Warner Bros. can probably be proud of being on top of the box office this weekend, but it's probably not exactly the setup they were hoping for. Argo will take over the #1 spot at the box office for the first time this weekend, making $3.9 million and projected for around $12 million for the weekend. If that sounds exceedingly low for a #1 movie, it is-- Argo's $12 million would be the second-lowest number to lead the box office this year, behind only The Possession's third week $9 million gross. The #3 spot currently belongs to Warner Bros' new release, Cloud Atlas, a massive and lavishly marketed movie that made just $3.4 million on Friday, and is on target for $10.2 million for the weekend.
That position could change, since fellow newcomer Silent Hill: Revelation 3D was barely ahead of Cloud Atlas at $3.5 million on Friday, and since neither film is getting especially strong CinemaScore ratings-- Cloud Atlas got a C+, Silent Hill a C-- neither is likely to benefit from word of mouth. And as the studio executives quoted in Deadline's writeup point out repeatedly, most of the East Coast is currently bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy and a subsequent "Frankenstorm," which surely has a lot of people waiting in line at the grocery store to buy provisions instead of going out to the movies.
Two more of the weekend's new releases couldn't even crack the top 10-- the Nickelodeon comedy Fun Size made $1.3 million on Friday and Chasing Mavericks made $825,000, putting them at 11th and 12th place, respectively. All in all it's not a good weekend to be a new release, and it's a real shame to see Cloud Atlas stumble, given just how much we love it around here. Let us know in the comments what you're seeing in theaters this weekend, and if you're even remotely curious about Cloud Atlas, go see it! Creative and risky movies like that really deserve your support.
