>Now 16 full weeks into 2012, year-to-date domestic box office is running 22% ahead of last year’s pace (down from the +25% pace last week because the Monday-Thursday business April 16-19 was particularly soft), while the year-to-date total is still fully 15% ahead of the comparable period’s average for the last several years. Updated final domestic gross estimates are available below for recent releases, with The Hunger Games now standing at an estimated $389 million in North America (another slight upward adjustment from last week).
(millions) 4yr vs vs
Week #16 $178 $135 $156 -12% +16%
Year to Date $2397 $2558 $2935
+22% +15%Studio estimates were actually unusually low this past weekend. Think Like a Man opened with $33.636 million, 1.9% above the $33.000 million studio estimate released Sunday morning (based on Friday and Saturday actual box office). Chimpanzee opened with $10.674 million, a very high 4.6% higher than the $10.205 million studio estimate. And The Hunger Games came in at $14.666 million for its fifth weekend, 1.1% above the $14.500 million studio estimate. Even The Three Stooges surged Sunday: the film came in at $9.764 million in its second weekend, a very large 6.1% ahead of its $9.200 million studio estimate. Among the top films this past weekend, only The Lucky One had the normally over-stated studio estimate. The Lucky One ended up opening with $22.518 million, 1.3% below the $22.805 million studio estimate.
Updated Estimates of Final Grosses
21 Jump Street $141 million (87 percentile)
Think Like a Man $108 million (81 percentile)
Wrath of the Titans $85 million (73 percentile)
The Lucky One $61 million (62 percentile)
American Reunion $61 million (62 percentile)
The Three Stooges $53 million (58 percentile)
The Cabin in the Woods $48 million (54 percentile)
Chimpanzee $32 million (38 percentile)
Lockout $14 million (11 percentile) Friends with Kids $7 million (3 percentile)
Weekend Predictions for April 27-29 (featuring the openings of The Five-Year Engagement, The Pirates: Band of Misfits, Safe and The Raven) should be posted late Wednesday.
About the Author
