Weekend Box Office #62
So the big question this weekend is how much I AM LEGEND will make. Will Smith in a movie is becoming about as automatic as it gets.
I AM LEGEND (3606 theaters). They are selling this well, without giving much away about the story after the first half-hour. It'll be huge. $52.7 million for the weekend.
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS (3475 theaters). This looks like it is skewing really young, though there's not that much competition for the family audience, other than Christmas shopping. $17.9 million.
THE PERFECT HOLIDAY (1307 theaters). This looks a lot like THIS CHRISTMAS, which is still playing in almost 2000 theaters. $5.3 million.
Also opening, in limited release: THE KITE RUNNER and YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH.
JUNO continues its expansion. Someone e-mailed me what must be an early version of the script, because the "homeskillet" line is said by a teenage girl and not the Rainn Wilson character. I didn't want to read it until I saw the movie, but I started looking at it, and read 9 pages before I pulled myself away.
As much as some may whine about Diablo Cody getting too much press for her stripper past, she's a pretty good writer.
posted by Scott the Reader @ 7:23 AM
16 Comments:
Up here in Washington, "I Am Legend" is getting the same treatment "Pirates of the Caribean" or the "Star Wars" movies got, 11:59 p.m. movies at theatres on Thursday night/Friday morning. But despite the efforts I don't think this version of "I Am Legend" is going to live up the bill as this season's "must see" tent pole movie. A zombie-Dracula hybrid horror movie headling the Christmass season? C'mon. This show should have been released over Halloween time, not during Christmass.
The Seattle Times review for "I Am Legend" totally bashed the film too. A couple months ago I read a draft of Mark P(?) "I Am Legend" off the Internet that was based in San Franscisco. It was REALY good, though I it kinda lost it's edge at the end. Mark's version was VERY interesting in spots when the cancer doctor was treating the patient who later went on to be the main antagonist in the movie. Mark's thought and scenes there were VERY ORIGINAL, I HOPE some enhnaced versions of them made it in the movie.
"Juno" got a great review. May go see that.
Can you believe they're releasing another "Alien v.s. Predator" movie?! Even more shocking is hearing that my MOM wants to see it! "Alien v.s. Predator" may be the ONE movie my family goes to see togehter this Christmass holiday season. Somehow that just doesn't feel right.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
E.C. -- for someone so disturbed and offended by the concepts behind "The Golden Compass", you always consistently write "Christmass". Is that just a comment on the commercial holiday it's become? Honestly, I'm curious.
Whether or not "I Am Legend" is actually good, I think it'll be huge; it's been a while since Will Smith has been in anything resembling an actioner, and I've already seen the "For Your Consideration: Best Actor" ads everywhere. I'll be a little more conservative than Scott, and guess $48mil.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks" doesn't look terrible. I'd take my son, if were still going to the theaters regularly. Then again, the trailers for "Garfield" didn't make it look terrible -- they lied. $15mil.
I'll skip on "The Perfect Holiday", as I really didn't see much about it.
Really looking forward to catching "The Kite Runner" at some point. Often Dartmouth College will pick up films like that earlier than any of the local theaters -- here's hoping I can grab it there.
EVERYBODY wants to see Legend.
66 million.
Not EVERYBODY, Patrick -- I'm convinced this will be another Will Smith Movie™: overloud, overdumb, overhyped, over-reliant on our love for Smith rather than the story and character in this movie.
It will probably bring in huge numbers, but I have zero interest in seeing this.
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I saw it last night and was pleasantly surprised...It's much better than a film like Pirates (I was never big fan) and Spiderman 3. And it was certainly not "a zombie-Dracula hybrid horror movie" like EC claims.
I'd recommend it.
For any so inclined to read themselves, here's the address to read the author's script for "I Am Legend" that I thought was REALY good:
http://www.horrorlair.com/scripts/legend.txt
Hope y'all have a great weekend!
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
So I Am Legend made a huge $29 million on Friday, while Alvin and the Chipmunks made an impressive $13 million just on Friday as well.
Perfect Holiday tanked with less than $1 million opening day.
Holy crap. Looks like "Legend" could do $80 mil for the weekend, and "Chipmunks" near $30 or $40 mil. Damn.
Ahem. Told ya.
1st of all, I never said if it would be GOOD, Ijust said everyone wanted to see it.
I was correct.
Second, I don't think it looks bad and I'll check it out. When you look back, Will Smith hasn't made to many BAD movies - I'd say Denzel has made worse (Deja Vu, Viruosity, anyone?).
As someone who suffered through Alvin and the Chipmunks in a packed theatre, I'm going to say its box office will drop off significantly next week. It has to. By all that is holy.
Oh, sorry. Um, the chipmunks were cute and very into their characters. The live action folks gave some of the worst performances I've seen in ages.
Suz
Rodio gloated:
1st of all, I never said if it would be GOOD, I just said everyone wanted to see it.
I was correct.
Actually, what you said was "EVERYBODY wants to see it," and all I did was raise my hand and say "note EVERYBODY, cuz *I* don't."
I know a lot of people like Smith, and I know a lot of folks are eager to see this movie, and i also know a lot folks go to the movies during the holidays and right now there seem slim pickings in terms of big loud Hollywood movies, so LEGEND will no doubt clean up by a combination of default, design, and deservance.
And I do not care if deservance is not really a word. It oughta be.
I just continue to object to your original claim. I do NOT want to see the movie, and I know a lot of others who share my disinterest.
Not arguin' -- just sayin'.
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"For any so inclined to read themselves, here's the address to read the author's script for "I Am Legend" that I thought was REALY good:
http://www.horrorlair.com/scripts/legend.txt"
I read this version a year ago -- I enjoyed the read, but I believe John Logan's version is much better.
I want to see what Goldsman changed in Protosevich's draft.
$76.5... yikes! I guess people were ready for a big summer movie.
- Bill
You want to see it...admit it, dammit!!!!!
I think maybe the only similarity between "This Christmas" and "Perfect Holiday" are the casts of attractive, upwardly mobile black people. But for that reason, people probably perceive a similarity.
http://diablocody.blogspot.com/
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