Strings Provides No Boost for Box Office
January 24, 2011
It's getting harder and harder to to spin the weekend numbers, as this time around the overall box office was down significantly, even if you ignore Avatar. The total box office was $103 million, which was 21% lower than last weekend and a stunning 29% lower than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date 2011 is already almost $250 million behind $2010 at $730 million to $979 million. Granted, it's far too early in the year to panic, but we haven't seen year-over-year growth for nearly three months.
No Strings Attached performed better than most January releases do, both in terms of box office generated and critical reception. But that said, it still earned mixed results in both cases, opening in first place with $19.65 million, while earning almost exactly 50% positive reviews. By the weekend, it will have matched its production budget, while by the end of its run, it will likely surpass its combined budget. This puts it on a clear path to profitability.
The Green Hornet matched predictions nearly perfectly with $17.65 million over the weekend, while its running tally of $63.02 million is nearly as much as it was expected to make in total. It was an expensive movie to make, but if it can do respectable business internationally, then it will earn a profit early in the film's home market run.
The Dilemma also matched predictions nearly perfectly with $9.11 million over the weekend; however, its running tally of $32.75 million is well below expectations and unless it is a surprise hit internationally and on the home market, it will struggle to break even for a long, long time, if it ever does.
The King's Speech held up a little better than expected, adding $7.85 million over the weekend for a total of $57.31 million after nearly two months of release. With Oscars nominations being announced this week, plus more guild awards coming soon, hitting $100 million is not out of the question. It won't be easy, but it could get there.
Rounding out the top five was True Grit with $7.33 million over the weekend, giving it a running tally of $137.96 million after a month. This is about double what a lot of people were expecting, while it could get an Oscar bounce after Tuesday's announcements.
As predicted, Black Swan finished sixth, but it fell a little faster with $5.87 million over the weekend. So far it has made $83.25 million, putting it on pace to reach $100 million. That is assuming it picks up enough Oscar nominations to give it a bit of a bounce over the weekend. Actually, it doesn't need a bounce exactly, but if it can help it hold up better than it did this week, that should be enough.
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Green Hornet, True Grit, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, No Strings Attached, The Dilemma