Box Office Weekend 9/23-9/25

[Blu Titan]

An interesting box office weekend with five movies challenging for the top spot. The wild card could be the Twilight fans and whether they will flock to see Abduction .

The Lion King 3D

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Killer Elite

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Moneyball

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Abduction

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Dolphin Tale

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[Jasonic]

I think I'll stick with Lion King since this is it's last weekend. I don't think the other ones have too much wide appeal, Abduction could do better than I think though.

[Blu Titan]

I have to vote for Killer Elite .

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

I have to vote for Killer Elite .

http://boxofficemojo.com/people/char...sonstatham.htm
Are you sure this won't make you think otherwise. The guy just never has wide box office appeal.

[remake]

I hope it's Abduction.

[Moleman1138]

Moneyball definitely has it with Lion King at #2. I kind of have a feeling the whole 2 week thing with Lion King will be a bit longer. Maybe they want it over 400M domestic.

[Bishop_99]

Originally Posted by Moleman1138

Moneyball definitely has it with Lion King at #2. I kind of have a feeling the whole 2 week thing with Lion King will be a bit longer. Maybe they want it over 400M domestic.

The Lion King is doing extremely well, probably much better than they ever imagined. I would think Disney would extend the theatrical release window to at least the weekend when it hits Blu-ray.

Would this be considered it's second weekend of release or the first week since it was released, giving it one more week at the movies?

[Diesel]

Lion King - #1 ()

1. Even Disney is surprised that its Lion King 3D is in first place tonight from 2,330 theaters after its huge first-place finish last weekend. But rival studios tell me it got a boost Friday from the rain back East for a $6M Friday for an excellent hold. And another giant kiddie matinee bump on Saturday for as much as $9.5M. That’s a $22M weekend as well and only a modest -30% decline. This re-release is projected to hit a cume of as much as $61.5M by Monday.

Moneyball / Dolphin Tale - Too close to call for sure

2. Sony’s much-hyped newcomer Moneyball is now officially the best baseball-themed opening ever (Not accounting for inflation or higher ticket prices, it beat Benchwarmers’ $19.6M, The Rookie’s $16M, and A League Of Their Own‘s $13.7M.) It opened No. 1 Friday with $6.7M and then soared +27% to $8.5M Saturday from 2,993 theaters. (As a Sony exec told me, “$6 million would be great. $7 million amazing. $8 million would be a triumph.”) With that healthy adult bump, it’s looking at a $21M weekend which is on target with the studio’s expectations.

3. Very close behind is Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin Tale distributed into 3,507 theaters by Warner Bros. It opened with $5.1M Friday and zoomed to $8.6M Saturday heading for a $20M weekend. Alcon expected the heartstrings-pulling pic to jump 60% on Saturday because of the family film bump and did +70% more. Remember, it’s also playing in the most theaters. According to CinemaScores, parents and kids audiences are giving it an A+. “The film is very inspirational, and tracking is terrific. We will own the family marketplace,” an exec told me. Warner Bros was looking to give Moneyball a run for No. 1 this weekend, but didn’t anticipate the continued strength of Lion King 3D.

Abduction - #4

4. Lionsgate’s Abduction in 3,118 theaters ended up with $3.8M Friday but went up +20% Saturday for $4.5m and an $11M opening for the weekend. Through Sunday, Hollywood eyes have been focused on its star Taylor Lautner in his first leading man role in an action thriller because he’s been very much in demand — presumably because of his enormous Twi-hard fan base and aggressive promotion of his films – but not because of any solo box office which the 19-year-old has done yet. Then again, I’ve learned that Lautner’s $36M-budget action thriller was outspent 4-to-1 in marketing dollars by both Sony and Warner Bros leading up to this weekend.

Killer Elite - #5

5. Open Road Film’s Killer Elite looks like only $9.5M for the weekend from 2,986 theaters. But when the veteran star trio of Robert DeNiro, Jason Statham, and Clive Owen can’t knock off Lautner solo in a lousy movie, that’s worth noting. This pic based on a true story went up to only $3.7M on Saturday after its $3.3M debut Friday. CinemaScore was a B. I hear Open Road acquired the film for nothing, only P&A, so it’ll be nicely profitable. Not bad for the company’s first release.

Full Article

[Aerodude73]

THE KILLER ELITE in 5th place, Behind (!!!) ABDUCTION??!!

WTF??!!!

[Jasonic]

Totally expected the numbers for Killer Elite, but I am surprised Abduction didn't do better. I guess not all the Twihards wanted to see a non werewolf Jacob, LOL.

Totally awesome with Lion King number one again. I wonder if Disney will either extend the release and or take other movies to be re-released.

[STARSCREAM]

I just read on Yahoo news that Disney has now said they will keep Lion King in theaters longer than the planned 2 week run. They said they didn't know how long they will keep it playing. I'd say they keep it in theaters until it starts seeing a significant drop in sales.

[K i r a]

Originally Posted by STARSCREAM

I just read on Yahoo news that Disney has now said they will keep Lion King in theaters longer than the planned 2 week run. They said they didn't know how long they will keep it playing. I'd say they keep it in theaters until it starts seeing a significant drop in sales.

I bet this was planned from the start, assuming it would do well, which it has.

Numbers are in, BTW:

1. Lion King- $22.1 mil
2. Moneyball-$20.6 mil
3. Dolphin Tale- $20.2 mil
4. Abduction- $11.2 mil
5. Killer Elite- $9.5 mil


OUCH for Killer Elite; $70 mil budget would not be made back, I think.

Drive got #7 slot for another $5.77 mil, bringing it to $21.4 mil total in two weekends. Glad to see it at least made back its $15 mil budget, on top of the rave reviews. Welcome you with open arms to American film making, Nicolas Winding Refn.

[Chaotic]

Lionsgate really dropped at ball on Warrior. Only $12M after 3 weekends.

[Slaveknight]

Whoaa Killer Elite should be a top contender.. I cant believe people still go w/ abduction ( i mean seriously ). But I love the awesome scenes in killer elite. I just see abduction as just another john cena movie I dont know but that is what it is.

[Icedburden]

Originally Posted by veritas

I bet this was planned from the start, assuming it would do well, which it has.

Numbers are in, BTW:

1. Lion King- $22.1 mil
2. Moneyball-$20.6 mil
3. Dolphin Tale- $20.2 mil
4. Abduction- $11.2 mil
5. Killer Elite- $9.5 mil


OUCH for Killer Elite; $70 mil budget would not be made back, I think.

Drive got #7 slot for another $5.77 mil, bringing it to $21.4 mil total in two weekends. Glad to see it at least made back its $15 mil budget, on top of the rave reviews. Welcome you with open arms to American film making, Nicolas Winding Refn.

It's beyond pathetic that ANYONE would want to see Abduction. If you didn't know it looked awful from the trailer than you may want to see if Helen Keller is on your family tree. You may be a relative and inherited her traits. Drive is by far the best move of the year (I haven't seen Moneyball yet, maybe tomorrow) and is probably going to earn less than that piece of monkey feces. I hope that Moneyball holds though, it seems like it could have a nice run.

[Moleman1138]

I only saw Abduction to review it. Total of 5 people in the theater...on a Sunday afternoon. There was at least 30 for Lion King when I saw it Thursday afternoon.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by Icedburden

It's beyond pathetic that ANYONE would want to see Abduction.

Well tweenyboppers and Twi-hards would see it regardless of whether it looked good or not.

You're right though the trailer was atrocious. I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it in the theater how bad it was [and then they showed Bucky Larson's] and that they actually showed clips of Lautner 'acting' in it.

[Bishop_99]

The Lion King has made $61 million since it was released. At this rate it will easily reach $100 million. This will also be great for the Blu-ray release, and since not many people have a 3D HDTV, I don't think the Blu-ray release will affect the The Lion King's 3D theatrical run.

[Moleman1138]

Originally Posted by Bishop_99

The Lion King has made $61 million since it was released. At this rate it will easily reach $100 million. This will also be great for the Blu-ray release, and since not many people have a 3D HDTV, I don't think the Blu-ray release will affect the The Lion King's 3D theatrical run.

Technically it's supposed to close on Thursday, ending its two week run. Will it? Hellz no. Not when it's so close to 400M domestic. Toy Story Double Feature was supposed to be two weeks only and was like 3 or 4.

[remake]

Originally Posted by Moleman1138

Technically it's supposed to close on Thursday, ending its two week run. Will it? Hellz no. Not when it's so close to 400M domestic. Toy Story Double Feature was supposed to be two weeks only and was like 3 or 4.

From BoxOfficeGuru's twitter:

Sources telling me Disney will soon be extending #LionKing past 2-wk-only window. That shd add extra $40M+.