'Immortals' rule the box office

By Sarah Sluis

The 3D swords-and-sandals epic Immortals outperformed industry expectations and finished with $32 million. Young filmgoers, who haven't been turning out in force lately, returned for the picture, which may have been perceived as offering more value with all its special effects. 3D, too, did well, accounting for 66% of the total. Distributor Relativity Media pulled off its biggest debut ever, but the expensive film will still have to do well in secondary markets in order to pull in a profit.

Eking out a second place finish, Jack and Jill debuted surprisingly high, to the tune of $26 million. Audiences who grew up with Sandler didn't abandon him. 52% of audiences were over 25. The PG-rated comedy also got 52% of its business from families, indicating that the all-ages rating was a savvy move.

Puss in Boots finished neck-and-neck with Jack and Jill, earning an estimated $25.5 million. In its third week, it dipped just 23%. Despite debuting to just $34 million, the CG-animated movie earned three times that much in three weeks. This is an unusual multiple to achieve, but one that DreamWorks Animation consistently pulls off for its titles. With over $100 million in the bank, Puss in Boots doesn't have a lot to worry about when Happy Feet 2 joins the animated fray this Friday.

Leonardo DiCaprio-starring J. Edgar had a respectable finish of $11.4 million. Releasing in less than 2,000 locations, the biopic's per-screen average of $6,000 strikes an optimistic note. However, this
specialty/awards title has an uphill battle ahead of it. Only 40% of critics rated the movie positive, compared to the 91% positive rating of this Friday's opener, The Descendants. Director Clint Eastwood appears to have hit another double or triple, not the home run it needs for a big Oscar presence.

Melancholia, the end-of-the-world meditation from director Lars von Trier, opened with a $14,000 per-screen average in nineteen locations. Given the large number of theatres showing the drama, the Kirsten Dunst starrer performed well. Werner Herzog's Into the Abyss came up with $4,200 per location in twelve theatres. The documentary, which focuses on the death penalty, may not be as enticing a subject as his 3D spelunking doc Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Paramount Vantage's Like Crazy picked up the pace in its third week, netting half a million and going up 97% from the previous week. Now playing in 70 theatres, the romance wrangled an impressive $7,500 per location.

This Wednesday, The Descendants will get a head start on the weekend. Starting Thursday at midnight The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One) will ravage audiences, and families will have another animated option, Happy Feet Two.