Box office surged from the beginning of last year....
The Devil Inside debuted at the top spot, and blew away even the highest of expectations. The horror flick earned a huge $33.7 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a terrific $14,763 from just 2,285 theaters. It also kicked off last years' studio winner Paramount Pictures' 100th year in film business on a high note. On another high note, it broke the record for the biggest opening of an original horror film, and set the record for the highest-grossing opening for the first weekend of January. In January terms, it was the third-biggest, behind Cloverfield and the 1996 re-issue of Star Wars. However, critics (6% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences thrashed it, with reports of booing and hissing at theaters, and the average CinemaScore grade being a "D" (a lot of reports though say it was a rare "F"). Its' going to crash hard in the next few weeks (as horror flicks usually do), so $100 million won't happen.
Following being the holiday season's biggest-grossing venture, Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol tallied a strong second place showing in its' fourth weekend. Cruise's return to popularity dipped just 33% to $19.9 million, for a strong $169.6 million tally in just 24 days. If it can continue to hold well throughout the rest of the month, the film will beat the final domestic tally of Mission: Impossible II's $215 million to become the franchise's biggest-grossing movie. It also has already earned over $450 million worldwide.
Also making a nice hold after the holidays, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows slid to the third position with a 34% slide to $13.7 million, for a solid $157 million tally in 24 days. The film has made up ground with its' predecessor, as it is running about $23 million behind the originals' $180 million tally through the same point. The better news is that its' fourth weekend is ahead of the original Sherlock's $10 million fourth frame, so the gap will continue to close. With a boost over next weekends' extended frame, the sequel is looking for a finish in the $190 million range, about $20 million short of its' predecessor, but is doing wonders overseas, with already around $380 million worldwide.
Based on awards season buzz alone, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo held onto the fourth spot with the biggest hold out of the entire Top 10. Easing a slight 23% to $11.4 million, the dark thriller has earned a solid $76.9 million in 19 days. If it can get good attention from the Oscars, the film should easily go past the $100 million barrier on the domestic front.
Family films usually suffer the harshest drops after the holidays are over. This year, the drops were lower than what the family films from last year suffered. In this case, Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked slid from third to fifth with a 42% ease to $9.5 million, for a $111.6 million tally in 24 days. The threequel became the 29th 2011 film to cross the $100 million mark domestically last Wednesday, and will see a boost over the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. extended frame next weekend. But still, a $140 million finish stateside is still just over two-thirds of what the other two Chipmunk films did.
Steven Spielberg's War Horse slid one spot to sixth with a 40% ease to $8.7 million, for a $56.9 million tally in 15 days. We Bought A Zoo and Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin followed with 37% and 41% drops to $8.3 million and $6.7 million, for totals of $56.4 million in 17 days and $62 million in 19 days. All three should finish their runs in the $80-$85 million range.
Following a solid limited start, action flick Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy expanded to 809 theaters and jumped up to the ninth spot with $5.5 million, for a good $6,772 average. Even with negative reception, The Darkest Hour was unfazed by The Devil Inside and held well with a 25% drop to $3.1 million, for a $18.7 million tally in 15 days, and is looking for a finish in the $25-$30 million range, along with an additional $20 million overseas. It tied for the tenth spot with New Year's Eve, which also earned $3.1 million ($17,000 behind it), but dropped 51% due to the holiday being over. The ensemble romance comedy held a bit better than expected and has earned a modest $51.9 million in one month of release, and will likely close short of $60 million.
Overall box office was up a huge 28% from last year when True Grit lassoed the top spot in its' third frame with a 40% ease to $16.5 million. Meet The Parents Threequel retreated to second with a 48% drop to $13.5 million, while the only new release, Nicolas Cage midieval action flick Season of the Witch debuted to lackluster results in third with $10.6 million, on its' way to just under $25 million domestic. Tron: Legacy dropped 46% to fourth place with $10.1 million, and Natalie Portman's Black Swan expanded further and jumped from ninth to fifth place with just a 8% slide to $8.1 million, due to awards season buzz.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Final Gross Projected Estimates My Prediction
1 The Devil Inside $33,732,515 $34,500,000 $9,500,000
2 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol $19,868,059 $20,500,000 $16,000,000
3 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows $13,689,321 $14,055,000 $10,500,000
4 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo $11,364,714 $11,300,000 $8,700,000
5 Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked $9,496,913 $9,500,000 $9,000,000
6 War Horse $8,679,470 $8,600,000 $8,100,000
7 We Bought A Zoo $8,305,797 $8,350,000 $8,500,000
8 The Adventures of Tintin $6,727,740 $6,600,000 $6,200,000
9 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy $5,478,521 $5,780,000 ---
10 The Darkest Hour $3,124,316 $3,000,000 ---
New Year's Eve $3,107,343 $3,240,000 $2,100,000
