Box Office Results: Iron Man lifts off to the top

Studio Estimates for May 7-9:

1.  Iron Man 2 – $133.6 million
2.  A Nightmare on Elm Street – $9.2 million
3.  How to Train Your Dragon – $6.8 million
4.  Date Night – $5.3 million
5.  The Back-Up Plan – $4.3 million

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It was smart for studios to stay away from releasing any other films this past weekend because the Iron Man 2 launched the summer blockbuster season with an impressive $133.6 million. Debuting in about 10,000 screens at a record 4,380 theaters, it already ranks as the fourth highest-grossing picture from 2010 (in just three days).

Even though Iron Man 2 isn’t receiving as much critical praise as the first, that didn’t stop the masses from attending, even if it was on Mother’s Day.

Last week’s box office champion, A Nightmare on Elm Street, dropped a dramatic 72 percent to an estimated $9.2 million. Meanwhile, How to Train Your Dragon grossed $6.8 million, which boosted it over the $200 million total.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Date Night with $5.3 million and The Back-Up Plan with $4.3 million.

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This weekend there are three wide releases, with only one film having a chance at topping Iron Man 2 (though very unlikely). Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett is one film I’m excited to see. The other two new releases are the romantic-flick Letters to Juliet and the romantic comedy Just Wright.
All information from Box Office Mojo

Box Office Results: ‘Dragon’ is still soaring

Studio Estimates for April 23-25:

1.  How to Train Your Dragon – $15 million
2.  The Back-Up Plan – $12.3 million
3.  Date Night – $10.6 million
4.  The Losers – $9.6 million
5.  Kick-Ass – $9.5 million

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How to Train Your Dragon found its place at the top of the box office once again after it lost by a nose last weekend to Kick-Ass. Dragon grossed $15 million, which upped their total to about $178 million in 31 days. If the pace continues, Dragon has the chance of becoming DreamWorks’ highest grossing animated film that isn’t Shrek.

Runner-up this weekend was the new release of The Back-Up Plan, which starred Jennifer Lopez. There wasn’t that much anticipation for J-Lo’s first mainstream film in years as it opened to a disappointing $12.3 million.

Date Night continues to land in the middle of the box office weekends as it grossed $10.6 million to bring its total to about $63 million. The Losers opened up with $9.6 million. And rounding out the Top 5 was last week’s champion, Kick-Ass with $9.5 million.

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Opening this weekend are two wide releases that are destined to take the top two spots: Furry Vengeance and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Box Office Results: Movies ‘Clash’ this holiday weekend

Studio Estimates for April 2-4:

1.  Clash of the Titans – $61.4 million
2.  Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? – $30.2 million
3.  How to Train Your Dragon – $29.2 million
4.  The Last Song – $16.2 million
5.  Alice in Wonderland – $8.3 million

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Guess what? Another 3-D film has topped the box office! Surprise, surprise. Clash of the Titans grossed about $61.4 million this holiday weekend, crushing all of its competition.

Runner up was Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? which grossed an impressive $30.2 million. This opening weekend is among one of Tyler Perry’s best.

In the third spot was How to Train Your Dragon, which grossed $29.2 million during its second weekend. That puts the 10-day total to $92.3 million.

Rounding out the Top 5 were The Last Song with $16.2 million and Alice in Wonderland with $8.3 million.

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There is only one new release coming out this weekend. The comedy starring the hilarious duo of Tina Fey and Steve Carell in Date Night.

Box Office Results: ‘Dragon’ slays rest of competition

Studio Estimates for March 26-28:

1.  How to Train Your Dragon – $43.7 million
2.  Alice in Wonderland – $17 million
3.  Hot Tub Time Machine – $14 million
4.  The Bounty Hunter – $12 million
5.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid – $10.1 million

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I sense a trend that will be taking over the movie scene for the rest of time. Huge blockbusters will be in 3-D and will dominate the box office. Alice in Wonderland has grossed a domestic total of appromixately $293 million in four weeks, including the $17.7 million it grossed this weekend that landed them the runner-up spot. And in its 3-D debut, How to Train Your Dragon snagged the top spot with $43.7 million. With films like Toy Story 3 and Harry Potter’s final installment to be released in 3-D, expect ticket prices to soar. Is this goodbye to 2-D as we know it?

Hot Tub Time Machine managed to be the top grossing 2-D film of the weekend with $14 million. And rounding out the Top 5 were The Bounty Hunter with $12 million and Diary of a Wimpy Kid with $10.1 million.

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On Wednesday, the most recent of Nicolas Sparks adaptation hits the screen starring tween idol Miley Cyrus, The Last Song. And then on Friday two more wide releases hit the theaters: Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too and another 3-D film, Clash of the Titans.

Box Office Results: Christmas joy sets box office weekend record

Studio Estimates for Dec. 25-27:

1.  Avatar – $75.6 million
2.  Sherlock Holmes – $65.4 million
3.  Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $48.9 million
4.  It’s Complicated – $22.1 million
5.  Up in the Air – $11.8 million

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Thanks to the mega blockbusters this Christmas weekend in Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, this past weekend was the highest-grossing weekend ever!  Approximately $273 million was grossed this weekend, surpassing the former record of $260.5 million (the weekend of The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!).

For a second straight week, Avatar tore through the box office and put any critics who thought its gross last weekend was too high to rest.  Grossing an enormous $75.6 million (only a microscopic 2% down from last weekend!), it set the record for highest-grossing second weekend ever, beating out The Dark Knight’s $75.2 million last year.  Oh, and Avatar has grossed over $623 million in two weeks.

In the runner-up spot this weekend was the debut of Sherlock Holmes with an impressive $62.4 million.  It seems that Robert Downey Jr. has made quite a name for himself with blockbusters like Iron Man and Tropic Thunder also under his belt in recent memory.

Coming in third this weekend was Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel with $48.9 million over the weekend ($75.6 million in five days).  Despite horrible reviews, The Squeakquel is on its way to surpass the first of the franchise that grossed over $217 million.

Meanwhile, the mature romantic-comedy It’s Complicated grossed $22.1 million for fourth place and the expansion of Up in the Air grossed $11.8 million for fifth.

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Check back on Friday for our new predictions when three new films are receiving wide releases against the record breaking films of this past weekend.  Lionsgate comes out with a new horror flick, Daybreakers, starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe.  Then the romantic comedy Leap Year starring the duo of Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.  And finally the Michael Cera comedy called Youth in Revolt.

Box Office Results: 2-D animation still sells with ‘Princess and the Frog’

Studio Estimates for Dec. 11-13:

1.  The Princess and the Frog – $25 million
2.  The Blind Side – $15.5 million
3.  Invictus – $9.1 million
4.  New Moon – $8 million
5.  A Christmas Carol – $6.9 million

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Disney took advantage of a relatively weak box office showing this weekend as The Princess and the Frog topped the weekend grossing $25 million.  It’s not the grand box office opening that other animated features received, but as a traditional 2-D animation in December, expect this film to rely on lasting power to up its total gross rather than the first weekend explosion many bigger blockbusters go through.

As we find ourselves in the middle of awards season, Sandra Bullock and The Blind Side are continuing its impressive run, grossing $15.5 million this weekend with Oscar buzz for Bullock stronger than ever (she was on the cover of EW).  I still haven’t seen the film yet, but I cannot completely buy into the idea of The Blind Side and Sandra Bullock being serious contenders for the Academy Awards.  If they keep this momentum up though, it’ll be pretty hard to ignore their accomplishments.

Speaking of awards season, veterans Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman and their film Invictus landed the third spot in the Top 5 with $9.1 million this weekend.  Also starring Matt Damon, this fairly strong result just shows how these all-stars can pull their weight in December. 

Rounding out the Top 5 was New Moon with $8 million and A Christmas Carol with $6.9 million. 

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As for our predictions, both Sheehan and I were able to correctly predict four of the Top 5.  We both included Brothers in the fifth spot, but the drama only grossed $5 million.  The two of us did fairly well with our predictions, but I edged him out with my gross estimates. 

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Check back for our new predictions on Friday when two new releases hit the theaters nationwide.  First, the romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker.  And then the much anticipated sci-fi film, Avatar, that has been said will transcend the 3-D technology for films.

Box Office Results: ‘The Blind Side’ dethrones ‘New Moon’

Studio Estimates for Dec. 4-6:

1.  The Blind Side – $20.4 million
2.  New Moon – $15.7 million
3.  Brothers – $9.7 million
4.  A Christmas Carol – $7.5 million
5.  Old Dogs – $6.9 million

6.  Armored – $6.6 million
10. Everybody’s Fine – $4 million

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The Blind Side kept up with its impressing momentum by grossing over $20 million this weekend and taking the top spot of the box office from New Moon ($15.7 million).  To date, The Blind Side has grossed over $129 million, something that I definitely didn’t expect when the film was released.  Meanwhile, New Moon has grossed a total of $255.6 million thus far. 

The debut of the war/drama, Brothers, took the third spot this weekend with $9.7 million.  And rounding out the Top 5 were A Christmas Carol with $7.5 million and Old Dogs with $6.9 million.

The other two new releases didn’t do as well as they hoped.  Armored only made $6.6 million and missed the Top 5, while De Niro’s Everybody’s Fine grossed $4 million.

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As for our predictions, this was a very difficult week for the Predictions Panel.  While Phil and Sheehan didn’t buy into the hooplah that was The Blind Side overtaking New Moon, I did.  We all had Armored in the fifth spot, which just missed by less than $1 million.  None of us predicted more than three of the Top 5 films.  Yeah, it was a bad outing for all of us, but I was still able to accurately estimate the grosses of my predictions, putting me on top of the Panel for this weekend.

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Check back on Friday when seroius Oscar contenders hit the silver screen.  Clint Eastwood’s drama, Invictus, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman will debut in over 2,000 theaters.  Also, Disney’s latest, The Princess and the Frog expands wide to over 3,300 theaters.  Meanwhile, Up in the Air received a wider release and The Lovely Bones and A Single Man will see a limited release.

Box Office Results: ‘New Moon’ breaks records this weekend

Studio Estimates for Nov. 20-22:

1.  New Moon – $140.7 million
2.  The Blind Side – $34.5 million
3.  2012 – $26.5 million
4.  Planet 51 – $12.6 million
5.  A Christmas Carol – $12.3 million

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So I’m sure you all heard abouto this little movie called New Moon that hit the theaters this weekend.  If you were unfortunate enough to be caught in the craze during Friday, then you have my sympathy.  Not only did New Moon break the record for midnight showings with $26.3 million, but it broke the record for opening day gross with $72.7 million!  Wow.  Just wow.

Even though the film dropped off on Saturday, New Moon still grossed $140.7 million, third biggest opening of all-time behind only The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3.  And to no surprise, Summit’s exit polling had 80 percent of the audience was female.

Onto the other success story of the weekend, The Blind Side came in second place with a whopping $34.5 million.  I’m still not sure how it made so much money.  I didn’t find the commercials too compelling, but maybe others did.  Or maybe it’s because it’s a football drama in the middle of football season?  Most likely, its strong word-of-mouth catapulted this movie into the “must-see” list for many movie-goers this weekend.

Meanwhile, 2012 made $26.5 million for third place.  The newly released animation Planet 51 snagged the fourth spot this weekend with $12.6, even though being blasted by critics with negative reviews.  And rounding out the Top 5 was A Christmas Carol with $12.2 million.

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As for our predictions, Dan was the closest to predicting New Moon’s grand total.  I wasn’t too far behind, but Sheehan and Phil greatly underestimated the power of flocking females running and screaming for Team Edward and Team Jacob.  Also, none of us predicted the success for The Blind Side.  Needless to say, The Predictions Panel had a very poor outing this weekend.  We’ll try to do better next time.

The new releases for this Thanksgiving weekend come out on Wednesday and include:  Ninja Assassin, Old Dogs, and the wide expansion of The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Box Office Results: ‘2012’ shakes up the box office

Studio Estimates for Nov. 13-15:

1.  2012 – $65 million
2.  A Christmas Carol – $22.3 million
3.  The Men Who Stare At Goats – $6.2 million
4.  Precious – $6.1 million
5.  This Is It – $5.1 million

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Roland Emmerich has done it again with his recent end-of-the-world, disaster flick ‘2012.’  Over the weekend, the film grossed an estimate of $65 million.  This follows the success of Emmerich’s past disaster films ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ and ‘Independende Day.’ 

Meanwhile, A Christmas Carol grossed $22.3 million during its second weekend.  The Men Who Stare At Goats barely secured the third spot with $6.2 million. 

Securing the fourth spot was Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire.  Expanding from 18 to 174 theaters, the film grossed $6.1 million, which is the second-highest grossing weekend for a movie playing in less than 200 sites (Paranormal Activity is first). 

Rounding out the Top 5 was Michael Jackson’s This Is It grossing $5.1 million.

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Check back next weekend when three new releases hit the theaters:  the highly anticipated Twilight sequel ‘New Moon’, the animated family film ‘Planet 51’ and the Sandra Bullock sports drama ‘The Blind Side.’

Box Office Results: ‘Christmas’ in November scores big

Studio Estimates for Nov. 6-8:

1.  A Christmas Carol – $31 million
2.  This Is It – $14 million
3.  The Men Who Stare at Goats – $13.3 million
4.  The Fourth Kind – $12.5 million
5.  Paranormal Activity – $8.6 million

6.  The Box – $7.9 million

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The first weekend of November wasn’t exactly up to the hype that everyone expected, but the numbers that rolled in were still solid enough.  The Christmas Carol topped the box office with a slightly underwhelming $31 million.  According to Disney, 74 percent of its gross came from 2,045 3-D presentations, also including $4.5 million at 181 IMAX sites.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It was the runner-up film this weekend with $14 million, bringing its total gross to $57.9 million in 12 days.  Meanwhile, other new releases like The Men Who Stare at Goats ($13.3 million) and The Fourth Kind ($12.5 million) landed in the Top 5.  And the phenomenon that is Paranormal Activity is still collecting on its hype with $8.6 million, good enough for the fifth spot.

The Box just missed the Top 5 with $7.9 million.  The biggest news of the weekend was the limited release of Precious: Based on teh Novel “Push” by Sapphire.  In just 18 sites, the drama grossed $1.8 million.  That’s a $100,000 per screen average, which may have set a box office record.  Look for this powerful film to be in the early Oscar talks.

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As for our predictions, this was a tough weekend for the Predictions Panel to guess.  Only Phil and I predicted A Christmas Carol to top the box office correctly.  Meanwhile, all of us (except for Sheehan) expected The Fourth Kind to do a lot better than it actually did.  Dan adn I were the only two who predicted all of the Top 5 movies correctly, but not in the right order.  As for our gross estimates, Phil edged barely edged me out but Phil’s prediction that The Box would make the Top 5 wound up causing him the title for this week.  The points ended up being:  Me (44), Phil (35), Dan (32), Sheehan (26).

Check back on Friday for our new predictions.  There’s only one major release:  the action/thriller 2012 starring John Cusack and a lot of CGI.  Also, Pirate Radio staring Philip Seymour Hoffman will hit under 1,000 theaters.