UPDATE: Such is the nature of estimates. Final numbers were revealed on Monday, and while it originally looked like “The Last Exorcism” defeated “Takers” by about $300,000, both were a victim of overzealous bean counters. The weekend goes to “Takers” with a $20.5 million take, over “Exorcism”‘s $20.4 take. Keep supporting your local art house, people.
Kudos to Lionsgate for absolutely owning August. Their $20 million purchase of the domestic rights to “The Expendables” was a can’t-miss expenditure, and the film’s poised to crest $100 million. Now they close the month with a number one picture, “The Last Exorcism,” which roughly needed to cover the cost of the ad campaign only, given that purchase of the indie cost just a cool million. “Exorcism” was sold, in a bit of a bait-and-switch, as a straight horror film when it was something of a festival sweetheart, bringing back memories of the similar opening for pro-faith boogeyman picture “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” The difference here is that the low overhead guarantees that Lionsgate will be into profit fairly soon on this quickie release, and because of Eli Roth’s prominence in the ads, perhaps he’ll get funding for his next film as well. There really aren’t many unqualified successes each summer for the studios, but Lionsgate has had two within the span of one month.
A big score for Screen Gems as well, as “Takers” managed to cover its production cost in its first three days. The Sony affiliate churns ‘em out quickly and cheaply, and with a market-tested cast like this, it was bound to hit with both urban and mainstream audiences, regardless of quality. “Takers” earned a slight reputation as being a troubled picture because of how often it disappeared from the schedule, but “bad buzz” doesn’t really play a role for Friday night audiences wanting to see a crime picture with a load of b-list stars, and it may have actually benefited from its trailer featuring on films nearly a year ago.
Meanwhile, what can you say about “The Expendables” that hasn’t been said already? The funding came through by selling a chunk of the overseas rights, and they were guaranteed a profit once the opening weekend results came in. Everyone’s going to see a differently sized paycheck for this, but “The Expendables” is notable for joining a host of other films this summer in proving that there’s some serious cheddar to be made from overseas box office.
Sometimes the obvious is true about a film, and when everyone says that “Eat Pray Love” is a one-quadrant film appealing only to lonely cat ladies, the box office results speak for themselves. Julia Roberts’ star takes a hit because female stars in Hollywood have less leeway, but if everyone is being honest with themselves, this is not a major flop. The final domestic numbers have a shot at reaching $80 million, which is an impressive tally from the cat lady demographic, and the film’s sure to have an ancillary life on basic cable. Like many big releases, though, they really shouldn’t have spent so much on this picture.
“The Other Guys” motors along to $100 million, and its drops are slowing down as it seems to be ranking as the first choice for a number of filmgoers who haven’t been to the theater in awhile. Will Ferrell’s been a headliner for a number of years now, and fan or no fan of his pictures, he’s diversified just the right amount so that casual filmgoers know what to expect, without him being entirely too predictable. Amongst former “SNL” stars, only Sandler has done a better job marketing his brand, but Ferrell doesn’t have to live with “Click” on his resume.
“Vampires Suck” exists in a bubble, and as such wasn’t expected to be a zeitgeist-grabber. They got their Friday, and their five-day, last weekend, and at the end of its run, the numbers will be close to “Meet The Spartans,” if a bit front-loaded. Good for Fox, who spends a buck and a half on these movies, and bad for Fox, who have to live with themselves for releasing them.
With the smallest audience loss in the top ten yet again is “Inception,” which retains its outside shot at $300 million domestic. The WB is likely going to give up “Lottery Ticket” screens to favor “Inception” in a bid for that magic number, but that’s merely a pride issue, as the movie’s worldwide take is probably going to threaten $700 million. It outpaced the seemingly mandatory release of “Nanny McPhee Returns,” which no one expected much of anyway.
Right behind is “The Switch,” which is doing pretty well for a movie that looks like it was frozen in time in 2004. Meanwhile, a big second weekend fall for “Piranha 3D” just reaffirms that really down-and-dirty horror pictures aren’t big box office. Films like “Saw” and “Final Destination” hit because of their gimmicks, and their race-against-time structures more befit the “suspense thriller” genre rather than horror per se.. “Piranha” had the added disadvantage of people wondering if it was a comedy or a scare picture, and the Cinemascore reflected that with a “C.” Of course, that could just be a reflection of people’s natural guilt towards watching a horror film, as a lot of customers for these films are reluctant to feel genuinely scared – “The Last Exorcism” received a “D,” which is extremely rare – but it’s worth noting that “Piranha 3D” just might be a little too gruesome for some peoples’ taste. The Weinstein Company were probably trying to drum up interest after the weak opening with that sequel announcement, but if that happens, it’s likely direct-to-DVD at this point.
The “Avatar” re-release happened this weekend, but the biggest film of all time couldn’t coax any additional views with the promise of extra footage. Outside of the top ten, “Avatar” pulled in $4 million on only 800 screens, apparently all of them 3D engagements. The conversation is best left for sometime in the future, but did “Avatar” manage to get to be such a huge box office hit without really connecting with the zeitgeist? Or did the audience, wise to multiple DVD releases, not fall for this transparent cash grab? Probably somewhere in between. Fox didn’t expect the re-release to be jostling with “Lottery Ticket” for viewers’ attention, that’s for sure.
“Get Low” expanded to 570 screens and was the weekend’s biggest indie expansion, though even with close to $4 million in gross, the per-screen suggests this isn’t quite a breakout hit, so unless the Oscars prompt a seasonal re-release, they’re not going to score “Crazy Heart” numbers. The indie debut of note was “Mesrine: Killer Instinct,” which pulled in $150k on 28 screens, a decent haul for half of a two-part movie. “Animal Kingdom” followed behind with a solid $135k in weekend three, and at 39 locations, it might be playing at a theater near you. Support your local arthouse, boys and girls.
1. The Last Exorcism – $21.3 million
2. Takers – $21 million
3. The Expendables – $9.5 million ($82 mil.)
4. Binge, Purge, Fornicate – $7 million ($61 mil.)
5. The Other Guys – $6.6 million ($99 mil.)
6. Vampires Gag – $5.3 million ($28 mil.)
7. Inception – $5.1 million ($271 mil.)
8. Nanny McPhee: Babyshaker – $4.7 million ($17 mil.)
9. The Switch – $4.6 million ($16 mil.)
10. Piranha DD’s – $4.3 million ($18 mil.)