The sky is falling everywhere except over Chicken Little's head. Given that the recent past hasn't been kind to any movie at all, the Disney flick put the box-office on its head this weekend by holding onto the number one spot while simultaneously dropping only 20% in sales compared to last weekend. It's a small victory for Disney who is in desperate need for a movie that makes a ton of cash. To see Chicken Little hold out so well, especially in the face of competition from Zathura must be putting a big smile between Mickey's ears.
Speaking of Zathura, John Favreau's space adventure film got a luke warm reception, managing less than half what Chicken Little made. That's a bit of surprise given it was the best reviewed film in wide release this weekend and received praise as a movie that appeals to all ages. The other two wide releases, Derailed and Get Rich or Die Tryin' lived up to their titles by being run off the tracks, dying while trying to make it big. Both lingered in the $12 millions and have the distinct look of projects that will disappear from the top ten quickly and quietly. That's not to say they're both bad movies. Derailed looks pretty good, actually. However, quality doesn't always mean box office returns. Take Crash for example! (and so begins my three month long campaign to hype a movie I hope scores at least a couple of awards at the Oscars.)
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Pride and Prejudice may have only eeked onto the top ten, but don't let that fool you. It wasn't lucky to make it to the number ten spot, it made a tremendous showing opening in only 215 theaters. Most movies don't garner top ten spots in limited release but Pride and Prejudice banked an impressive $13,000 per theater. Look for it to score in a big way when it opens wide in two weeks.
The box office has built up a head of steam in the last couple of weeks and next weekend features a push that will blow the top off the roof. Whether you like your wizards in black or just your country singers, both will rock your world next week as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Walk the Line smash into theaters. Both films feature massive advertising campaigns and, with only the earliest of reviews in, have had nothing but positive feed back. Expect them to make more than $100 million between them. It'll be a huge boost for the ailing box office, though likely not enough to get it out of its massive deficit. At this point even the best of holiday runs will still leave this year as the worst since the early part of the decade.
