Newsflash- when there are no interesting wide releases out, no one will go to the movies. In one of the slowest sessions in recent memory, “The Final Destination” keeps the ignominious position of #1 movie in America, fending off the horrifically-reviewed stalker-comedy “All About Steve.” The 3D horror picture has taken only two weekends to cross $50 million, and by next weekend it can successfully be crowned the most successful of the series. Does this mean a fifth installment is in the cards? Since it’s a New Line leftover, it all depends on the relationship with the producers and WB- they have already taken the “Lord of the Rings” and “Harold and Kumar” franchises under their wing, what’s one more? “Steve,” meanwhile, is a smash-and-grab, failing to capitalize on its hot stars, but not something Fox or Sandra Bullock will remember very well.
The weekend’s biggest loser is probably Lionsgate’s “Gamer.” In a weak moviegoing period, the actioner was expected to take the top spot, but Lionsgate made sure to cut a series of visually indistinguishable ads, lackadaisically advertising the picture for months on end while reshuffling release dates. Gerard Butler got away with the odious-looking “The Ugly Truth” so he’s still in-play as a potential draw, but after being fired from “Jonah Hex” and seeing “Crank: High Voltage” get reamed at the box office, directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have got to be skating on thin ice. The news was even dimmer for Mike Judge, who so far has made three titanic studio bombs with “Extract,” which took a knee at #10. Granted, “Idiocracy” was sabotaged by its release pattern, but it was never going to make serious money anyway, and “Office Space” went on to earn the dreaded “cult” designation on video. The cost on “Extract” was probably pretty low, but if you’re a studio exec, it’s probably hard to bring yourself to bet on a Judge movie that isn’t a “Beavis and Butthead” sequel.
“Inglorious Basterds” held strongly enough at #3, and by next weekend it should hit $100 million and change, while “District 9” sailed past that milestone, losing only 31% of last week’s audience. Both titles seem like anomalies, but coming out so close together, they seem to disprove the notion that you can’t release a big movie in August. Then again, the business both movies are doing- both probably less than $130 million- isn’t going to cut it for most big time summer releases that tally ludicrous expenses. Maybe this means Hollywood’s finally going to cut costs? Take merchandising out of the equation, and the $30 million-budgeted “District 9” might be generating bigger profits than “Transformers 2,” despite making almost $300 million less at the domestic box office.
“Halloween II” landed at #6 after the precipitous second-weekend horror fall-off, but a sequel is near greenlight stage, as it avoided a deserved 80% audience loss. “Julie and Julia” will probably lap it by next weekend- the chick flick is performing at “Devil Wears Prada” discount numbers, and finds itself at $78 million after its fifth week of release. “G.I. Joe” closes in on $140 million for the four day period, and could conceivably pass the magical $150 million Paramount needs before being persuaded to look into a second installment.
Among other milestones, “Transformers 2” finally hits the $400 million mark, finishing a mixed-blessing Paramount season, while “Up” hit $290 with plenty of foreign territories to go, while “Harry Potter” is at $296 and should probably make it to $300, only the second in the series to reach that number. The only indie debut of note was “Amreeka,” which had the weekend’s best per-screen average at $12.5k per screen for a $50k debut weekend.
1. The Final Detonation- $12.4 million ($48 mil.)
2. All About Steve- $11.2 million
3. Inglourious Basterds- $10.8 million ($91 mil.)
4. Gamer- $9 million
5. District 9- $7 million ($101 mil.)
6. Halloween II: Holy Shit, We Made Ten Of These- $5.6 million ($26 mil.)
7. Julie and Julia- $5.2 million ($78 mil.)
8. G.I. Joe- $5.1 million ($139 mil.)
9. The Time Traveler’s Wife- $4.2 million ($55 mil.)
10. Extract- $4.2 million