The box office results for the weekend of July 8th – 10th sees a change at the top of this year’s overall domestic haul. “Transformers 3” is well on its way to becoming the years first $300 million grosser stateside. Meanwhile, a “Zookeeper” and some “Horrible Bosses” debut strong. Here are the studio estimates:
1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($47 million)
2. Horrible Bosses ($28.1 million)
3. Zookeeper ($21 million)
4. Cars 2 ($15.2 million)
5. Bad Teacher ($9 million)
6. Larry Crowne ($6.2 million)
7. Super 8 ($4.8 million)
8. Monte Carlo ($3.8 million)
9. Green Lantern ($3.1 million)
10. Mr. Popper’s Penguins ($2.8 million)
Analysis
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is following in its predecessors footsteps while dethroning The Hangover Part II ($250 million) as the top grosser this year. Flick is now up to $261 million domestically dropping just 52% from last weekend’s take. It has a shot of beating the first installments number of $319 million, but keep in mind that this recent CGI fest had the benefits of 3D. So, wherever it ends up, the franchise has lost a portion of its fans at the theaters. With that being said, this will be a success for Paramount/DreamWorks. And that’s not even factoring in the equally impressive overseas totals.
Horrible Bosses is off to an impeccable start. With a budget of just $35 million, this should easily recoup those costs and then some during its theatrical run. Critics are on-board with this one as well, ensuring that the love-fest for R-rated comedies will continue at theaters.
The other new guy may have its work cut out for them. Zookeeper entered theaters to terrible reviews and the fam-friendly attraction is going to need some legs in hopes of making profits off the $80 million production budget; which is standard for all Happy Madison productions as of late. The only hope for this flick is that adults will buy into its Night at the Museum comparisons, which attracted some viewers outside of the family targeted audience.
Larry Crowne experienced the typical 50% drop from their opening weekends. The Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts starrer will gross what their respective budget was ($35 million), but will be relying heavily on a DVD and On-Demand run later this year. Overseas markets will not likely help this product out.
Flop Alert: Monte Carlo. Also dropping around 50%, this Selena Gomez rom-com is stalling out at $16 million domestically. It should end up grossing in the low $20’s, yet that will not be enough to off-set the $20 million production budget. The young musical star does have a loyal following, so perhaps a decent DVD & On-Demand run will save this from being a disappointment for Fox 2000 Pictures.
Sleeper Hit: Bad Teacher is on fire! Currently up to $80 million on the home front and only dropping just 35% in week # 3 suggest this will be a nice summer treat for Sony/Columbia’s balance sheet. Budget was a meager $19 million.
Super 8 currently has the longest streak in the top ten with 5 weeks. Pic has grossed $118 million domestically off a $50 million budget.
This Friday, expect one flick to make a few disappear. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 opens in over 4,200 theaters and will easily claim the top spot. The only other wide release, Winnie the Pooh, is geared toward the very young audiences, who aren’t quite ready for the increasing violent Potter flicks. The classic animation may get lost in the shuffle during Potter weekend, but should resonate with a few generations, leading moviegoers to check this in the upcoming weeks. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers.
Report by Joe Belcastro
