Paranormal Activity 3 put a smile on everyone’s face at Paramount in delivering record-setting numbers in its pre-Halloween debut, ending a lengthy stagnant period for Hollywood that began after Rise of the Planet of the Apes exceeded expectations the first week of August. The horror prequel/sequel sure to become a Halloween mainstay easily trounced not only the rival openings of The Three Musketeers and Johnny English Reborn, but the entire top ten – and most likely twenty – combined. The top ten was up a huge 48% from last weekend, but down an oh-so-slight 0.8% from the same frame a year ago.
In what appears to becoming an annual tradition the way Lionsgate’s completed Saw series (remember those?) was, Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 3 delivered some early thrills by opening the week before All Hallows Eve. True to the nature of the franchise, the production budget was kept low and marketing effectively built its opening-weekend buzz through social media outlets such as Twitter, which offered fans the chance to see the film first if they Tweeted about it. The end result on 3,321 screens was a huge $8 million haul at 12:01am showings Thursday night, a big $46 million take from Friday to Sunday, and a great per-screen haul of $16,266.
The $54 million debut was a record setter not only for the horror film franchise, it was also a record-setter for the month of October. Considering that this was done by an R-rated feature and without the assistance of 3-D or IMAX ticket surcharges makes the opening all the more impressive.
Now, whether that big opening translates into a final haul that surpasses the 2009 original is anyone’s guess. As we all know, sequels/prequels always tend to open huge and fall from there. And if it is a horror-themed sequel, especially one that opens the week before or on Halloween, chances are that you will have candy kicking around your house that will last longer than said film will at the box office once November rolls around.
The 2009 original Paranormal Activity made all but three of its $107 million final domestic take by the time mid-November rolled around that year. The same went for the 2010 sequel, which sacked $40 million in its pre-Halloween opening en route to a fast fade three weeks later. The same should happen for PA3, which earned better reviews than its predecessor (72% positive on Rotten Tomatoes as opposed to the 59% for the second entry) but also earned a troubling “C+” from viewer exit polls on CinemaScore. And yes, Paranormal Activity 4 is already in the works for 2012.
Family matinees on Saturdays have been keeping Disney/Dreamworks’ sci-fi hit Real Steel afloat since its opening three weekends ago. Staying put in second place, the Hugh Jackman flick was off a small 30.5% from the previous week to earn an estimated $11.3 million from 3,412 theaters. It’s new to-date total stands at approximately $67.2 million. It appears to be headed to the $95-100 million mark, which would mark the film as a solid but somewhat underwhelming box office hit given the movie’s production budget of $125 million. Real Steel should make up some of that lost potential with overseas sales, which are now hovering near the $60 million mark.
After having a so-so opening last weekend, Paramount’s 2011 update of its 1984 box office hit (I refuse to call it a classic) Footloose had a solid hold for its second sashay around the box office dance floor. Staying put on 3,549 screens, Footloose eased back a mere 30% from its opening to earn an estimated $10.9 million. After ten days, the movie has earned $30.8 million and could make its way to the $50 million mark.
There are two stories that the world does not need another cinematic version of: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. We were given another version of Carol two years ago and now Summit Entertainment has unleashed upon us another version of The Three Musketeers. How is this one different from the 237 previous versions? Well, it is a 3D Steampunk take directed by the guy who gave us Alien Vs. Predator and stars the acting awesomeness of Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich!
Despite all of these fine attributes as well as a month of ear-and-mind numbing advertising on TV, the Paul W.S. Anderson update fell flat on its swashbuckling face in its North American debut (the film has mustered an okay $50 million overseas so far). Opening on 3,012 screens, the 2011 version of Three Musketeers could only muster $8.8 million in its first three days for a dim $2,917 per-screen average. It earned an okay “B” rating from CinemaScore but a toxic 28% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Adieu, Musketeers.
Continuing strong word-of-mouth from adult viewers has kept Sony’s The Ides of March afloat over the past three weekends. In its third go-around, the George Clooney-directed feature only lost 31% of its audience to earn $4.9 million 2,042 theaters to bring its domestic total to the $29.2 million mark. If the holds continue to be strong, the Ryan Gosling drama could finish with a respectable $45-50 million.
Two viewer favorites from September also continue to hold their ground thanks to positive ticket buyer feedback. Warner’s Dolphin Tale continued to swim in 2,858 theaters in its fifth weekend. The film earned an estimated $4.2 million (-32.6%) in weekend sales. Its overall domestic haul stands at $65 million and could reach $75 million before heading off to the inviting shores of home video.
Sony’s baseball drama Moneyball continued its winning ways as well (if you haven’t seen this or Drive yet, go out of your way to do so) in its fifth weekend. The Brad Pitt flick earned $4 million (-25%) in estimated sales on 2,353 screens to bring its domestic total to the $63.7 million mark. Moneyball should also make its way to the $75 million mark by the end of the ninth inning of its box office run. It may do a little more if the awards season is kind enough to include it.
When is having two films in the top ten not a good thing for a movie studio? For Universal Studios, that time would be now. The spy comedy sequel Johnny English Reborn finally made it to North American theaters after becoming a $100 million international smash six weeks beforehand. But given its scant $3.8 million on 1,551 screens, you have to wonder why Universal bothered to put it in theaters. Rowan Atkinson, talented as he is, isn’t quite the star in the States that he is overseas, and Johnny English was hardly a box office blockbuster on these shores. Apparently, this token release is enough for a blurb on the home video marketing sheets which are most likely already printed up and ready to go.
Universal’s top ten woes continued with its prequel The Thing, which crashed 63% in its second week out. Still on a rather big 2,995 screen count, the Sci-Fi thriller eked out $3.1 million to bring its ten-day total to the $14 million mark. The film should finish its brief theatrical run with a pathetic $18-20 million in the bank.
Rounding out the top ten this weekend was Summit’s cancer comedy 50/50 with an estimated $2.83 million from 1,932 theaters. To date, the $5 million production has earned a very respectable $28.8 million and should call it a day with approximately $35 million in tow.
Next weekend, four decidedly non-horror films enter the marketplace to compete alongside and against Paranormal Activity 3. Paramount should find itself with another number one hit thanks to the debut of the animated comedy Puss In Boots. Fox will give the top spot a shot with its Justin Timberlake Sci-Fi thriller In Time. Film District will open the Johnny Depp comedy The Rum Diaries, and Sony will quietly roll out Roland Emmerich’s Shakespeare drama Anonymous. The latter was originally set to open on over 2,500 theaters but had its release curtailed to a mere 200 last week. Ouch.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
