As expected, New Year's Eve wound up on top, but was unable to even come close to ranking with its' predecessor Valentine's Day. The film grossed just $13 million on its' opening weekend, for a per-theater average of a mild $3,714 from around 4,800 screens at 3,505 theaters. That was less than one-fourth of Valentine's huge $56 million 3-day start ($72 million 4-day), and roughly half of what analysts were expecting. Because it didn't open on its' holiday weekend like Valentine's did, it was expected that the film would do much less business than its' predecessor. But its' predecessor was met with mixed audience response, which caused it to lose its' audience within two months of release. Based on no good will spread from its' predecessor, and being savaged by critics (6% on Rotten Tomatoes), it caused even worse results, though audience reception was more positive (B+ CinemaScore grade). Produced for $56 million by distributor Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line, the film will have to see strong legs to reach that number, a feat that isn't entirely impossible as it will likely see a bump over New Year's weekend itself. But, one things' for sure, looks like director Garry Marshall has reached the end of his holiday date movie franchise.
The other new release fared a bit better than New Year's. The Sitter, Jonah Hill's R-rated twist on Adventures in Babysitting, earned second place and $9.9 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a mixed $3,636 from around 3,500 screens at 2,750 theaters. That was the second lowest-grossing R-rated effort this year, only ahead of the bomb What's Your Number? ($5.2 million opening, $13 million finish), and the fourth-straight misfire for distributor 20th Century Fox. As a test for Hill, who had some success in Get Him To The Greek and DreamWorks Animation films, Sitter struggled as a result of not being released in the summer, when the R-rated comedies were on a high wave. The good news is that Sitter was only produced for $25 million, a number it may reach and pass if the typical Christmas and New Year's bump is kind to it, but critical (23% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience reception (C+ CinemaScore grade) were generally negative.
After being on top for three weekends, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I slides to third and drops 53% to $7.8 million on its' fourth frame, for a $259.4 million tally in 24 days. Its' slowly gaining ground on its' two predecessors, trailing by just under $8 million to New Moon. But Breaking Dawn is going to have to see much stronger holds over the next couple weeks to even come close to those films' numbers.
Meanwhile, The Muppets slid to fourth place and is a bit closer to Twilight this time, but still drops 37% to $7 million, for a $65.7 million tally in 19 days. Unfortunately for Disney's revival, its' going to have to face against Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked next weekend, and while it will certainly see a bump over Christmas break, its' chances at $100 million domestically are just about gone. Instead, it might have to settle for a finish between $80 and $85 million, which won't be enough to guarantee a sequel.
Christmas movies always tend to see strong holds, and Arthur Christmas was no different. The 3-D animated holiday film eased just 12% to fifth place from last weekend to $6.5 million, for a modest $33.4 million tally in 19 days. Unlike Muppets, Arthur will see a similar hold next frame as the holiday theme will still keep it going for the next two weeks. If it gets a nice bump over Christmas break, then Arthur could make its' way to a $50-$60 million finish.
Martin Scorcese's Hugo expanded to over 2,600 theaters and eased a light 20% to sixth place after coming in third last week, grossing $6 million for a $33.4 million tally in 19 days. The film has strong buzz as the Golden Globe nominations will be announced on Thursday, and that should result in it continuing to play until New Year's. Also expanding further into nearly 900 theaters, George Clooney's The Descendants nearly replicated last weekend's gross, holding onto the seventh spot and easing a Top 10 best 9% to $4.4 million, for a $23.6 million tally in 24 days and also has strong awards season potential.
Happy Feet Two continued to struggle, though it leveled off decently with a 38% ease to eighth place and $3.7 million in its' fourth frame, for a $56.8 million tally in 24 days. Its' also grossed over $50 million overseas and might turn a small profit worldwide. Adam Sandler's Jack & Jill spent a fifth weekend in the Top 10, and also held well with a 42% ease to $3.1 million and ninth place, as the family comedy has grossed $68.5 million in one month of release. A Christmas break boost should get it to finish close to its' $80 million budget. Its' fellow release Immortals rounded out the Top 10 with a 45% ease to $2.5 million, for a $79.9 million tally in the same amount of time. The Greek war epic surpassed Limitless on Sunday to become distributor Relativity Media's highest-grossing movie yet.
Overall box office was down a sharp 22% from last year when fantasy threequel The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader struggled to get even close to its' two predecessors, with a $24 million opening. Word-of-mouth however would guide it to close to $105 million domestically (similar to 2009's The Princess and the Frog), and became a worldwide phenomenon, with over $400 million internationally. And it didn't get much better from there with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie's expensive action flick The Tourist debuting in second with a mild $16.5 million. But, on the bright side, it would also see good legs, finishing with nearly $70 million domestically and nearly $280 million worldwide. Tangled slid to third place, easing just 34% to $14.3 million, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I dropped another 50% to $8.5 million in fourth. Unstoppable rounded out the Top 5 in its' fifth weekend with a 38% ease to $3.7 million.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Final Numbers Projected Estimates My Prediction
1 New Year's Eve $13,019,080 $13,705,000 $28,100,000
2 The Sitter $9,851,435 $10,000,000 $15,200,000
3 The Twilight Saga: $7,819,402 $7,900,000 $6,800,000
Breaking Dawn Part I
4 The Muppets $6,978,870 $7,073,000 $8,000,000
5 Arthur Christmas $6,510,486 $6,600,000 $5,700,000
6 Hugo $6,050,309 $6,125,000 $5,100,000
7 The Descendants $4,380,138 $4,385,000 $3,500,000
8 Happy Feet Two $3,690,304 $3,750,000 $3,900,000
9 Jack & Jill $3,085,098 $3,200,000 $3,000,000
10 Immortals $2,461,227 $2,442,000 $2,500,000
