The box office results for the weekend of March 9th – 11th has three newbies struggle to garner attention and end up being lost in the The Lorax’s shadow. Here are the studio estimates:
1. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($39.1 million)
2. John Carter ($30.6 million)
3. Project X ($11.5 million)
4. Silent House ($7 million)
5. Act of Valor ($7 million)
6. A Thousand Words ($6.5 million)
7. Safe House ($4.9 million)
8. The Vow ($4 million)
9. The Means War ($3.7 million)
10. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (3.6 million)
Analysis
The only new release that will be seeing the black ink on the balance sheet will be the thrifty produced Silent House. As long as Open Road Films didn’t go crazy on the marketing costs for this horror remake – which by the lack of promos, they didn’t – then there’s a solid chance this will be profitable assuming that the production budget was only a couple million.
Months before John Carter was released, cinema pundits were already proclaiming that this could be a major flop for Walt Disney Pictures. And they were right. With a monstrous production budget of $250 million, a $30 million opening weekend just won’t cut it. The sci-fi flick is going to need a massive overseas’ showing or else this will not only be on Flop Alert…this is Flop Certainty. Why and how this occurred is unknown; yet there is evidence over the years of releasing a summer-like blockbuster in the Spring, which has been able to perform exceptionally well.
Eddie Murphy’s drawing power as a leading man has once again taken a hit with the often-delayed A Thousand Words. In films where Murphy was the sole lead, only 2007’s Norbit has performed well for the former comedian. Seriously, what happened to R-rated Murphy? With a $40 million production budget, and the terrible reviews from both the lovely critics and audiences, there isn’t anything Paramount can say to save this product.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Safe House currently have the longest streak in the top ten with 5 weeks apiece. Journey is up to $90 million domestically, while Safe House hit $115 million and has become one of the year’s top Sleeper Hit thus far.
This Friday it’s another ’80s TV show receiving the big-screen treatment. 21 Jump Street will be revamped and hope to capitalize on the rabid hunger for R-rated comedies. In limited fashion, Jeff Who Lives at Home and Casa De Mi Padre quietly make their debuts. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers.
