http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/02/box-office-roommate-beats-sanctum-on-slow-super-bowl-weekend.html
"The Roommate" scared up more business than "Sanctum," but there were
no real winners on a sluggish Super Bowl weekend at the box office.
The teen horror thriller "The Roommate" opened to a so-so $15.6
million, according to studio estimates, while the James Cameron-produced
3-D adventure "Sanctum" brought in a soft $9.2 million on its first
weekend.
Studios were expecting particularly low grosses for their movies on
Sunday, as the Super Bowl has become a national event that keeps most
Americans glued to their televisions. Nonetheless, the numbers were
especially disappointing, as total ticket sales were down 24.5% compared
with Super Bowl weekend last year, according to Hollywood.com.
"The Roommate," which stars Minka Kelly and "Gossip Girl's" Leighton
Meester, was driven by a young female audience that typically likes
scary movies and is familiar with the film's stars, according to exit
polls. As with most releases from Sony's Screen Gems label, the film had
a low budget, costing only $16 million to produce. Horror movies,
however, tend to fade quickly at the box office, and word-of-mouth was
mixed, with audiences giving the film an average grade of B-, according
to market-research firm CinemaScore. As a result, "The Roommate" may
only be a modest financial performer for the studio.
"Sanctum" was more underwhelming, though it
shouldn't leave its backers too far underwater. Universal Pictures and
Relativity Media spent $12 million to acquire distribution rights to the
Australian film. Its audience was almost evenly split between men and
women, a surprise given that pre-release polling indicated that it was
generating more interest among men. Still, moviegoers didn't seem
entirely taken with the picture, giving it a CinemaScore of C+.
The vast majority of ticket sales for "Sanctum" came from theaters
showing the movie in 3-D, which represented 84% of total receipts. IMAX
screens were particularly lucrative, generating 17% of the business,
although they were only 6% of the total locations.
"Sanctum" opened simultaneously in Britain, where it placed No. 5
with an unimpressive $1.5 million, and in Australia, where it debuted to
a stronger $1.6 million, good enough for second place in the smaller
country.
Neither of the two movies that opened last weekend had a strong hold.
The Anthony Hopkins' horror film "The Rite" dropped 62% to $5.6
million, and the Jason Statham action flick "The Mechanic" fell 53% to
$5.4 million.
"The King's Speech," which garnered 12 Oscar nominations, continued
to reign among awards contenders at the box office. On its second
weekend in wide release, the film dropped only 25% and grossed $8.3
million, increasing its total to $84.1 million. "True Grit" was down
37%, adding $4.8 million to its impressive tally, which now stands at
$155 million. And "Black Swan" remained in the top 10, dropping 34% to
$3.4 million. The psychological ballet thriller is closing in on $100
million, now standing at $95.9 million.
But another film starring Natalie Portman barely registered with
moviegoers. "The Other Woman," which already had been available via
video-on-demand for a month, opened to a paltry $5,900 at two theaters.
But Portman's romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" is still doing
healthy business. On its third weekend, it dropped 37% to $8.4 million.
Its total is now $51.8 million, a good box-office performance for a
movie that cost Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment only $25
million to make.
[
Updated at 10:46 a.m.: "Black Swan" is also doing
very strong business overseas for a low-budget specialty picture. This
weekend, it added $12.8 million to its international total, which now
stands at $48 million.
Here are the top 10 movies at the domestic box office, with foreign
grosses when available, according to studio estimates and Hollywood.com:
1.
"The Roommate" (Sony Screen Gems): Opened to $15.6 million.
2.
"Sanctum" (Universal/Relativity): Opened to $9.2 million. $3.1 million overseas in two foreign markets.
3.
"No Strings Attached" (Paramount/Spyglass/Cold Spring): $8.4 million on its third weekend, down 37%. Domestic total: $51.8 million.
4.
"The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Co.): $8.3 million on its 11th weekend, down 25%. Domestic total: $84.1 million.
5.
"The Green Hornet" (Sony): $6.1 million on its
fourth weekend, down 45%. Domestic total: $87.2 million. $16.7 million
overseas in 73 foreign markets. International total: $83.8 million.
6.
"The Rite" (Warner Bros./New Line): $5.6 million on its second weekend, down 62%. Domestic total: $23.7 million.
7.
"The Mechanic" (CBS): $5.4 million on its second weekend, down 53%. Domestic total: $20.1 million.
8.
"True Grit" (Paramount/Skydance): $4.8 million on its seventh weekend, down 37%. Domestic total: $155 million.
9.
"The Dilemma" (Universal/Spyglass): $3.4 million
on its fourth weekend, down 39%. Domestic total: $45.7 million. $2.6
million overseas in 23 foreign markets. International total: $14.4
million.
10.
"Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight): $3.4 million on
its 10th weekend, down 34%. Domestic total: $95.9 million. $12.8 million
overseas in 28 foreign markets. International total: $48 million.]
-- Amy Kaufman and Ben Fritz
