SUPERBAD slides on Saturday, but still grabs $10.6M on the way to a $31.2M opening; RUSH HOUR 3 w/$8.7M Saturday for a likely $20.8M weekend; INVASION w/only $2.1M Saturday; DiCaprio's 11TH HOUR wins PTA race
by Steve Mason
The Judd Apatow-produced Superbad (Sony), written by Knocked Up star Seth Rogen and directed by Greg Mottola (The Daytrippers), couldn't hold up the blistering box-office pace it set on Friday, but, even with its estimated 12 percent Friday-to-Saturday drop, the raucous teen comedy still delivered a very solid $10.6 million. With an anticipated $8.5 million on Sunday, Superbad should wrap up the weekend with a phenomenal $31.2 million.
Rush Hour 3 (New Line) added a stronger than expected $8.7 million on Saturday, and the Tucker/Chan/Ratner action-comedy has a revised three-day estimate of $20.8 million. That's a 58 percent drop as opposed to the expected 60-plus percent drop that was expected. It's likely that a fair number of teens bought tickets to see RH3, then crossed over to see the R-rated Superbad. The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal), another film with a PG-13 rating, may also have been boosted by kids crossing over to see Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and friends. The Damon/Greengrass thriller grabbed approximately $7.93 million on Saturday, and Bourne's third weekend will likely be $18.7 million or so, just a 43 percent dip.
Producer Joel Silver's lackluster The Invasion (Warner Bros.) only managed $2.1 million on its second day of release. The $75 million body snatcher tale, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, is headed for a miserable $5.5 million weekend. The film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall), was supposed to have been released last year, but Warner Bros. and Silver didn't like the original cut. So, Silver called in the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix and its sequels) and James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), who added some action sequences. In the end, nobody could salvage this misfire.
MGM/Weinstein's The Last Legion continued to sputter through its opening weekend with an estimated $957,000 Saturday. With a cast that includes Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins, Colin Firth and Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai, the film may sell tickets abroad, but it will finish the weekend with just $2.49 million. There was more good news, however, for the well-reviewed MGM comedy Death at a Funeral, directed by Frank Oz (In & Out, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival winner, on just 260 screens, picked up another $530,000 or so. The dark comedy will have banked $1.23 million by Monday morning.
Leonardo DiCaprio's The 11th Hour (Warner Independent) suffered a 37 percent Friday-to-Saturday drop at its four locations, but it will still finish the weekend with an estimated $62,000. Its $15,531 PTA is the best of the weekend, edging gritty Brazilian doc Manda Bala: Send a Bullet (Slowhand Releasing) with $12,185 on its single screen and Superbad with a PTA of $10,483.
EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY SATURDAY ESTIMATES
1. Superbad (Sony) — $10.6 million [$22.7 million cume]
2. Rush Hour 3 (New Line) — $8.7 million [$81.4 million cume]
3. The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) — $7.9 million [$158.3 million cume]
4. The Simpsons Movie (20th Century Fox) — $2.6 million [$162.9 million cume]
5. Stardust (Paramount) — $2.2 million [$17.6 million cume]
6. The Invasion (Warner Bros.) — $2.14 million [$4.1 million cume]
7. Hairspray (New Line) — $1.8 million [$99.3 million cume]
8. Underdog (Buena Vista) — $1.57 million [$30.6 million cume]
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) — $1.5 million [$277.5 million cume]
10. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (Universal) — $1.47 million [$109.4 million cume]
11. Becoming Jane (Miramax) — $1.13 million [$8.1 million cume]
12. No Reservations (Warner Bros.) — $1 million [$35.8 million cume]
13. The Last Legion (MGM/Weinstein) — $957,000 [$1.8 million cume]
14. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) — $822,000 [$305.8 million cume]
15. Daddy Day Camp (Sony) — $725,000 [$8.1 million cume]
16. Ratatouille (Buena Vista) — $648,000 [$196 million cume]
17. Death at a Funeral (MGM) — $530,500 [$870,500 cume]
18. Les 3 P'Tits Cochons (Christal Films) — $430,700 [$1.9 million cume]
19. El Cantante (Picturehouse) — $204,000 [$6.3 million cume]
20. Hot Rod (Paramount) — $165,000 [$12.7 million cume]
* Arctic Tale (Paramount Vantage) — $78,500 [$290,750 cume]
* 2 Days in Paris (IDP Films) — $43,800 [$340,000 cume]
* No End in Sight (Magnolia) — $41,800 [$364,000 cume]
* Rocket Science (Picturehouse) — $37,000 [$147,000 cume]
* The 11th Hour (Warner Independent) — $18,100 [$46,400 cume]
* The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Picturehouse) — $19,000 [$36,100 cume]
* Delirious (Peace Arch Entertainment) — $7,000 [$15,800 cume]
* Manda Bala: Send a Bullet (Slowhand Releasing) — $4,071 [$9,427 cume]
EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS REVISED 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. Superbad (Sony) — $31.2 million [$31.2 million cume]
2. Rush Hour 3 (New Line) — $20.8 million [$87.1 million cume]
3. The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) — $18.7 million [$163.5 million cume]
4. The Simpsons Movie (20th Century Fox) — $6.4 million [$164.8 million cume]
5. The Invasion (Warner Bros.) — $5.5 million [$5.5 million cume]
6. Stardust (Paramount) — $5.1 million [$18.9 million cume]
7. Hairspray (New Line) — $4.3 million [$100.6 million cume]
8. Underdog (Buena Vista) — $3.7 million [$31.8 million cume]
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.) — $3.6 million [$278.6 million cume]
10. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (Universal) — $3.38 million [$110.2 million cume]
11. Becoming Jane (Miramax) — $2.9 million [$9 million cume]
12. The Last Legion (MGM/Weinstein) — $2.5 million [$2.5 million cume]
13. No Reservations (Warner Bros.) — $2.4 million [$36.5 million cume]
14. Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount) — $1.88M [$306.4M cume]
15. Daddy Day Camp (Sony) — $1.74 million [$8.7 million cume]
16. Ratatouille (Buena Vista) — $1.6 million [$196.5 million cume]
17. Death at a Funeral (MGM) — $1.2 million [$1.2 million cume]
18. Les 3 P'Tits Cochons (Christal Films) — $692,000 [$2 million cume]
19. El Cantante (Picturehouse) — $505,000 [$6.4 million cume]
20. Hot Rod (Paramount) — $425,000 [$12.8 million cume]
* Arctic Tale (Paramount Vantage) — $197,000 [$359,000 cume]
* 2 Days in Paris (IDP Films) — $180,000 [$447,000 cume]
* No End in Sight (Magnolia) — $92,500 [$389,000 cume]
* Rocket Science (Picturehouse) — $86,000 [$172,700 cume]
* The 11th Hour (Warner Independent) — $62,125 [$62,125 cume]
* The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Picturehouse) — $49,000 [$49,000 cume]
* Delirious (Peace Arch Entertainment) — $16,250 [$20,500 cume]
* Manda Bala: Send a Bullet (Slowhand Releasing) — $12,185 [$12,185 cume]
EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY PTA ESTIMATES
1. The 11th Hour (Warner Independent) — $15,531 PTA
2. Manda Bala: Send a Bullet (Slowhand Releasing) — $12,185 PTA
3. Superbad (Sony) — $10,483 PTA
4. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Picturehouse) — $9,891
5. 2 Days in Paris (IDP Films) — $9,000 PTA
6. Rush Hour 3 (New Line) — $5,509 PTA
7. The Bourne Ultimatum (Universal) — $5,055 PTA
8. Death at a Funeral (MGM) — $4,753 PTA
9. Delirious (Peace Arch Entertainment) — $4,065 PTA
10. No End in Sight (Magnolia) — $2,802 PTA
Thanks steve.Very good weekend for Superbad
Posted by: brisky | August 19, 2007 at 01:27 AM
Mase, you have written Suberbad...make it Superbad
Posted by: brisky | August 19, 2007 at 01:58 AM
Hey mase I hate to be looking forward to next week already but with this weekend shaping up exactly like expected I was wondering what next weekends movies were tracking at currently.
Posted by: Tye Copeland | August 19, 2007 at 12:34 PM
I'm just wondering if you saw The Last Legion before you gave it such negative press? Obviously not, because you would have known that Anthony Hopkins wasn't in The Last Legion. Might want to watch a movie before you criticize it next time.
Posted by: Margie | August 19, 2007 at 12:51 PM
... which shouldn't distract from the main point that 'The Last Legion' is a stinker -- although hilariously and unintentionally funny.
Posted by: A_Roode | August 20, 2007 at 02:13 PM
Wow Margie, what did Mase criticize about 'The Last Legion'? He just stated the fact that it's not doing well in BO receipts. You might want to read the article before you criticize the writer.
Posted by: Frank | August 20, 2007 at 03:49 PM
Wow Margie, what did Mase criticize about 'The Last Legion'? He just stated the fact that it's not doing well in BO receipts. You might want to read the article before you criticize the writer.
Posted by: Frank | August 20, 2007 at 03:49 PM
Hi Margie,
Althouh I occassionally review movies, I am really a numbers guy. The film wasn't screened in advanced for critics, so even if I was a critic, I wojuldn't have been able to see it.
Generally speaking, when movies are not screened in advance for critics, it means the film is not very good, but I was really only writing about the tracking and the actual box office results.
Also, it is true that the Weinsteins are hoping that Aishwarya Rai will sell tickets overseas. Not sure how I managed to include Anthony Hopkins in this draft of the story, but I stand corrected.
I'm a one-man-band and operate without an editor. Occassionally something like Superbad sneaks through.
Also, Margie if you saw and liked THE LAST LEGION, I strongly encourage you to talk it up here and on the Fantast Moguls Message Boards.
-Mase
Posted by: Steve Mason | August 21, 2007 at 11:43 PM