'Friday' scares up $45.2 million
Horror pic breaks box office records
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Leading the charge was New Line’s redo of “Friday the 13th,” which grossed an estimated $45.2 million from 3,105 theaters to score the best opening ever for a horror title.
Pic’s performance continues New Line’s unprecedented winning streak, boosting Warner Bros., which now releases and markets all New Line titles.
Film’s backers also include Paramount, which partnered on the movie via its relationship with Michael Bay, whose Platinum Dunes produced the 11th film in the classic horror franchise.
“Friday the 13th” wasn’t the only player making headlines, even though it did nearly double the biz of its nearest rival.
A pair of holdovers -- “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “Taken” -- beat out newer entries to place Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, for the four-day weekend, according to Rentrak.
Also from New Line and Warners, “He’s Just Not That Into You” grossed an estimated $23.4 million from 3,175 runs; cume is $58.3 million in its first 10 days. Pic easily bested the debut of Disney femme pic “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” which placed No. 5 in grossing an estimated $17.3 million from 2,507.
Some are saying “Shopaholic,” starring Isla Fisher and based on two books by bestselling author Sophie Kinsella, is out of step with reality considering that, in these difficult economic times, its emphasis is on shopping.
The weekend’s third new release, Sony’s “The International,” placed only No. 8, grossing an estimated $10.7 million from 2,364.
Sleeper hit “Taken,” from 20th Century Fox, continued to astound in its third weekend. The Liam Neeson actioner had a three-day drop of just 8% from the previous weekend; declines so small are unheard of except for family films. “Taken” grossed an estimated $22.2 million from 3,109 runs for the four-day weekend, putting its cume at $80.9 million.
Focus Features’ 3-D kiddie pic “Coraline” dipped only 9% to an estimated $20.1 million from 2,320, placing No. 4 for the weekend; cume is $40.4 million. The film, benefiting from higher-priced 3-D tickets, is the studio specialty company’s first foray into the family market.
Among Oscar contenders, “Slumdog Millionaire” continued to thrive, grossing an estimated $8.7 million from 1,634 for a cume of $88.1 million in its 14th weekend in release.
There are myriad reasons for another boom weekend at the B.O.
Besides the long weekend, Valentine’s Day is a huge moviegoing day, and this year it fell on a Saturday, the perfect scenario. And even the most cynical studio exec is coming around to the notion that the multiplex is an affordable way to escape the grim economy.
Warners prexy of domestic distribution Fellman said “Friday the 13th” was “perfectly positioned,” as well as cleverly marketed.
Horror pics tend to draw decidedly younger moviegoers, but 59% of those turning out for “Friday the 13th” were over age 25 -- part of the generation that grew up on the franchise. The gender split was pretty much even at 51% male.
“Friday the 13th” also scored the best four-day opener of all time for an R-rated pic and the second-best Presidents Day gross after that of “Ghost Rider” ($52 million). The previous record-holder for best horror debut was “The Grudge” ($39.1 million).
Weekend’s perf of “Friday the 13th” and “He’s Just Not That Into You” mark the first time in New Line’s history that its films have come in Nos. 1 and 2 in the same weekend, according to Warners prexy of domestic distribution Dan Fellman. Both films were made by New Line before it was shuttered last year as a standalone studio and made a label within Warners.
For Fox, “Taken” is proving to be a sizable winner, having crossed over beyond its core older demo.
Fox Senior VP of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said the film is playing well across all markets. As an example, he noted that two of the top performing theaters over the weekend were in New York City--and Oklahoma City.
Sony saw only so-so results for “The Pink Panther 2,” which fell to No. 7 in its second weekend, declining 27% to an estimated $10.8 million from 3,245 runs for a cume of $24.1 million. By comparison, the first Steve Martin-topped “Pink Panther” finished its second weekend with a cume of $49.7 million.
Still, Sony had reason to celebrate as runaway hit “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” jumped the $100 million mark in its fifth weekend. The Kevin James comedy grossed an estimated $13.9 million from 2,965 in its fifth sesh for a cume of $112.7 million.
