By Sarah Sluis
Friday night, a friend called me ranting--her planned activity of sisterly bonding, a screening of He's Just Not That Into You, was foiled by sold-out shows throughout Manhattan. Apparently, even at noon on
Friday, many evening showings of the film (probably an above-average draw in the "Sex and the City" epicenter) were sold out. The film cleared an estimated $27.5 million over the weekend, earning it the number one spot. It's no surprise to me that the light-hearted ensemble romance won at the box office. From my friend's perspective, it looked a lot better than Bride Wars, and was the kind of film you "plan" to see with a friend. She had even extended the invitation to a co-worker, but was turned down because the co-worker had already promised to see the film with someone else.
The release of romantic comedies always prompts the scorn of those wishing for more diverse options for women, but I have a hard time with those arguments because, however over-the-top and out-of-touch the movies are, they're fun, forgettable fantasties. Like a horror movie, they provoke a specific reaction, then are over and out. And for every actress mired in romcom fare (I'm talking to you, Kate Hudson), others eschew froth. Take Angelina Jolie. Admittedly more of a "guy's girl" than a "girl's girl," she's starred in a number of films centered on women that don't fall into the traditional "romcom" formula, such as Girl Interrupted, Changeling, A Mighty Heart, and Wanted. Her closest thing to a romantic comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, was delightfully influenced by 30's screwball comedy, and hilariously subversive of traditional gender roles. Before I hear another argument bemoaning the half-dozen films per year falling into the "consumerist romance" genre, I wish someone would take the time to pick apart more than anecdotal evidence.
Looking through the rest of the top ten, number two film Taken dropped just 17% from last week to earn $20.3 million, providing fare for an underserved demographic, primarily older males.
Coraline and The Pink Panther 2 came in at number three and number four, earning $16.3 million and $12 million, respectively. The two kid/family oriented pictures, put together, equaled the gross of He's Just Not That Into You. The overlap cut into each film's performance, but critical success Coraline should benefit from stronger word-of-mouth through the President's Day weekend. Considered a difficult sell, Coraline already outperformed studio expectations. Rolling out in 3D in a disappointing 43% of its release, the movie made up for it by earning 70% of its gross from 3D venues. Since 3D tickets generally cost just 20% more, the numbers suggest that audiences searched out 3D venues. Also, because 3D movies require glasses, the film likely deterred movie hoppers.
Summit's plot-tangle superhero movie Push debuted at $10.2 million. The garbled plot had nobody, including the studio, fooled, so Summit is likely happy it did better than last week's flop New in Town, which didn't even break $10 million last week (or make the top ten this week).
Long-in-release films like Gran Torino and Slumdog Millionaire continued to do strong business, each dropping less than 10% and racking up another $7 million each.
The weekend ahead holds not only a Saturday Valentine's Day, but also an extended three-day weekend for President's Day, ensuring that movies about couples, singles, families, and kids will see extra action over the weekend. Horror pic Friday the 13th, actioner The International, and consumerist comedy/romance Confessions of a Shopaholic will join the three-day fray.
Complete studio estimates viewable here.
