By Sarah Sluis
The $31 million earned by The Day the Earth Stood Still seems just about right for me. The so-so 
reviews drew disaster, alien, and special-effects fans (especially to see the film on IMAX) but didn't fool anyone into thinking they would be seeing something on par with Keanu Reeves' performance in The Matrix--this was more like a Constantine.
Four Christmases continued to do strong business (I need to see this film!), with the solid comedic team of Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn ensuring a pleasant repose after a long day of holiday shopping. The storyline about endless, annoying relatives seems apt after the difficult task of finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
Much to my relief, no one showed up for Delgo. Earning $424 per screen, that means roughly 40 people came to see the animated disaster (not to one showing...over the whole weekend). I can believe that 40 people in a given area would have no better way to spend 88 minutes than at that movie, so I feel satisfied about its sub-$1 million performance.
Four awards-bait films opened this weekend, and all earned above $10k per screen, a great performance out of the gate (compare this with the winner of the week, The Day the Earth Stood Still, which posted only $8,708 per screen).
Top Six Per-Screen Averages
- Gran Torino: $47,333/per screen, 6 locations
- Doubt: $35,000/per screen , 15 locations
- Che: $30,050/per screen, 2 locations
- The Reader: $30,050/per screen, 8 locations
- Frost/Nixon: $16,154/per screen, 39 locations (2nd week)
- Slumdog Millionaire: $13,154/per screen, 169 locations (5th week)
Not on this list is Milk. Shut out of a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama, which drained the movie of some of its buzz, the Gus Van Sant film earned $8,037 per screen, finishing just below the per-screen average of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Riding its wave of Golden Globe nominations, Slumdog Millionaire boosted its per-screen average even as it increased the number of screens in its release, settling the film in that elusive sweet spot of awards material with commercial recognition. Releasing so much earlier than other rewards fodder has paid off so far for the film. I saw it over six weeks ago, and its unusual story and superb execution still bring a warm glow of appreciation to my mind. Without any backlash ("sappy" will be the mud of choice), and growing box-office receipts to support its buzz, this film is my awards favorite so far.
Still, all of the award-baiting films in the top five have yet to expand their release, so the relative success of one film over another will play a part in the allotment of Oscar nominations, which won't be announced until January 22nd. Also, Golden Globe nominees Revolutionary Road and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have not yet been released, still making this a wide-open race.
Full studio estimates available here.
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