Articles

February 13, 2014
 

WEDNESDAY BOX OFFICE: “Robocop” Shoots Blanks

 

“It’s the weather!” studios cry when they don’t have anything e;se to say, so that’s the spin being heard throughout the land upon Wednesday’s soft opening of ROBOCOP (Sony/MGM).  The reboot managed only $2.8M at 3372 theatres, not a sign of great interest.  It’s true that there were storms in much of the country, but the signs are that damage to the box office was only modest–The Lego Movie was down 30% for the day to $2.2M, but Wednesdays are usually a down day in the week and that’s just a marginally bigger decline than some films had the previous Wednesday.  People tend to make their way to see what they really want to see, even in the snow–and that’s particularly true for opening day audiences.

Of course, Robocop still has the benefit of a 4-day holiday weekend coming up (although it may not be the Valentines Day date movie of choice), so plenty of chance to make up any shortfall.



About the Author

Mitch Salem
MITCH SALEM has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry for 20 years, as a senior business affairs executive and attorney for such companies as NBC, ABC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and BermanBraun Productions, and before that, at the NY law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During all that, he has more or less constantly been going to the movies and watching TV, and writing about both since the 1980s. His film reviews also currently appear on screened.com and the-burg.com. In addition, he is co-writer of an episode of the television series "Felicity."