Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy » Box Office Results

Box Office Results: Salt Does Not Top Inception

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:04:57 +0000

Action diva Angelina Jolie’s latest film Salt debuted this past weekend but failed to beat out Christopher Nolan’s Inception which held onto the top spot through its second weekend. Salt still managed to grab the Number 2 slot and pulled in an estimated $36.5 million for its opening bow, not spectacular numbers, but strong enough to likely keep it out of the bust category. Inception earned an estimated $43.5 million for the weekend and is now approaching a $230 million gross worldwide after two weeks. Some analysts had thought that Nolan’s latest picture may not have played well in theaters because of its heady nature, but it has definitely drawn plenty of movie-goers into the theaters thus far. Despicable Me slipped to the Number 3 slot in its third week of release, but this one has grossed nearly $180 million worldwide so far vs. a $70 million budget so it should count as a Summer hit. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice slipped to the Number 4 spot after its mediocre opening last weekend and could be looking at a quick exit from the theaters. Toy Story 3 continues to show staying power as it held onto the Number 5 slot and raised its tally to over $730 million worldwide after six weeks. This one still appears to have a lock on honors as the top grossing film for the Summer and should top $1 billion before it ends its theatrical run. Twilight: Eclipse continues to slide down the charts as it fell from the Number 4 to the Number 8 slot this past weekend. Still, that one has now surpassed $600 million in receipts and will likely top Iron Man 2 (currently at $615 million) before finishing its run. The Last Airbender has now surpassed $150 million in receipts worldwide, making back its budget, but will need some more success in the foreign markets if Shyamalan hopes for any chance to produce a second movie in this series. And those wanting to see Predators on the big screen need to do it fast because that one has already dropped to the Number 10 slot after three weeks of release. It has still managed to make a decent amount of money vs. its budget ($95 million in receipts worldwide vs. a $40 million budget) and will escape the flop label.

Note that these numbers are estimates of the weekend performance and the dollar amounts and position ranks will change slightly when the final tally comes in. You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Inception Opens Strong, Sorcerer’s Apprentice Stumbles

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:49:27 +0000

Christopher Nolan, who already has one of the top grossing films of all time on his resume (The Dark Knight at over $1 billion), looks to have another winner on his hands with the dream-infiltrating thriller Inception which opened this past weekend. The movie bowed at the Number 1 slot and pulled in an estimated $60 million in its debut and received very strong critical praise as well (and you can read Johnny Jay’s review at this link). And while this one may not reach the heights of The Dark Knight in receipts, it should still do quite well in its theatrical run. Not so lucky over the weekend was the Nicholas Cage starring The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. That film only managed to climb to the Number 3 slot in its debut with an estimated $17 million in receipts which brings it to a total of around $24 million domestically included the tally from its early release. With a budget of $150 million and poor critical returns, this one looks headed toward flop status. At the Number 2 slot over the weekend, the animated Despicable Me enjoyed a decent second outing as it pulled in nearly $33 million. As expected, Twilight: Eclipse continues to show a sharp drop-off in attendance as it slipped to the Number 4 slot over the weekend with $13.5 million in receipts. Still, that one has already racked up over $550 million worldwide. Toy Story 3 dropped to the Number 5 slot with just under $12 million in receipts, but that one has now eclipsed Iron Man 2 as the top money-maker for the Summer with $630 million worldwide vs. $615 million so far for the superhero flick. At the Number 7 slot, The Last Airbender looks like it is on the way out as it brought in $7.5 million this past weekend. That one has only grossed $135 million worldwide so far vs. a $150 million budget. I expected it to play well in the foreign markets, but it has only racked up $20 million there over the past two weeks, though that may be only limited release in that arena [Edit: it has had only limited release so far, with larger distribution to come] . Predators also looks like it is heading for a quick exit as it slipped to the Number 8 slot in its second week. But that one has grossed $78 million worldwide vs. a $40 million budget so it should still be considered a Summer success.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Sci Fi / Fantasy Wins Top 5 Over the Weekend

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:52:54 +0000

The top five grossing films at the Box Office this past weekend were Science Fiction and/or Fantasy according to the Monday morning estimates. The new animated comedy Despicable Me won top honors as it landed the Number 1 slot with an estimated tally of $60 million domestically for its debut. Twilight: Eclipse slipped to the Number 2 slot after debuting on top over the Fourth of July weekend and pulled in ~$33 million in its second outing. Predators debuted at the Number 3 slot, pulling in an estimated $25 million, which is actually a decent draw compared to its modest budget (by Hollywood standards) of $40 million. When you include its foreign receipts of $18 million, that one is already in the black (not taking into account its marketing costs). Starting to lose some ground after four weeks, Toy Story 3 slipped to the Number 4 slot, pulling in an estimated $22 million for the weekend. It’s still chugging along pretty strong overall, though, having grossed over $550 million worldwide and is still on track to overtake Iron Man 2 as the Summer’s top grossing film (assuming of course that Twilight: Eclipse continues to see the steep drop-off we expect). As we predicted last week, The Last Airbender saw a significant decrease in receipts from its opening weekend, likely because of the negative reviews from critics and harsh reactions from fans of the animated series. That one slipped to the Number 5 slot with an estimated $17 million in receipts. Looking further down the Box Office charts, the Tom Cruise / Cameron Diaz vehicle Knight and Day is making a quick exit from theaters as it slipped to the Number 7 slot and has only grossed an estimated $100 million worldwide so far. It should recover its $117 million budget (which likely one third or more is comprised of the two stars’ salaries), but probably not its marketing costs and will be tagged as a Summer dud. Also facing that fate is The A-Team at the Number 9 slot which has recouped its budget, but should be exiting the theaters pretty soon without sufficient receipts to cover its marketing expenses.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Twilight Eclipses the Competition

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:59:33 +0000

The third movie in the Twilight franchise, Twilight: Eclipse, hit big in its debut weekend as it took the Number 1 slot at the Box Office and pulled in an estimated $82.5 million over the four day holiday period. The movie had an early debut last Wednesday and actually took in more on its opening day than the entire weekend period that followed putting its domestic total to an estimated $175 million. And as astounding as that number sounds, that’s less than the previous installment in the franchise did in its opening weekend. However, it has only been seven months since Twilight: New Moon hit the screens so a drop-off was expected with such a short time span between movies. Also debuting strong over the weekend was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender which adapts the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. That one took no shame in taking second place at the Box Office and had an estimated $53 million in receipts over the four day holiday weekend and with its early release on Thursday has taken in an estimated $70.5 million total domestically. That’s a decent opening for the film, despite almost universally bad reviews (though our own Johnny Jay liked it), and already puts it close to the half way point of making up its $150 million budget. One of the primary complaints about the movie, though, is that it significantly diverged from its source material and this one could see a significant drop-off in attendance after its debut weekend. It has not had its international release, though, and should perform well in that market. Holding on strong against some pretty stiff competition, Toy Story 3 took the third place slot at the Box Office and brought in an estimated $42 million over the holiday weekend and edged up its worldwide gross to nearly $452 million as it quickly looks to overtake Iron Man 2 (currently at $612 million) as the Summer’s top money maker. Some might look at Twilight: Eclipse (currently at an estimated $275 million worldwide after only one weekend) as a strong candidate for top Box Office honors this Summer, but movies in that franchise tend to have a sharp drop-off after their opening whereas Toy Story 3 has more general appeal and better staying-power.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Toy Story Doesn’t Toy Around

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:58:55 +0000

Toy Story 3 fended off two new-comers to the theaters this past weekend (Grown Ups and Knight & Day) as it held tight to the Number 1 slot at the Box Office in its second weekend of release. The movie pulled in an estimated $59 million for the weekend bringing its domestic total to $226.5 million which is just below the $229 million that Shrek Forever After has pulled in domestically after six weeks of release. And when you add the estimated $100 million that Toy Story has made in foreign release, that movie actually tops Shrek worldwide with $326.5 million in receipts vs. $321 million. This puts Toy Story 3 on the fast track to beating out Iron Man 2 as the top grossing film of the summer (that one currently stands at $610 million worldwide after eight weeks in release). Not so lucky this past weekend was the new Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz spy-thriller Knight & Day which only made it to the Number 3 slot at the Box Office in its opening weekend with an estimated $20.5 million in receipts (with an extra two days to get there seeing as it had an early release on Wednesday). That one did not draw much attention in its foreign release either where it only added an additional $12.6 million. That probably does not yet even cover the salary that the two stars received for the movie and puts it a good distance from recouping its $125 million budget. This seems to assure that this potential action-comedy franchise starter will stall before ever really taking off and that it could disappear pretty quickly with plenty of other Summer blockbusters vying for screen time. Also looking at a quick exit from the theaters is Jonah Hex which debuted poorly last weekend and has already slipped down to the Number 10 slot at the Box Office.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

10 Cent Movie Tickets in June!! In honor of their anniversary, Fandango will be giving away 10¢ tickets on their Twitter and Facebook pages weekly for the month of June! Click here to find out more!

Box Office Results: Toy Story 3 Wins Big

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:34 +0000

Toy Story 3 brought the third installment of the beloved franchise to the big screen and packed theater-goers into the cinemas over the weekend. The movie bowed at Number 1 and pulled in an estimated $109 million in its first weekend of release. This marks the highest domestic opening weekend for a Pixar release, topping their previous best of $70.5 million for The Incredibles, and the second highest for an animated movie behind Shrek the Third which debuted with $121.6 million. The film also brought in an additional $44.8 million overseas bringing its grand total to over $150 million. This makes Toy Story 3 currently the most likley candidate to challenge Iron Man 2 as the top-grossing movie for the Summer which currently has taken in nearly $604 million after seven weeks and still remains in the Box Office Top 10. Not as successful over the weekend was Jonah Hex which got lost in the mix, despite a significant promotional campaign, and only managed to make it to the Number 8 slot with just over $5 million in receipts. That movie received almost universally negative reviews which must have impacted its Box Office performance and could put it on target to be one of the biggest flops of the Summer Season.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: The A-Team Gets Taken by a Kid

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:45:53 +0000

The big-screen reboot of the 80’s action series debuted in theaters this past weekend but took a distant second to another remake from the same era. The A-Team only managed to make it to the Number 2 slot on the Box Office charts with an estimated $26 million tally and was significantly outpaced by the Jackie Chan remake of The Karate Kid which took top honors for the weekend with an estimated draw of $56 million. This will almost certainly stall any plans to make The A-Team into a viable movie franchise as it currently looks questionable whether the film has a chance to recoup its $110 budget. Shrek Forever After slid down to the Number 3 slot in its opening weekend but has now made almost $285 million worldwide leaving a question mark on how final this “final” chapter really is. Prince of Persia slipped to Number 6 in its third week, though that film has performed very well overseas with worldwide receipts currently at just over $262 million. The Summer season opener Iron Man 2 is still performing strong in its sixth weekend as it remained in the Top 10 and is rapidly approaching $600 million in worldwide receipts. Splice on the other hand looks headed for a quick exit from the theaters as it slid to the Number 10 slot in its second weekend and has yet to recoup its $20 million budget (though it has not had its foreign release yet). Robin Hood slipped out of the Top 10 this weekend, though it has still had a decent run because of its success in overseas theaters and has made $283 million worldwide.

Note that these numbers are estimates as of Monday morning and the dollar amounts and position ranks will change slightly when the final tally comes in. You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Shrek Three-peats, Splice Doesn’t Make the Cut

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:30:26 +0000

Shrek Forever After won the top slot at the Box Office for a third week in a row as the animated sequel pulled in an estimated $25.5 million over the weekend. After three weeks, that movie has earned $250 million worldwide and almost certainly has Dreamworks reconsidering the “Final Chapter” tagline that this film carries. The Science Fiction/Horror movie Splice opened this past weekend to decent reviews, but failed to garner much attention from movie-goers as it only managed to land the Number 8 slot for its debut with just under $7.5 million in receipts. That one only has a budget of $30 million, though, so it still has a chance of wrapping up in the black, especially after its foreign tally starts to roll in. Prince of Persia continued to perform poorly in domestic theaters as it dropped to the Number 4 slot in its second weekend of release and has amassed just under $60 million so far in the states. That one is a much bigger hit overseas, though, as it has pulled in an additional $156 million in the foreign markets bringing its grand total to $216 million worldwide. Iron Man 2 still has power in the Box Office as it landed in the Number 7 slot for the weekend and is currently approaching $300 million in receipts domestically with right about the same tally overseas as well. MacGruber fell completely out of the Top 20 in its third week and has yet to recoup its moderate $10 million budget. That one has not had its overseas release yet, though, so perhaps it still has a change of ending up in the black unless they decide to pull it altogether.

Note that these numbers are estimates as of Monday morning and will change slightly when the final tally comes in. You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Shrek Stays on Top

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:05:49 +0000

Over the four day Memorial Day weekend, Shrek Forever After fended off two new-comers (Prince of Persia and Sex in the City 2) and held on to the top Box Office slot for a second weekend in a row. The animated sequel (the fourth movie in the franchise) pulled in an estimated $55.7 million in receipts for the holiday weekend bringing its worldwide gross to $171 million. Dreamworks insists this is the last film for the franchise, but just may change their minds when the final tally comes in on this one. In second place over the four day weekend, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time pulled in a estimated $37.8 million in receipts. Not terrible numbers, but it had much greater success overseas where it pulled in an additional $95.5 million and putting it on target to end up in the black for its theatrical run considering its $200 million price tag. Iron Man 2 did not totally fade against some pretty stiff competition as it added another $20.6 million to its overall total in the Number 4 slot. That one has now grossed an estimated $555 million worldwide after four weeks. How to Train Your Dragon is still holding its own against the Summer blockbusters in its tenth week of release as it landed in the Number 10 slot and increased its worldwide gross to $448 million. And Alice in Wonderland eclipsed $1 billion in receipts in it thirteenth and final week at the theaters as it gets ready for its DVD release this week.

Note that these numbers are estimates as of Monday morning and will change slightly when the final tally comes in. You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview

Box Office Results: Shrek Scares Up a Win at the Box Office

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:27:16 +0000

The fourth (and allegedly final) Shrek movie won the Number 1 slot on its opening weekend with a tally of $71 million. That represents a considerable drop-off from the $121.6 million that the previous Shrek movie enjoyed on its opening weekend, but the receipts were healthy enough to beat out any competition for the weekend and to likely carry it to a decent Summer gross. Less fortunate was Macgruber, which only managed to climb to the Number 6 slot in its opening weekend with a draw of just over $4 million. That one only has a budget of $10 million, though (compared to Shrek Forever After’s price tag of $165 million), so it still has a decent chance of turning a profit before exiting from the theaters, which will probably happen fairly quickly. Iron Man 2 held onto the Number 2 slot this past weekend, adding another $26 million to its total which now tops $500 million worldwide. That movie is still by far the front runner for top Box Office honors this summer. Robin Hood slipped to the Number 3 slot, with $18.8 million in receipts for the weekend. That one is still performing stronger overseas, though, where it has totaled $125 million so far brining its grand total in at just under $200 million. Alice in Wonderland fell just short of the $1 billion mark in its twelfth week as it now stands at $996.6 million worldwide.

You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Click Here to See Our Summer 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview