DELLAMORTE'S BOX OFFICE WRAP UP 1/22/10

This just in: It’s understandable that you might tell a person you sleep with that another person you might sleep is a doucher, but then if you end up dating the douche, there’s two ways to interpret that: either you’re a person into vinegar or a liar.  WHAT WHAT.

So Avatar‘s worldwide grosses are collected on Sundays, and from the numbers released Avatar is now 6.7 Million off the total of Titanic‘s. Which means that at some point tomorrow Avatar will pass Titanic as the biggest grossing film of all time (and will do so on Box Office Mojo and the like when the Tuesday or Wednesday numbers hit). Domestically, it’s off of Titanic‘s grand total by about $49 million, but that’s getting smoked like a Cuban. If the film is playing until May, we could see a $800 domestic total. $600 Million could be done by next weekend, though likely it’s a little bit further away. Just a little. But there’s no reasonable way this film is not the biggest grossing film of all time for both domestic and international. The only prize it doesn’t win is adjusted, but it’s a different world, yo. With a 16% drop in box (and, girl, I’d drop for your box), Avatar staying on top next weekend may not be far-fetched if it either goes to a zero percent or another slight 10-20% drop. It might be able to hold the top with a $30 weekend, which would not be all that shocking, though Edge of Darkness should play to Mel Gibson fans, and I think most non-Jews are ready to forgive him. Since the film isn’t Taken, it probably won’t have that shelf life, but it’ll open, oh yes it will.

Legion showed that if you’ve got a shitty horror film, open it in January. That’s just science. Though the film will likely fall off a cliff next week. Still, the film was not expensive and if it does enough business next weekend to guarantee a $40 domestic, then I’m sure it’s enough of a win that no one’s pants are getting dirty. Unrated DVD, blah blah blah. Last year’s Paul Blart/Taken combo has re-jiggered the early months away from horror a little, but this is still the best stomping grounds for them that isn’t late September/early October. And if I underestimated this, I overestimated the appeal of  shitty Dwayne Johnson kid comedy. Tooth Fairy is dead on arrival, but not as dead as Extraordinary Measures. ED, I mean EM is one of the more auspicious studio debuts since The Peacemaker. Tooth Fairy could get to $40 Million, but that’s still terrible, and EM gets to $20? (if you don’t hit shift before you type the money sign you get a four, so I accidentally typed 420 for the EM gross. somehow that seems fitting).

The Book of Eli will struggle to get near $100, but that is not impossible. The second weekend drop was only 50%, not 60-70% which means though audiences didn’t flip for it, they didn’t outright reject it, and if it doesn’t get to $100, $90 Million plus is happening. The Lovely Bones had a similar drop, and it may get to $50 Million. It’s still a black eye for everyone involved, even if it’s not as disastrous as it looked from the outset. Sherlock Holmes should be able to limp to $200 Million at this juncture. It may not be next weekend, but soon enough. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 crossed $200 this weekend. Since the original did $217, this is a good gross for the sequel as it looks like it will do just about the same business as its predecessor. It’s Complicated is now at spitting distance from a nine digit total. It’ll crest and go away.

Next weekend brings a brief respite from the heavy drinking of football season for much of the country, which is fitting for the launch of a Mel Gibson film.