Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Ride with Wild Hogs at #1
Moviegoers rallied behind the star-driven comedy "Wild Hogs," which raced to number one at the North American box office, zooming past all expectations from Disney. Meanwhile, Viacom saw less-than-stellar debuts from its serial killer drama "Zodiac" from Paramount Pictures and the southern fried saga "Black Snake Moan" from arthouse unit Paramount Vantage. Overall, the box office remained healthy and surged well ahead of last year's performance.
Buena Vista powered its way to an estimated $38M in opening weekend sales for its road comedy "Wild Hogs," delivering the largest March debut in history for a live-action film. The PG-13 pic starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy as four middle-aged men on a motorcycle adventure averaged a stellar $11,561 from 3,287 theaters. It was the year's second biggest opening after "Ghost Rider's" $45.4M bow two weeks ago. According to studio research, 54% of the audience was actually female. Travolta's everlasting sex appeal, Allen's pull with moms thanks to his many Disney flicks, and the cast's appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week probably contributed to the solid turnout by women. The stars also allowed the film to tap into different audience segments.
"Wild Hogs" posted the best opening ever in March for a non-animated film and the third biggest overall. The only movies to debut better in this month were the "Ice Age" flicks of 2002 and 2006. It also gave Travolta the biggest opening by far of his career, beating the $23.5M of 2005's "Be Cool," and the second best bow for Allen after the $57.4M bow of 1999's "Toy Story 2." As expected, "Hogs" was slammed by critics but reviews are practically irrelevant for a star-driven comedy like this. This is a crowdpleaser, not a criticpleaser. Audiences make their decisions based on if they think they will get a good laugh or not and Buena Vista's marketing push was indeed solid. Though the overall weekend gross was strong, what was even more encouraging was the significant Friday-to-Saturday boost of 49% which is rare for any new release. A journey into nine-digit territory seems likely.
Debuting far back in second place was the serial killer pic "Zodiac," with an estimated $13.1M from 2,362 sites. Averaging a respectable $5,546 per theater, the R-rated film from director David Fincher played to an older audience as two-thirds of the crowd was over the age of 25, according to studio research from Paramount. Males and females were evenly represented. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, "Zodiac" follows the investigation behind one of California's most notorious murderers from the 1960s and 70s. The $65M film fared better than last fall's murder mysteries set in the Golden State, "The Black Dahlia" and "Hollywoodland," which debuted to $10M and $5.9M respectively.
Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for "Zodiac," but its 160-minute length may have cut into its grossing potential. Plus when factoring in ticket prices increases over the years, it can be estimated that "Zodiac" sold the fewest opening weekend tickets of any of Fincher's films. Admissions were roughly the same as for "Fight Club," which bowed to $11M in 1999. The studio is hoping that good word-of-mouth can carry the film in the weeks ahead.
After leading the pack for two full weeks, the Johnny Blaze flick "Ghost Rider" fell to third but only dropped 43% for an estimated $11.5M gross. Sony's Nicolas Cage starrer has taken in $94.8M in 17 days and should become the first new release of 2007 to break the $100M barrier. Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia" also held up well dipping 39% in its third adventure to an estimated $8.6M. Cume stands at $57.9M.
Jim Carrey's thriller "The Number 23" fell from second to fifth place in its sophomore scare and collected an estimated $7.1M. Down an understandable 52%, the New Line title has taken in a semi-decent $24.7M in ten days and looks headed for a $35-38M finish.
Eddie Murphy's latest comedy "Norbit" enjoyed the smallest decline in the top ten and dipped 34% to an estimated $6.4M for a $83M sum. Fellow laugher "Music and Lyrics" dropped just 36% to an estimated $4.9M giving the Hugh Grant-Drew Barrymore pic $38.7M to date.
Paramount Vantage bowed its Samuel L. Jackson-Christina Ricci drama "Black Snake Moan" and collected an estimated $4M from 1,252 theaters. Averaging a mild $3,208, the debut was half the size of writer/director Craig Brewer's last film "Hustle & Flow," which opened in July 2005 to $8M from 1,013 theaters on its way to $22.2M and an Oscar. Jackson has witnessed many of his headlining vehicles struggle at the box office including "Freedomland," "The Man," and even "Snakes on a Plane," which despite hitting the top spot, grossed much less than expected given its media hype last summer.
The Fox comedy "Reno 911!: Miami" tumbled 64% in its second weekend to an estimated $3.8M for a ninth place finish. The R-rated pic has grossed $16.4M in ten days and should conclude with roughly $20M. Rounding out the top ten was the FBI thriller "Breach" with an estimated $3.5M, off 42%, for a $25.4M total.
Three smaller films dropped out of the top ten over the weekend. The slave trade drama "Amazing Grace" dipped only 26% in its second weekend to an estimated $3M. With $8.2M in ten days, the Samuel Goldwyn/Roadside Attractions period pic may find its way to $15-18M. The Billy Bob Thornton flop "The Astronaut Farmer" grossed an estimated $2.2M, down 52%, and put its sum at an embarrassing $7.7M. Look for a $11M final.
Lionsgate's Tyler Perry comedy "Daddy's Little Girls" fell 53% to an estimated $2.3M in its third frame and upped its cume to $28.4M. By comparison, the distributor saw stronger 17-day grosses of $44M and $55.7M respectively for the director's last two films, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea's Family Reunion." "Daddy's" should end its run with $30-33M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $100.8M which was up a stunning 30% from last year when "Madea" stayed at number one with just $12.6M; but off 4% from 2005 when "The Pacifier" debuted on top with $30.6M.
Source: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Buena Vista powered its way to an estimated $38M in opening weekend sales for its road comedy "Wild Hogs," delivering the largest March debut in history for a live-action film. The PG-13 pic starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy as four middle-aged men on a motorcycle adventure averaged a stellar $11,561 from 3,287 theaters. It was the year's second biggest opening after "Ghost Rider's" $45.4M bow two weeks ago. According to studio research, 54% of the audience was actually female. Travolta's everlasting sex appeal, Allen's pull with moms thanks to his many Disney flicks, and the cast's appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week probably contributed to the solid turnout by women. The stars also allowed the film to tap into different audience segments.
"Wild Hogs" posted the best opening ever in March for a non-animated film and the third biggest overall. The only movies to debut better in this month were the "Ice Age" flicks of 2002 and 2006. It also gave Travolta the biggest opening by far of his career, beating the $23.5M of 2005's "Be Cool," and the second best bow for Allen after the $57.4M bow of 1999's "Toy Story 2." As expected, "Hogs" was slammed by critics but reviews are practically irrelevant for a star-driven comedy like this. This is a crowdpleaser, not a criticpleaser. Audiences make their decisions based on if they think they will get a good laugh or not and Buena Vista's marketing push was indeed solid. Though the overall weekend gross was strong, what was even more encouraging was the significant Friday-to-Saturday boost of 49% which is rare for any new release. A journey into nine-digit territory seems likely.
Debuting far back in second place was the serial killer pic "Zodiac," with an estimated $13.1M from 2,362 sites. Averaging a respectable $5,546 per theater, the R-rated film from director David Fincher played to an older audience as two-thirds of the crowd was over the age of 25, according to studio research from Paramount. Males and females were evenly represented. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, "Zodiac" follows the investigation behind one of California's most notorious murderers from the 1960s and 70s. The $65M film fared better than last fall's murder mysteries set in the Golden State, "The Black Dahlia" and "Hollywoodland," which debuted to $10M and $5.9M respectively.
Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for "Zodiac," but its 160-minute length may have cut into its grossing potential. Plus when factoring in ticket prices increases over the years, it can be estimated that "Zodiac" sold the fewest opening weekend tickets of any of Fincher's films. Admissions were roughly the same as for "Fight Club," which bowed to $11M in 1999. The studio is hoping that good word-of-mouth can carry the film in the weeks ahead.
After leading the pack for two full weeks, the Johnny Blaze flick "Ghost Rider" fell to third but only dropped 43% for an estimated $11.5M gross. Sony's Nicolas Cage starrer has taken in $94.8M in 17 days and should become the first new release of 2007 to break the $100M barrier. Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia" also held up well dipping 39% in its third adventure to an estimated $8.6M. Cume stands at $57.9M.
Jim Carrey's thriller "The Number 23" fell from second to fifth place in its sophomore scare and collected an estimated $7.1M. Down an understandable 52%, the New Line title has taken in a semi-decent $24.7M in ten days and looks headed for a $35-38M finish.
Eddie Murphy's latest comedy "Norbit" enjoyed the smallest decline in the top ten and dipped 34% to an estimated $6.4M for a $83M sum. Fellow laugher "Music and Lyrics" dropped just 36% to an estimated $4.9M giving the Hugh Grant-Drew Barrymore pic $38.7M to date.
Paramount Vantage bowed its Samuel L. Jackson-Christina Ricci drama "Black Snake Moan" and collected an estimated $4M from 1,252 theaters. Averaging a mild $3,208, the debut was half the size of writer/director Craig Brewer's last film "Hustle & Flow," which opened in July 2005 to $8M from 1,013 theaters on its way to $22.2M and an Oscar. Jackson has witnessed many of his headlining vehicles struggle at the box office including "Freedomland," "The Man," and even "Snakes on a Plane," which despite hitting the top spot, grossed much less than expected given its media hype last summer.
The Fox comedy "Reno 911!: Miami" tumbled 64% in its second weekend to an estimated $3.8M for a ninth place finish. The R-rated pic has grossed $16.4M in ten days and should conclude with roughly $20M. Rounding out the top ten was the FBI thriller "Breach" with an estimated $3.5M, off 42%, for a $25.4M total.
Three smaller films dropped out of the top ten over the weekend. The slave trade drama "Amazing Grace" dipped only 26% in its second weekend to an estimated $3M. With $8.2M in ten days, the Samuel Goldwyn/Roadside Attractions period pic may find its way to $15-18M. The Billy Bob Thornton flop "The Astronaut Farmer" grossed an estimated $2.2M, down 52%, and put its sum at an embarrassing $7.7M. Look for a $11M final.
Lionsgate's Tyler Perry comedy "Daddy's Little Girls" fell 53% to an estimated $2.3M in its third frame and upped its cume to $28.4M. By comparison, the distributor saw stronger 17-day grosses of $44M and $55.7M respectively for the director's last two films, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea's Family Reunion." "Daddy's" should end its run with $30-33M.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $100.8M which was up a stunning 30% from last year when "Madea" stayed at number one with just $12.6M; but off 4% from 2005 when "The Pacifier" debuted on top with $30.6M.
Source: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
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(1-19 of 19 posts) | Reply
 on Mar 05 2007 05:41 AM Seems like all HOGS was missing is a Falwell & Bush seal of approval. Its a shame when throw away pop like that beat out a well made film, like ZODIAC, just because of the running time and over hyped promotion. Guess the economy is doing good. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 05:43 AM Seems like all HOGS was missing is a Falwell & Bush seal of approval. Its a shame when throw away pop like that beat out a well made film, like ZODIAC, just because of the running time and over hyped promotion. Guess the economy is doing good. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 06:42 AM It wasn't that bad. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 07:54 AM It was a hell of a lot worse than Zodiac. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 09:07 AM If you're not into murder mysteries then it wasn't. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 09:37 AM Wild Hogs made more money simply because the majority of people don't want to spend almost 3 hours of sullen seriousness in Zodiac when Wild Hogs guarantees less than two hours of carefree escapism whether some of you elite movie goers say so or not. It's just reality that the world doesn't have such an exquisite taste in cinema as so many RottenTomatoers. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 09:47 AM In reply to this comment (#857290) Actually, Zodiac wasn't really "sullen seriousness". A lot of it was really funny. Probably better comedy than Wid Hogs, although I didn't see that one. You're right though, most moviegoers don't care about art and quality. They do want escapism. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 10:05 AM In reply to this comment (#857290) Very well said. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 10:19 AM Is "300" out yet? (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 10:19 AM $20 for two tickets, plus $8 for parking (in Chicago), I would rather see three hours of a really good film than two hours of a pandering waste. Of course I'm being a little presumptuous here, saying that Zodiac is the better film when I haven't in fact seen "Wild Hogs." But come ON! Zodiac was great! I don't understand what people have against sitting in their seat for three hours. I thought it was very entertaining. And really, wouldn't you rather get your money's worth? (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 10:46 AM America is so dumb...Zodiac was incredible (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 11:18 AM Zodiac looks great, I am definately going to see it if I feel like seeing another movie after 300 (but probably not, I'm guessing I'll just see 300 again). Cinematically it's got to be better than Wild Hogs, but Wild Hogs is wide-appealing and that's what matters box office-wise. If I am going to the movies I am going to see a movie that the people I'm with are most likely going to like; Zodiac appeals to probably 1 in 5 people at most and I barely have that many friends. That's why I'm posting on here right now. I was surprised at how much I liked Wild Hogs so it was a lesson to me that the worst reviewed movie of the week isn't always the worst movie, just like its earnings proved. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 12:06 PM The American movie going public is mentally retarded. Misericordia retarded. Wild Hogs looks like the lamest film that was released this year, well not Norbit bad. Why is Tim Allen making movies still? You would think that this guy would watch some of his films sometime. If he actually did that instead of doing coke he would realize that he is hurting the American public with his lameness. If I was Tim Allen I would committ suicide by the most painful way possible. Martin Lawrence is also hurting the United States by catering to the stereotypical black public who can't get enough of his obnoxious racist filled comedies. Both of these guys should....UGH!!! Why are they allowed to make movies? This just makes me really mad. Now we're going to have more of these retarded movies whereas Fincher is going to have a hard enough time coming out with a really good movie again. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 12:44 PM In reply to this comment (#857297) Because if they didn't make bad movies like Wild Hogs then you'd have to hate on movies like Zodiac because they would pass for popular. Seriously, for people who seem to think they are so much smarter than the average movie going retard you guys can't seem to wrap your head around simple movie economics. A. As previously stated many people won't pay money for a movie that they think is going to leave them depressed when they walk out of it. B. At least 3 guys in Wild Hogs have some kind of fan base already committed to seeing whatever movie they put out and lastly C. Most people(sadly not all) don't feel comfortable taking their children to a movie about serial killing...what a bunch of retards huh...huh? (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 01:09 PM I'd LOVE to see Zodiac. Too bad it's not playing around here. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 03:20 PM wild hogs made more money in one weekend than children of men made in its entire run. come to whatever conclusion you desire out of that fact. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 03:39 PM At least Pans Labyrinth is catching up with Epic Movie. This Pans was in 16th place and Epic Movie was in 28th place. The movie that I really want to see is Bridge to Terabithia. (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 05 2007 06:52 PM [b]Awesome comedy!!![/b] Either the critics are lying for some reason that they hated the movie, or they are just completely disconnected from reality. This was the funniest movie I can remember seeing. It was soo funny and you'd be a fool to buy into the lack of judgment or lies of the critics. Read real audience reviews from the actual audience not critics who don't have a clue and who should be doing something else because they don't get that this was the best comedy in a long, long time. When's the last time you seen a comedy that received an ovation? Wild Hogs did at my theater as well as many others. Read the reviews from this link. h (Reply to this) |
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on Mar 06 2007 08:20 AM I have a different take. Yes, costs to see a movie especially in a big city with little parking are insane. But when people go out, they want entertainment. Sure the story might suck but if it gets a few laughs and you can forget about your life and think about something else for a little while (like how bad the movie is you are watching) what is so wrong with that? I mean if you see a bad movie with friends, it actually can be a good 'fun' time laughing at how bad it is. Where as good movies seem to just fall off at the box office.....because of DVD. Most good movies find a market after their theater release. People are more willing to watch something serious or long, within their homes when they can watch it in segments as opposed to sitting for 3-4 hours straight. That is the culture now. Then there are those of you that will see anything, anytime, anywhere not matter what the cost. Personally I'd watch Zodiac on DVD at home where I can enjoy it, re watch certain scenes and think about it. I will be at the theater for 300. As for Wild Hogs, I might rent it if I am VERY bored or just pass it all together. That type of comedy isn't my thing and Travolta makes a lot of terrible movies. (Reply to this) |
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