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Fox’s sci-fi prequel, “Prometheus,” arrived with all the
hype in the universe, but it was “Madagascar 3” that brought its buzz crashing down
to earth as Paramount’s toon was the greatest show on earth taking the top spot
with an estimated $60.3 million in the US and $75.5 million internationally,
while director Ridley Scott landed landed “Prometheus” in second place with a
payload of $50 million domestically and another $39.2 million in its second
weekend overseas.
“Madagascar 3’s” rousing victory shouldn’t come as too big
of a surprise, as DreamWorks animation created a three-ring circus nearly by
default, as their flick was the first true family film of the summer; the last
big animated event being Universal’s “The Lorax” back in March. This was mostly
a matter of the right film at the right time, and, of course, Marty the zebra’s
jingle “Afro-circus, afro-circus…polka dot, polka dot…” So glad that Chris Rock
finally has a new catch phrase…one that he will be singing at kids parties into
his twilight years.
Nearly matching the $63 million 2008’s sequel scored, “Madagascar
3: Europe’s Most Wanted” proved this series was far from over as its $145
million budget will be chimp change compared to what it will gross worldwide.
The sequel topped out at $603 million, while the original captured $532
million.
“Madagascar 3” #1 international
debut was equally impressive, as the circus came to 10,148 towns in 28
territories where it rang up a show-stopping $75.5 million. Worldwide total is
now $135.8 million.
As for the crew of the “Prometheus,” this was supposed to be
their coming out party. While $50 million is an amazing haul for an R-rated
sci-fi horror flick, it certainly doesn’t help that this was extremely
front-loaded on Friday grossing $21.4 million, then dropping -25% with $16.1
million on Saturday, and finishing the weekend with an estimated $12.4 million
for Sunday. That kind Fri-Sat drop portends a short voyage in theatres, and may
be lucky to fly its way to $140+ million domestic; great, but not stellar.
For Scott, this marks his second-highest grossing debut,
just a few notches below “Hannibal” which bit off $58 million in 2001. In terms of overall rankings, “Prometheus” is
one of only 12 R-rated films to ever debut with $50+ million, so that puts it
in very exclusive company.
So, say what you will, with an early worldwide gross of $141.5
million—exceeding its estimated $130 million budget—this will be quite a
money-maker for Fox and we should probably expect a sequel to burst out of
Ridley Scott’s chest at any moment.
Hopefully one that will dig a little deeper into the character
development and answer the myriad of questions posed but not answered in this
first installment. And hell, maybe some
way, somehow, star Noomi Rapace will meet her action-heroine creator—Sigourney Weaver—in
the next adventure.
Speaking of female leads, “Snow White” lost her crown in her
second weekend of release, as Universal’s film tumbled -59% in third place with
$23 million. That drop is similar to “Twilight” which fell -62% in its
sophomore outing. Still, “Snow White & the Huntsman” may just get Hollywood’s
version of a fairy tale ending—a sequel—as the studio has been fueling the fire
of the further adventures of Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth since it’s rollicking
$56 million debut last weekend. That’s no surprise, really, considering “Snow
White” has a fanatical fan base of females—a demographic that Hollywood grapples
mightily with.
Sony’s “MIB 3” dropped to fourth place with $13.5 million in
its third weekend. With $135.5 million in the bank, the threequel will have a
tough time reaching its predecessors which saw the original gross $250 million
and the sequel max-out at $190 million. Still,
it is now the highest grossing film of the franchise internationally, as it
probed another $38.3 million this weekend and now $352 million total. The
worldwide total of $487 million has already topped the sequel, but will have to
reach $589 million to best the original.
In its sixth smash weekend, worldwide box office phenom, “The
Avengers,” grossed another $10.8 million in fifth place—a drop of -47%—and now
a jaw-dropping total of $571 million. Worldwide, earth’s 3rd mightiest box office heroes—behind only “Avatar” and “Titanic” have racked up
$1.396 billion, including $824 million from international markets.
In its third weekend of limited release, “Moonrise Kingdom”
conquered the Top 10 as Wes Anderson’s latest found $1.5 million at 96 sites—$16,444
per. Focus Features’ fortune is now $3.7 million as the PG-13 film will
continue to expand over the next several weeks.
In limited release, the time-travel romcom (may be the first
time that was ever written) “Safety Not Guaranteed” collected $100k in 9
theatres--$11,111 per. FilmDisctrict’s pic stars movie maverick Mark Duplass
who may just be the emo-John Cusack of our generation.
Ho-hum-mumblecore maven, Greta Gerwig, also debuted her
latest indie flick, “Lola Versus,” grossing $34k at 4 theatres--$8,524 per. Not
bad results Fox Searchlight, but not even close when compared to the hit
arthouse flicks of the summer: “Moonrise Kingdom” and “The Intouchables.” In
fact, Gerwig who has dabbled in big-budget Hollywood with “Arthur” may just be
the next Parker Posey, an actress who found her unique niche as a stand-out
voice in a series of low-grossing indie films in the 90’s. “Lola” was very close to Posey’s breakout role
in “Party Girl” in terms of theatre average. That film went on to gross $472k,
a fate that “Lola Versus” will be fortunate to achieve.
“Battleship” has officially sunk domestically as it has
harbored just $59 million in four weeks of release. Universal’s misfire will
gross less than even “John Carter” which limped its way to $72 million. On the
worldwide front however, the board game adaptation has already topped Disney’s sci-fi
folly $295 million vs. $282 million.
Next weekend, Warner Bros. “Rock of Ages” will jam in 3,350+
theatres, while Sony will spew Adam Sandler in 3,000+ sites as he teams up with
his SNL doppelganger Andy Samberg in “That’s My Boy.”
“Rock of Ages” looks like the real deal, and should match
the recent summer musical success of “Mamma Mia” and “Hairspray” both which
debuted with $27 million. Don’t be surprised to see this top $30+ million
though, as the 80’s are so totally, like, retro right now.
And while Sandler may be the critic’s whipping boy, he
usually owns summer so if you’re expecting anything less than $30+ million, you’re
probably one of those that never leaves the house without your canteen. The
R-rating might actually help “That’s my Boy” as Sandler finally won’t have to censor
his crude comedy or dumb-down his percentage of dick jokes per capita. In the
immortal words of Rob Schneider: “You can doooooo it!”
(Jun 10, 2012) - Comments (38)
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