Resident Evil was a little late to the table this year. Threequels (or "part 3" movies in a franchise) were the mainstay of this summer's releases, but Resident Evil: Extinction, part three in the film series, held out until September. By opening in the usually sleepy month of September without any serious competition the movie was pretty much guaranteed the number one spot. The strategy paid off and the movie indeed took top honors with a "not-bad-for-September" total of $24 million.
On a side note, that's the best opening for any Resident Evil movie, a slight $1 million higher than Resident Evil:Apocolypse which rolled out in September, 2004.
It was a banner weekend for Dane Cook as well. $14 million may seem like a pretty weak opening total, but that's the best any movie starring Dane Cook has been able to muster. Don't get me wrong, I like Dane Cook. He's a decent comedian and I really enjoyed his dramatic side in Mr. Brooks, but the guy can't make box office bank to save his life. A movie with Cook in it is lucky to break $10 million. Here's hoping that future opportunities will land him better roles in more interesting movies. Maybe if he landed a role next to actresses who can actually, I don't know, act?
It doesn't matter how talented you feel Amanda Bynes might be, she's never going to get a chance to show it. Her newest crapped out movie, the latest in a chain of projects apparently designed to train middle-school children to accept drivel for entertainment, earned $5 million at the box office. I suspect the movie's MySpace account has received more hits than the movie did dollars. Amanda could really go places if only she would pick movies that didn't totally suck. She and Cook need new agents, STAT!!
The much debated, much discussed Eastern Promises got a wider release this weekend, fleshing out to 1400+ theaters. That was enough to help it scrounge up nearly $6 million dollars and fifth place for the weekend. With no future expansions planned the film will probably die fast and quiet with little more than $20 million to its name, a likely financial flop.
Speaking of flops, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson looks to give his career a good sized one next weekend with The Game Plan. That movie will go up against action thriller The Kingdom and, in smaller release, the star studded crtically acclaimed Feast of Love. Look for The Kingdom to reign on high.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
September 21 - 23, 2007 |
LW = Last Week WR = Weeks Released
THTRS = Number of Screens
* Denotes new release.
Click on title to read CB Review |
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| 3. | The Brave One | $7,425,000 - Total: $25,115,000 | LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 2755 |
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| 6. | Sydney White * | $5,323,000 - Total: $5,323,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2104 |
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| 7. | Mr. Woodcock | $4,975,000 - Total: $15,700,000 | LW: 3 WR: 2 THTRS: 2237 |
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| 8. | Superbad | $3,100,000 - Total: $116,171,000 | LW: 4 WR: 6 THTRS: 2305 |
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| 10. | Dragon Wars | $2,513,000 - Total: $8,435,000 | LW: 5 WR: 2 THTRS: 2246 |
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