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The weekend studio projections (Friday and Saturday actual numbers plus a studio-generated estimate for Sunday’s business) are very similar to the early look at the weekend from yesterday. Hop will lead the way, with Arthur and Hanna battling out for second place (a race that could go down to the wire Monday morning with the official weekend numbers). The one change in ranking from yesterday is Insidious (down a scant 27% from last weekend) sneaking past Your Highness, a true disappointment of a film. Despite a rather lackluster weekend, there actually is some reason for optimism in the coming weeks. Details after the jump.
April 8-10, 2011 Pre-Wknd Wknd vs Showbuzz
Showbuzz Studio Last Domestic
Forecast Prjectn Wknd Ultimate
Hop (Uni) [$23.5] $21.7 -42% $117
Arthur (WB) [$15 ] $12.5 n/a $ 33
Hanna (Foc) [$ 8.5] $12.3 n/a $ 41
Soul Surfer (Tri) [$10 ] $11.1 n/a $ 33
Insidious (FilmDis) [$ 7 ] $ 9.7 -27% $ 53 ++
Your Highness (Uni) [$13.5] $ 9.5 n/a $ 25
Source Code (Sum) [$ 9 ] $ 9.1 -39% $ 56
Limitless (Rel) [$ 6 ] $ 5.7 -39% $ 81
Diary Wimpy Kid 2 (Fox) [$ 5.5] $ 4.9 -51% $ 55
Lincoln Lawyer (LG) [$ 4.5] $ 4.6 -33% $ 60
Rango (Par) [ n/a ] $ 2.3 -49% $123
Sucker Punch (WB) [ n/a ] $ 2.1 -65% $ 38
Note: The table above summarizes the weekend as of Sunday. The first column is reminder of each film’s ShowbuzzDaily Forecast (in brackets). The second column, on which the films are sorted, displays the “studio projection” for each film, based on the Friday and Saturday numbers (and a studio-supplied estimate of Sunday). The final column is a preliminary estimate of the ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Ultimate number for the film’s total run in North America. A “++” indicates the Domestic number has been upgraded; a “–” indicates a downgrade.
The Top 12 Films this weekend are looking like they will total $105 million — down a slight 1% from the four-year average for this comparable weekend and down 11% from a solid weekend last year (when Date Night had the weekend to itself). Although this is yet another double-digit decline versus last year, there is some reason for optimism that the Hollywood’s fortunes could be changing.
Volume
2011 $105 (-1% vs 2007-10 average; -11% vs 2010)
2007-10
Avg $106
Movies Opening That Weekend
2010 $119 Date Night $25
2009 $126 Hannah Montana $32, Observe & Report $11, Dragonball
Evolution $5
2008 $ 81 Prom Night $21, Street Kings $12, Smart People $4
2007 $ 99 Disturbia $22, Perfect Stranger $11, Pathfinder $5
The Weeks Ahead
Looking ahead to next weekend, two new movies open wide that are nicely counter programmed. The animated comedy Rio (Fox) opens alongside horror sequel Scream 4 (Weinstein). The two films could open to a combined $75-80 million. In contrast, last year that weekend was no great shakes in terms of openings: Kick-Ass ($20 million) and Death at a Funeral ($16 million). So we could see some major year to year increases next weekend.
And although the final weekend of April last year saw a very good opening (A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s $33 million), it was hampered by a horrific film’s colossal failure (Furry Vengeance‘s $7 million). This year during the weekend of April 29, Universal should score big with Fast Five (in the $60-65 million range).
After a long drought that started in January, we might be seeing signs of a turnaround at the box office this year. We have a long way to go to erase the severe losses this winter, but April and hopefully May could perk up ticket sales nicely.
Reminder: on Tuesday we will update the international numbers for current films and take a look at the home video market.
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