insidious, Scream 4, and Final Destination 5, which earned $54 million, $38 million and $43 million). Reviews were generally negative and audiences gave it a "B-" CinemaScore grade, though that didn't seem to affect Dream House which saw good holds over its' next two weekends (it came in 11th place this weekend). Without a doubt though, Thing will plummet next weekend with the highly-anticipated arrival of Paranormal Activity 3. Universal produced the flick for $38 million.
After its' okay debut last week, George Clooney's The Ides of March held well due to no competition, sliding to fourth place and easing 32% to $7.1 million, for a $21.8 million tally in 10 days. No other films for families kept Dolphin Tale going in its' fourth weekend, easing 32% to $6.2 million and dropping to fifth place, for a $58.6 million tally in 24 days. Its' about to pass the final tally of Secretariat. Moneyball continued to hold together even with the World Series coming up, as the Brad Pitt film eased just 27% to $5.5 million, slotting in sixth place and increasing its' tally to $57.7 million through its' fourth frame.
Holding the best out of all the nationwide releases, 50/50 slid to seventh place but dropped just 25% from last frame to $4.3 million for a $24.3 million tally in 17 days. Positive word-of-mouth should guide the cancer dramedy to a solid finish between $30-$35 million, or four times its' $8 million budget. Courageous finally began to see the sustainability that its' overwhelmingly positive audience reception would call for, as it eased 32% to $3.3 million, for a $21.3 million tally in 17 days, and is still tracking ahead of Fireproof, which had $17 million through the same amount of time. The Christian drama should also be able to reach the $30-$35 million range if enthusiastic word-of-mouth continues.
Meanwhile, the other new release was a bomb, even the popular trio of Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson were unable to make The Big Year a choice for audiences. The PG-rated mid-life drama opened in ninth place with just $3.3 million (it fell $53,000 short of Courageous), for a per-theater average of a pathetic $1,513 from 2,150 theaters. That marked career lows for all three actors, and even though it was family-adjacent, that audience was busy with Dolphin Tale and Real Steel, and the somewhat-boring concept of birdwatching further kept the actors' fanbases away. Critical reception was mixed and audiences gave it a "B-" CinemaScore, indicating that it will fade away fast. It was produced for $41 million by distributor 20th Century Fox, who is having their third bomb in a row after Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie and What's Your Number?.
The Lion King's 3-D re-release rounds out the Top 10 in its' fifth weekend, easing 39% to $2.8 million and bringing its' tally to $90.5 million in one month of release. Its' lifetime tally has climbed to $419 million domestically and $913 million worldwide, and is $4 million away from passing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for becoming Disney's biggest-grossing film ever domestically as well as eighth place on the all-time chart, and is $6 million away from passing Shrek 2 to become the second highest-grossing animated film worldwide and 19th place on the all-time worldwide chart.
Overall box office was down a staggering 38% from last year when stunt comedy threequel Jack*** 3-D topped the box office with an October and Fall record of a highly-unexpected $50.4 million, but would crash to a $117 million finish domestically. Meanwhile, ensemble action comedy Red had a solid debut in second with $21.8 million. It would see strong legs throughout the next several weeks as it would go on to gross $90 million domestically. Holdovers The Social Network, Secretariat, and Life as We Know It rounded out the Top 5, each holding well with drops of 33%, 27%, and 38% to $10.3 million, $9.3 million, and $9 million. Box office was also down 42% from this same time in 2009 also.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Final Numbers Projected Estimate My Prediction
1 Real Steel $16,291,655 $16,300,000 $14,500,000
2 Footloose (2011) $15,556,113 $16,100,000 $17,000,000
3 The Thing (2011) $8,493,665 $8,700,000 $12,100,000
4 The Ides of March $7,108,846 $7,500,000 $6,900,000
5 Dolphin Tale $6,233,185 $6,300,000 $6,500,000
6 Moneyball $5,456,730 $5,500,000 $5,100,000
7 50/50 $4,260,087 $4,300,000 $3,800,000
8 Courageous $3,305,238 $3,400,000 $3,200,000
9 The Big Year $3,251,884 $3,300,000 $9,000,000
10 The Lion King (3-D) $2,792,403 $2,708,000 $3,000,000
