'Meatballs' takes bite out of box office
Sony toon wins weekend with $30.1 million
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"Meatballs" provided the only healthy numbers at multiplexes. The whimsical tale of pancakes and burgers falling from the sky took in nearly three times the B.O. of its closest competitor, as Warner Bros.' opening of quirky Matt Damon comedy "The Informant" launched with a modest $10.5 million at 2,505.
Lionsgate's second frame of "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself" followed closely with $10.1 million at 2,255, with the Tyler Perry comedy-drama sliding 57%.
Universal's debut of Jennifer Aniston romancer "Love Happens" turned in middling numbers, with $8.5 million at 1,898, and Fox's launch of Megan Fox horror-comedy "Jennifer's Body" scared up an unimpressive $6.8 million at 2,702.
"Meatballs" posted the best opening weekend ever for a Sony Pictures Animation feature, eclipsing the $23.6 million launch for "Open Season" in the fall of 2006. It's the first project to emerge from Sony's animated arm since "Surf's Up" underperformed in 2007 with a $58 million cume; it's also the debut title from the team of Sony Pictures Digital Production chief Bob Osher and animation prexy Hannah Minghella.
"Meatballs" benefited as well over half its playdates -- a record 1,828 -- were 3D locations, where ticket prices are higher. Imax locations generated a tasty $2.5 million at 127.
The "Meatballs" launch was the largest in five frames, since TWC's "Inglourious Basterds" opened with $38 million on Aug. 21-23.
Sony distribution topper Rory Bruer noted that "Meatballs" -- a goofy take on the well-known children's book -- debuted above internal forecasts and predicted a leggy run. "We had an amazing trailer that people embraced, and the movie delivered the goods," he added.
"Meatballs," which carries a pricetag of $90 million, drew an audience comprised of 79% parents and children. Friday's take totaled $8.1 million, followed by $13.2 million Saturday and $8.8 million on Sunday. It will face competition in two weeks when Disney re-releases 3-D versions of two "Toy Story" pics.
"Meatballs" also launched moderately in foreign markets with $6 million at 1,238 in 15 territories, led by $2.8 million in the U.K. and $2.3 million in Mexico -- although the toon failed to catch on in Japan, with only $300,000 at 179.
"Meatballs" outdrew the combined total of the three other launches ("The Informant," "Love Happens" "Jennifer's Body") as each studio noted that the titles are relatively low-risk projects.
"The Informant," directed by Steven Soderbergh, performed in line with Warner's forecasts. Distrib chief Dan Fellman noted that positive reviews helped the tale of a corporate whistleblower in big-city markets such as Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., while biz was less than stellar in less urban areas of the South and Midwest.
Fellman said 60% of the audience was drawn by Damon and predicted that "The Informant," with a $22 million budget, will be profitable for Warners.
U distribution prexy Nikki Rocco noted that "Love Happens" matched internal expectations as the Aniston vehicle drew 78% femme audiences, with 71% over 30. She noted that "Love" represented a modest risk at $18 million, with Relativity shouldering half the budget.
Fox's Chris Aronson said that "Jennifer's Body" faced a challenge with its R rating given that 70% of its audience was under 25. He added that "Body," with a $16 million budget, will ultimately be profitable.
Holdover biz wasn't particularly impressive for last weekend's openers -- "I Can Do Bad" followed the pattern of Perry pics by fading 57%, bringing the 10-day cume to $37.9 million; "9" fell 49% to $5.5 million at 2,060; "Sorority Row" declined 51% to $2.5 million at 2,591; and "Whiteout" fell 58% to finish out of the top 10 with $2.1 million.
TWC's fifth frame of "Inglourious Basterds" and Fox's third sesh of "All About Steve" managed the best holds, with "Basterds" off 41% to $3.6 million at 2,519 to lift its domestic cume to $109.9 million -- eclipsing "Pulp Fiction" as the top Tarantino title. "Steve" declined 40% to $3.4 million at 2,159 for a domestic cume of $26.7 million.
Jane Campion's awards contender "Bright Star" highlighted arthouse biz with $190,343 at 19 in the first launch from Apparition, the distribution specialist operated by Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad. Berney pointed to a 60% hike in Saturday biz and noted "Star" will add 105 venues next weekend.
"The word of mouth is very good," Berney added.
Freestyle's fifth weekend of "My One and Only" grossed $298,760 at 202 for a $1.56 million cume, and Sony Pictures Classics' sixth frame of rock guitar docu "It Might Get Loud" generated $118,754 at 63 for a $961,582 total.
On the foreign front, biz also remained moderate as Disney's "Up" led the way with $13.7 million at 2,718 in 23 markets, topped by a $5.1 million German launch. "Up" has an international total of $196.7 million, with Italy, the U.K. and Japan still to open.
"Inglourious Basterds" continued to perform well outside the U.S. with $11.2 million at 2,900 in 40 territories -- including a $4 million Spanish launch and $260,000 in Israel, where Tarantino attended the premiere. "Basterds" has cumed $115.7 million overseas, eclipsing "Kill Bill Vol. 1" at $111.4 million as the top Tarantino foreign grosser.
Sony's "The Ugly Truth" took in $9.4 million at 2,300 in 41 markets, led by a $3 million Russian launch, to boost its international take to $44.9 million. Warner Bros.' "The Final Destination" followed with $9.2 million at 2,300 in 35 territories for a $70.4 million foreign cume.
And Fox's "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" padded its foreign gross with another $4.7 million at 2,000 in 28 markets, mostly with $3.4 million from its fourth Italian frame. The toon has cumed an astounding $677.2 million outside the U.S.
