Box Office Recap for the week of April 26

Posted by Ethan on Monday, April 26, 2010 in (0) Comments • Permalink •

“How to Train Your Dragon” reclaimed the top spot this weekend in its fifth weekend of release, primarily due to the weakness of the new contenders. The animated tale went from #1, to #3 for two weeks, up to #2, and now #1 again. It’s the first movie to reclaim the top spot after five weeks in play. “Paranormal Activity” hit number one in its fifth weekend, but it had been slowly expanding over October. The closest antecedent is “The Passion of the Christ,” which charged back to the top spot on Easter weekend 2004, its seventh frame. The victory underscores “Dragon”’s excellent word-of-mouth, but mostly the lack of competition. Its $15.4M take is the lowest for a #1 film since last Labor Day weekend, when “The Final Destination” repeated with $15.3M over the long weekend. The depressed marketplace will help propel “Iron Man 2” to a gargantuan opening in two weeks as audiences are clamoring for an event film.

“The Back-Up Plan” underwhelmed with a $12.2M debut, coming in below expectations. Its $3,720 per-theater average was Jennifer Lopez’s lowest since “Gigli.” CBS Films chose a historically successful release for the film. The similarly themed “Baby Mama” opened on the same weekend in 2008 to a stronger $17.4M. Late April has churned out several surprise hits, all female-driven: “Baby Mama,” “Obsessed,” “Love & Basketball,” “Stick It,” “Mean Girls.” In the end, what hurt “The Back-Up Plan” was a lack of male starpower. Jennifer Lopez has a strong track record with romantic comedy, but she’s also had famous co-stars to spar with: Matthew McConaughey in “The Wedding Planner,” Jane Fonda in “Monster-in-Law,” Ralph Fiennes in “Maid in Manhattan.” Alex O’Loughlin is a comparative unknown with little to no drawing power. He’s starred on two failed CBS dramas and has no track record in features. Lopez had to carry this film entirely on her own, a tall order for any actor today – male or female. It’s very reminiscent of last January’s “Leap Year.” Since Matthew Goode has barely any name recognition, the film rested squarely on Amy Adams’s shoulders and only grossed $25.9M.

“The Losers” lived up to its title with a $9.4M opening. Its stars are on the cusp of superstardom, but they couldn’t help the film stand out in the market. Producer Joel Silver’s last film, “The Book of Eli,” made more on its opening day than “The Losers” did all weekend. Idris Elba hit the top spot last year with “Obsessed”’s $28.6M debut; “The Losers” will have to work hard to reach that total overall.

Not surprisingly, “Kick-Ass” had the largest drop in the top ten, down 53%. But for an overhyped comic book film, it was a decent hold. “Watchmen” and “Snakes on a Plane” both fell 68% and 55%, respectively.

“Oceans” $6M start was less than last year’s “Earth.” However, “Earth” seemed fresh when it debuted, whereas “Oceans” felt like a retread. Also, “Oceans” lacked the family storyline of its predecessor.

In other news:
With “Date Night” now at $63.3M, every single one of Fox’s 2010 releases have crossed $50M, something no other studio can claim…with $57.5M, “Why Did I Get Married Too?” surpassed the original’s final tally. It’s now Tyler Perry’s third biggest film and will stay there…despite coming out on DVD last week, “Avatar” only slipped 8%, its per-theater average a still-solid $2,186…“City Island” finally entered the top 20, up another 20%. For the sixth weekend in a row, it’s maintained a per-theater average over $4,000. This week it’s at $4,078, down a slim 11%.

--Philip Siegel