Geekscape’s Box Office Roundup For the Weekend of 9/23/11

I could say that The Lion King 3D puffed it’s chest out and clawed its way to the top for the second week in a row and kept Moneyball from hitting a home run, but I won’t. Instead I’ll just tell you that The Lion King 3D held the top spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, while the four new releases rounded out the top five.

The Top

The Lion King 3D held strong at the box office for the second weekend in a row, racking up another $22.1 million. It fell just 27% from last weekend’s numbers, and jumped another five spots on the all time domestic earners list from 17 to 12.

In 10 days, the re-release has earned just under $62 million. The original plan by Disney was to only run this in theaters for two weeks, but they’re not idiots and it’s run has already been extended. By next week it will have made over $400 million total since it’s original release and be in the top 10 highest grossing movies ever.

To stay with the Disney angle, let’s compare it to my favorite animated Disney film ever: The Black Cauldron. The Lion King’s $22.1 million in it’s second weekend of a re-release 17 years after it’s initial release is more than the entire $21.4 million theatrical run The Black Cauldron had in 1985. Granted, with inflation that’s a lot more, but who cares? The Black Cauldron has always seemed like the bastard child Disney never wanted anything to do with, so I’m not even going to bother with the math.

Sidenote: how awesome were the mid to late 80’s for family fantasy films? The Black Cauldron, Legend, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride and Willow are all awesome movies.

Getting back to The Lion King, and looking at it from a lion angle, The Lion King 3D’s second weekend beats the entire theatrical run of the Robert Redford/Tom Cruise political thriller, Lions For Lambs. In 2007, Lions For Lambs opened with $6.7 million, and only made $15 million for it’s entire run. I’m pretty sure it’s a political thriller. I may have made that part up. I am pretty sure there aren’t any actual lions or lambs in it though. Has anybody ever seen this movie? I know a lot of people, and I don’t think I know one person that’s seen Lions For Lambs.

The Rest

In the number two spot, Brad Pitt was able to balance out the combination of baseball and math and lead Moneyball to a strong opening with $20.6 million.

This wasn’t Brad Pitt’s biggest opening by far, but even after inflation it’s slightly better than his $11 million opening weekend with Fight Club in 1999. It’s right on par with his $13. 9 and $13.8 million openings in 1995 with Seven and 12 Monkeys. It also fared a lot better than my favorite Brad Pitt movie as Snatch opened to $8 million in 2000. I could really keep going with these pointless comparisons to Brad Pitt Movies I love, but I’ll stop now. Let’s just all take a second to admire how many awesome movies he’s made in his career.

Moneyball’s opening officially made it the highest opening baseball film ever, but when you consider that The Benchwarmers previously held that title, you realize just how pointless of a distinction that is.

Someone’s so in love with someone else. Can you guess who?

I truly wish we could skip number three this week, but we can’t. So let’s just get it over with.

Dolphin Tale had an incredible opening weekend for a movie that looks incredibly pointless as it brought in a surprising $20.2 million. For those of you unaware, this is a movie about Morgan Freeman building a robotic tale for a gimpy dolphin.

It’s high number could be attributed to the fact that it’s a family movie, and those usually have the potential for a big opening, but a family film has lead the box office two weeks in a row. How many families went to the movies this weekend? Go outside and do something with your kids before the weather gets too bad, people.

Looking at this from a Morgan Freeman and animals perspective, Dolphin Tale’s $20.2 million is way more than March Of The Penguins’ $4.4 million in 2005, and people love that penguin movie. Sticking with Morgan Freeman but looking from a terrible movie angle, Dreamcatcher’s $15 million opening in 2003. I strongly believe that Dreamcatcher is the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but I’d watch it again 10 times before I’d want to see Dolphin Tale.

In the fourth spot, Taylor Lautner and his abs found a $11.2 million opening with Abduction. This is a drop off from fellow Twilight hunk Robert Pattinson’s Water For Elephants’ $16.8 million opening earlier this year.

Despite being an “action” film, Abduction’s audience was 68% female, with 56% being under 25. That sounds about right.

Killer Elite was unable to cash in on the star power of Jason Statham, Robert DeNiro and Clive Owen and opened fifth with $9.5 million. Even for just Statham, this is a low opening. The Mechanic, Death Race and Transporter 3 all opened in the $11-$13 million range, without the aid of any extra star power.

It’s $9.5 million was less than the $12.7 million opening Robert DeNiro saw with the 1998 action film, Ronin but more than the $5.7 million opening Clive Owen’s Shoot ‘Em Up saw in 2007. It’s also less than the $10.2 million opening that my favorite Clive Owen movie, and top five favorite movie ever, Children Of Men saw in 2007.

Jonathan and Matt Kelly literally walked out of this movie… as if their lives were any less boring.

So, with that much star power combined, why wasn’t this testosterone fest able to open in the top three this weekend? Clearly, there wasn’t enough Tale.

Contagion fell to the sixth spot, but after this week it will have made back it’s $60 million budget and then some.
Drive fell off 49% to slip down four spots to seventh. It’s already turned a profit, and didn’t take as big of a dive as expected, but will still likely be out of the top 10 by next week, which is a shame.

The Help’s fairy tale ride near the top is coming close to it’s end as it saw a 32% decline to come in eighth, while still pushing it’s total to just under the $155 million mark.

Warrior continues to go unnoticed despite great reviews as it fell all the way to 14 after just three weeks. It only added another $1 million and all but ended it’s hopes of earning back it’s $25 million budget domestically as it currently sits at $12.1 million.

In smaller releases, Machine Gun Preacher brought in $44,000 while opening in only four theaters, and Pearl Jam Twenty earned $89,500 in only seven theaters.

The Worst

Straw Dogs and I Don’t Know How She Does It fell to ninth and tenth in only their second weekend of release to solidify them as major bombs who won’t be in theaters too much longer.

Straw Dogs only managed to rape in another $2.1 million after seeing a 59% drop. It’s total earnings sit at $8.8 million compared to it’s $25 million budget.

I Don’t Know How She Does it saw a smaller decline with 53%, but only brought in another $2 million. It sits at $8 million with a $24 million budget. To compare it to a similar title, last year’s Secretariat earned $9.3 million in it’s second weekend alone.

She’s eaten half this pretzel in just two bites.

Next Weekend

Four more wide releases look to shake up the top five again next week. Can Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon Levitt and the adorable Anna Kendrick cancer their way to the top spot in 50/50? Will bible thumpers make Courageous a hit? Can Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz scare their way to number one? Am I crazy for thinking What’s Your Number actually looks really funny? And will it be a moneymaker for Chris Evans and Anna Farris?

I hope something steps up, because I’m not sure how far I’ll have to reach to write about The Lion King three weeks in a row.