'Friday the 13th' most profitable holiday in four-day weekend

By Sarah Sluis

Earning $19.35 million on its eponymous release date, Friday the 13th had a comfortably steep slope to

slide down as its grosses decreased through the rest of the four-day weekend. It ended the weekend with a $45.2 million gross, including a $4.5 million gross on President's Day.

Just behind the man in the hockey mask, He's Just Not That Into You experienced strong holdover business, dropping just 29.4% from the weekend before (15.9% if you include Monday) to earn about half of Friday the 13th's gross, $23.36 million. Two spots below, Confessions of a Shopaholic opened to 80% of HJNTIY's gross. $17.3 million. While HJNTIY and Taken doubled their Friday gross on Valentine's Day, Confessions of a Shopaholic only saw a 50% boost in business, indicating that it was less of a draw for the holiday's audiences.

Sleeper hit Taken dropped just 7.5% to finish third, even as it decreased the number of screens in its release. It went on to earn $22.2 million over the four-day weekend. I have not seen a single commercial for this film, which indicates that the marketing campaign successfully excluded those outside the probable demographic.

If the economy really explains Confessions of a Shopaholic's clearance-level opening, then maybe the economy can also explain the success of Taken. At a time when people are losing everything, a movie about reclaiming a prized possession (hey, the kidnappers are the ones claiming a child has a price) serves as a proxy for that foreclosed home, while

also subtly reminding people of their priorities. Our reviewer Jon Frosch aptly called the kipppapping film "a lurid pull" because it has the built-in pressure to find someone before it's "too late," while also activating deep insecurities about the trustworthiness of those close to you--the "inside job." The genre could even be considered a male melodrama, in the sense that it deals with threats to family, unfortunate turns of fate, and tugs on the heartstrings. What makes the genre so appealing, however, is that it's also about the male hero being able to rally and save the day, and what better film for today's economy? Or Valentine's Day?

Rounding out the list, The International debuted at #7, earning $9.3 million, which I calculate approximately covers the cost of the fake Guggenheim set, plus maybe Naomi Watts? Even though the bank (and the mob) are the villains in this movie, it seemed far removed from the credit crisis. Selling weapons to Third World countries, further indebting them and subjecting them to the bank's control just didn't seem that evil, or relevant. What about falsifying mortgage documents and bankrupting once-upon-a-time homeowners? I'd like to see a movie about that.

Other beneficiaries of the four-day weekend included kid-themed pictures Coraline, Paul Blart: Mall Cop and The Pink Panther 2. All three films jumped up a spot from their weekend gross once President's Day was factored in. Far down at #9, and benefiting from its "shoo-in" reputation for the Best Picture in the Oscar race, Slumdog Millionaire saw an increase in business, adding $7.3 million to give it a cumulative $86.6 million gross--and, with a boost the next couple weekends from the Oscar (and post-Oscar), perhaps it will finally top the $100 million mark.

How will Barack rock Hollywood?

By Sarah Sluis

So America has voted, electing Barack Obama as its next president.  What kind of changes can Hollywood expect?

The Risky Business blog looked at the past seven elections and noted that two out of two times a Democrat
was elected, the box office rose, whereas the box office rose three out of five times a Republican was elected, and to a lesser degree.  The evidence looks a little shaky, but the optimism is real: "Dem administrations historically tend to be more favorable to creative expression, which creates a more robust filmmaking and moviegoing climate."  However, let's not forget that a Republican administration let W. be released without a peep, and was a good sport about the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin impressions.

Along with the election, the recession also bodes well for Hollywood.  Martin Grove uses his column to address those who see a single bad weekend as part of a trend.  He notes that fluctuations from week to week and year over year do not signal a downwardly spiralling box office but changes in the quality of films.  A bad week at the box office could simply indicate a lack of films worth seeing.  It makes sense that the weekend with High School Musical 3 would outperform the same weekend from the year before , whose top draw was Saw IV.  Grove feels that audiences will go out and see a movie as long as there is one to see--preferably with an escapist plot (Hello, Beverly Hills Chihuahua). 

One item I haven't seem much journalism or speculation about is substitution: in the face of a lingering recession, will families that normally frequent the cinema opt to rent, and will renters cancel their Netflix subscriptions, or take a recent guest on Oprah's advice and rent DVDs from the library?  People still want to be entertained, so I am curious to see if a drop in the box office will lead to a growth in less expensive forms of movie-watching.  So far, the box office is down .3% from last year, although the Holiday season will change that number.  Conversely, aren't movies inexpensive forms of entertainment themselves, compared to seeing a play or taking the family on other types of excursions?