October 22, 2007
Box Office Review: Vampires Reign!

To no one's surprise 30 Days of Night topped the box office this weekend, though its 16 million dollar take hardly qualifies it as a hit. Year-over-year, it is the fifth down weekend in a row and relief doesn't appear to be in sight for a few more weeks when American Gangster and Bee Movie should pull some asses into seats. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? held up fairly well in its second weekend, adding $12.1M to raise its cume to a highly profitable $38.8M. The Game Plan was also strong ($8.1M, $69.1M) and may actually break $100M.
Michael Clayton is holding up well after its disappointing opening ($7.1M, $21.9M). Looks like the familiar story of an adult audience waiting around to see a movie. Despite good reviews, Gone Baby Gone disappointed with an underwhelming $6.0M and a weak per-theater average ($3502). The Comebacks did similarly sub-par business, only scoring $5.8M in its debut. After that, it was We Own the Night ($5.5M, $19.7M), The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D ($5.1M), Rendition ($4.1M) and The Heartbreak Kid ($3.9M, $32.1M).
The limited release crowd was fairly flat. Ironically, only the long-delayed Wristcutters: A Love Story showed any life, averaging $12,800 per venue. Things We Lost in the Fire ($1404 per), Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour ($499), The Ten Commandments ($578), Reservation Road ($2830) and O Jerusalem ($300) should all vanish quickly considering their lackluster numbers. Too much product in the marketplace.
Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures



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The problem is (as it always is)that the studios bunch up certain movies at certain times of the year and one gets burned out on the horror or actiony stuff in the summer, the gross out comedy season ...and then the dysfunctional family/oh-so-serious starlet in ugly makeup dramas in the Fall/awards season.
Some variety would be nice. Mix it up and you won't burn out the audience. Even the radio biz knows not to play the same song non-stop. Shake up the rotation just a bit and everyone wins. Look at how well that lame Disney flick with the Rock did - that was because there was nothing light out there. Tyler Perry has made a fine career of counter programming. Counter programming made Jim Carey a star - Ace Ventura came out against nothing similar - and took off.
Wise up studios.