'Jackass 3D' vaults to top with record-breaking $50 million debut

By Sarah Sluis

Audiences just couldn't get enough of Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O's self-injuring clowning in Jackass 3D. Their exploits, filmed in 3D, grossed $50 million, breaking the record for the highest opening for a
fall (Sept.-Oct.) release, previously held by Scary Movie. The first and second Jackass movies earned $22 million and $29 million, respectively, so the third film's opening represents a 66% boost. Attendance was up from the second film, but the biggest reason the movie scaled such heights was because of 3D surcharges: 92% of the film's earnings came from 3D screens.

Summit's comic book action-comedy Red made a strong debut in second place with $22.5 million. A slight male majority turned out for the movie, with 58% of the audience over 35. Though many of the leading characters are older (Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren), their youthful, gun-toting ways still appealed to younger audiences.

Hereafter had the strongest specialty debut of the week, scoring a stunning $38,500 per location during its six-theatre rollout. Clint Eastwood fans are a force to be reckoned with, and Hereafter seems poised to approach (though not meet) the success of his 2008 film Gran Torino, which opened with a $45,000 per-screen average and finished with $148 million.

Audiences were not as excited by Conviction, which sees Hilary Swank playing yet another real-life woman in adverse circumstances. Releasing in 11 theatres, it had a comparatively soft debut with a $10,000 per-screen average. Last year's Amelia, starring Swank, was also a disappointment for Fox Searchlight (earning just $14 million in theatres), so Swank may have to come up with some new tricks in order to lure back audiences.

Finishing just outside of the top ten, N-Secure, a drama/romance centering on affluent black professionals, accrued $1.3 million. The million-plus opening is an impressive showing, especially from first-time distributor Bluff City Films.

A documentary espousing financially conservative views, I Want Your Money, opened to just $520 per screen in its rather large 537-screen release. The amount of screens in release likely exceeded interest, driving down its per-theatre earnings.

This Friday, Hereafter will move into wide release on over 2,000 screens, and Halloween horror movie fans can get a head start on their scares with Paranormal Activity 2.

'Sherlock Holmes' no match for 'Avatar'

By Sarah Sluis

A record-breaking $278 million week at the box office was led by Avatar, with the rest of the top ten following closely behind with strong debut and holdover performances. The sci-fi spectacle's second week was just as strong as its first, dropping a minuscule 2% from its opening weekend to earn $75 million. The movie posted its highest one-day gross the day after Christmas, when it earned $28.5 million, compared to the smaller $26.7 million sum it brought in its opening day. Unlike most other tentpoles, which are adaptations of successful books, series, or comic books, Avatar had to tough through a lower opening and wait for word-of-mouth to build up. In light of Avatar's success, perhaps other filmmakers besides James Cameron will be able to follow in his wake and develop tentpoles based on original ideas. Fox, however, won't have to take on much risk if it moves forward with a sequel or two: Cameron has mentioned that he has already mapped out a multi-movie arc for his characters.

Coming in second place for the weekend, action-detective movie Sherlock Holmes beat Avatar its opening day, Christmas, but dropped off over the weekend. The movie earned $65.3 million, about $10 million under Avatar's gross. While the movie's hero and his iconic pipe-smoking habit is more familiar to audiences, Avatar delivers on its premise much more than Sherlock Holmes, which lost points with me for its overuse of action movie conventions.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel came in third with $50.2 million. Because it opened on Wednesday, its total gross is already $77 million, which is far outpacing the first movie in the series, which opened to $44 million.

Writer/director Nancy Meyers' latest installment in the romantic comedy department, It's Complicated, opened fourth with $22.1 million. Her last two films, The Holiday and Something's Gotta Give, both opened in the teens, so this marks her best opening since 2000's What Women Want, which debuted at $33 million.

Of the films placing fifth to tenth, all were returning films, and three of the five increased their grosses from the previous week. Up in the Air went from 175 to 1,895 theatres and earned $11.75 million, a 266% increase from the previous week. The Blind Side rose 17% to $11.73 million even as it shed over 600 theatres, further cementing its status as a surprise word-of-mouth hit. Nine, in eighth place, increased 2000% to $5.5 million as it went from four theatres to 1,412 theatres. In tenth place, Invictus, which only added 35 theatres to its 2,160-theatre release, inched up 4% from the previous week. The remaining two films in the top ten, The Princess and the Frog and Did You Hear About the Morgans?, dropped in the 20-30% range. In particular, The Princess and the Frog may be hurting from competition with the Chipmunks and Chipettes.

Now that all the big films of 2009 have been released, the first month of 2010 will measure their longevity. Competition from new releases will be minimal, but for awards films, it's a long haul to the Oscar ceremony, which was moved from February to March this year.

'Avatar's' $73 million opening weekend puts pressure on week to come

By Sarah Sluis

Avatar faced snowstorms all along the East Coast its opening weekend, dampening its first returns. Still, the movie racked up $73 million, and should see high weekday returns for the next two weeks, which many people have off. It was bested by 2007's December release I Am Legend, which brought in $77 million, but the two films' per-screen averages were neck and neck. Both earned $21,000 per screen, since I Am Legend had 700 more screens in its release. Still, since viewers were paying more to see the movie in 3D, Avatar's theatres were probably less full.

Given the positive word-of-mouth on the 3D adventure, Avatar should continue do well as word catches on. 3D has mainly been the realm of family movies, so many viewers may need quality reassurance from their friends before they don the glasses themselves. Overseas, the movie earned $159 million worldwide, where director James Cameron's famous tin ear for dialogue is lost in translation. While most movies end up with half their gross from overseas, Avatar currently has 70% of its gross from outside North America, making hiccups like East Coast snowstorms less significant.

The other wide release of the week, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, underperformed slightly, earning $7 million. Some of those moviegoers undoubtedly chose The Blind Side instead, which finished a spot ahead with $10 million.

The biggest mover in the rest of the top ten was Up in the Air, which gained three spots when it more than doubled the theatres in its release. Playing in 175 theatres, it earned $3.1 million. Its per-screen average of $17,000 was the best of any returning film.

Golden Globe contenders Nine, Crazy Heart, and The Young Victoria debuted this week. Nine had the best per-screen average, $61,000, and a four-screen release. Crazy Heart came in second with a $21,000 per-screen average, also at four locations. The Young Victoria had a different strategy, releasing in twenty locations, which brought its per-screen average down to $7,000. It made more money than Crazy Heart, however, due to the size of its release.

In just two days, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will open, followed by Sherlock Holmes and It's Complicated on Christmas Day. 'Tis the season.