| Film | Three day | Per Screen | Total | |
| 1 | Marley and Me | $37,000,000 | $10,632 | $51,675,000 |
| 2 | Bedtime Stories | $28,069,000 | $7,625 | $38,598,000 |
| 3 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | $27,000,000 | $9,036 | $39,008,000 |
| 4 | Valkyrie | $21,531,000 | $7,942 | $30,024,000 |
| 5 | Yes Man | $16,450,000 (-9.9%) | $4,790 | $49,591,000 |
| 6 | Seven Pounds | $13,400,000 (-9.8%) | $4,859 | $39,026,000 |
| 7 | The Tale of Despereaux | $9,368,000 (-7.3%) | $3,015 | $27,945,000 |
| 8 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | $7,900,000 (-20.1%) | $3,289 | $63,615,000 |
| 9 | The Spirit | $6,510,000 | $2,595 | $10,352,000 |
| 10 | Doubt | $5,675,000 (+733.4%) | $4,479 | $8,825,000 |
This just in: An Emo Phillips comedy CD. That guy was funny. Funny looking.
With a mid-week Christmas, this year’s Christmas films had a very robust showing. When Christmas is during the weekend, you get some weaker numbers in that theaters usually shut down early on Christmas eve. Instead, here, you’ve got great showings from most titles, and no competition next weekend (just limited releases). Next weekend will be off a bit, but unless one or more of these titles are rejected by the public (I’m looking at you, Spirit), this should be a good map of next week as well.
For the first time in forever, not only did Fox get a film open, but it looks to play. And so Marley and Me getting to $100 million is all but assured. Welcome back Owen Wilson. Welcome back Kathleen Turner. Also on track to get past the nine digit mark is Bedtime Stories. Adam Sandler has finally stooped to doing kids films. But by the end of next weekend, it should be over $70 Million. Since it’s an effects comedy, the cost to make it was likely way too high, and it being outperformed by the doggie movie is shaming. But still, it should eventually eke out a profit, and will likely play better internationally than other Sandler films.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button also opened well, and though it’s hella expensive, it at least has a strong start. If audiences fall in love with the film, it could conceivably get to around $150, though if it does, it’ll be a limp. I don’t know what the international potential of the title is, but the numbers will surely get a bump if it gets the best picture nomination. It’s already made more money than Zodiac (how sad is that?). The people who love it, love it, so it may have some repeat potential.
What’s in a release date? Lots. There’s no way Valkyrie would have done as well it has had it opened in October or in February as originally was planned. Instead, the Christmas season surely gave the film a boost. Getting to $100 is likely out of the question, but it bodes better for the Tom Cruise penance vehicle (if that wasn’t Tropic Thunder). And with next weekend offering similar potential, it’ll be over $50 in a week’s time. Though it’s got no real Oscar potential (it seems), at least looking like prestige had to help.
But not all is great for the openers, and though I’ve been seeing ads for The Spirit for over a year, the fact that people said it was crap, and the confusing and mostly terrible ads did nothing to convince the film was not much more than Sin City on Ecstasy. Lionsgate has been shitting the bed this year, though they still have Tyler Perry and Saw to fall back on.
Kent M. Beeson called Seven Pounds Faster Jellyfish! Kill! Kill! and I have to give him credit for that. The film looks to be something of a misfire for Will Smith, as the numbers haven’t gotten better, and will likely not get to over $100, even if next weekend might not be too hard on it. The same slight disappointment could be said of Yes Man, which will likely crap out before it gets to the hundred mark. It, like Valkyrie, is partly penance for Jim Carrey, and this seems to be his “I’ll be funny again, I swear” tour, so maybe if he does another comedy people might believe him.
Despereaux had some bad timing with two solid family films opening the weekend after, but I don’t know how well the film could ever do. Hope it was cheap. While The Day the Earth Stood is done, and will likely have trouble getting near $80. At least Fox has Marley to be proud of.
Now’s the time for Academy pictures, so more Oscar expansions are coming shortly, with Gran Torino going wide in two weeks, while this week Doubt has platformed about as well as it could. If the film finds the fifth slot come Oscar time, it may keep playing.