As usual, the last weekend of the year will go to a veteran. With no new wide releases and just two minimal limited openings, the top spot will likely be an easy win for True Grit. In its first weekend out, the flick posted an impressive $8,156 per theater average and might even manage to increase that number in weekend two. As for its top competitor, Little Fockers, not only did it debut with a lackluster $30.8 million, but thanks to poor reviews, odds are it won’t hold on as strong as its predecessor, Meet the Fockers, which dropped a mere 9% from Christmas weekend to New Year’s weekend back in 2005.
As for the rest of the bunch, the numbers are a little hazy, but TRON: Legacy should be able to hold on and lead the pack. Even with a big week two drop, Yogi Bear could use its family appeal to creep ahead of fourth weeker, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. However, that battle will certainly be a close one because despite its rough start, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has some pretty long legs and might even see a boost this weekend. It’s hard to imagine Gulliver’s Travels posing any threat after such a dismal opening, but it is tacking on an additional 543 theaters, which could at least mean a rather minimal drop in its second week. But still, it shouldn’t have any chance of snagging the sixth spot from The Fighter and maybe even the seventh from Tangled.
As Tangled continues to exit, losing 619 theaters last weekend, its earnings will continue to fall, but not by much. Last year The Princess and the Frog rose 9.1% on New Year’s weekend in its sixth week. The difference is, that animated film only lost 147 screens making the transition from Christmas to New Year’s. Black Swan has been a strong performer as well and thanks to extremely positive buzz, could find itself up the last weekend of the year. The same won’t be true for The Tourist, which will undoubtedly fall off the radar leaving the tenth spot for another Oscar potential, The King’s Speech.
Shockya.com Predications:
1. True Grit
2. Little Fockers
3. TRON: Legacy
4. Yogi Bear
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Fighter
7. Tangled
8. Gulliver’s Travels
9. Black Swan
10. The King’s Speech
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
