Weekend Box Office - Memorial Day Turns Sour

The rumors of my legendary barbeque cookout extravaganza are much exaggerated (though there are some fine steaks about to make their way to the back patio). If you missed those rumors or the regular three-day weekend box office update you should really click here and read up before continuing on.

The good news this Memorial Day was for Indiana Jones leaving the rest of Hollywood in general with very little to be excited about. Indy followed up his record breaking weekend (the estimated $101 million makes it the biggest opening of the year so far) with projections that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will just edge out X-Men: The Last Stand for the second largest Memorial Day weekend total of all time. X-Men banked $122 million two years ago and Indiana Jones is expected to top $126 million. Both movies fall short of the Memorial Day record holder Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End which snatched the title last summer.

While Kingdom of the Crystal Skull fared well, Memorial Day projections are falling way short of where they have been. Always one of the more profitable Monday-holiday weekends, over the last three years is has seen top ten totals climb from $175 million up to nearly $200 million. This year the total is dropping to only $165 million and change. That drop is further reflected in the year-to-date totals for all domestic ticket sales which have fallen behind again and are struggling to keep up. That $50 a weekend that some people spend at the box office are likely headed somewhere else (Exxon, Phillips 66, Shell, etc.) leaving an already financially strapped Hollywood in an even more precarious position.

Whether you're headed to the movies or not, don't forget to take some time today to honor and remember the real reason for this holiday. The service and sacrifice of so many in the defense and protection of our country deserves our thanks.

4-Day Totals

THTRS = Number of Screens

* Denotes new release.

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