The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.
Paramount’s second big comedy of 2007, Blades of Glory, teamed Will Ferrell and Jon “Napoleon Dynamite” Heder and put them into the world of competitive ice skating. The pairing held a commanding lead this weekend with an estimated $33 million in 3,372 theatres, an average of $9,786. If that number sticks, it will be Ferrell’s second-highest grossing comedy after last year’s “Talladega Nights,” and winding up just ahead of his breakout comedy Elf.
Opening in slightly more theatres including 600 screens in Real 3-D, Walt Disney Studios’ second computer animated feature Meet the Robinsons opened with roughly $25 million. It might be seen as a disappointment by the studio, after the showing of their previous 3D animated film, 2005’s Chicken Little, which opened to $40 million, but it’s likely to make up for it with kids being out of school over Easter break.
Warner Bros.’ runaway historical hit 300 dropped down one place to third with $11.1 million having grossed just under $180 million. After just four weekends, it is the top grossing movie of the year so far.
Most of last week’s new movies took terrible tumbles in their second weekend, the worst of them being Warner Bros.’ computer animated TMNT, which dropped 62% and three places to fourth with $9.2 million over the weekend. In ten days, it’s grossed $38.4 million compared to its production budget of $34 million.
Dropping down to #5, Touchstone Pictures’ Wild Hogs, the second-highest grossing movie of the year, added another $8.4 million to its impressive take of $135 million.
The Paramount action-thriller Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg, experienced the smallest drop from last week’s new movies, but still dropped three place to #6 with $8 million and a total gross of $27.2 million. That’s compared to its estimated $61 million production budget.
Remaining in 7th place, Sandra Bullock’s thriller Premonition grossed $5.1 million in its third weekend to bring its total to $39.4 million.
The top 10 was rounded out by New Line’s The Last Mimzy, the Fox Atomic horror sequel The Hills Have Eyes 2 and the Sony drama Reign Over Me, each which dropped 50-60% in their second weekends to wind up with between $3.7 and $4 million.
Released by Miramax into 995 theatres on Friday, Scott Frank’s crime drama The Lookout only grossed $2 million to wind up outside the Top 10 at #11, while Mira Nair’s The Namesake, which opened in platform release earlier in March, moved into the Top 12 with $1.5 million in its fourth weekend. It has grossed $4.6 million to date.
Opening in 5 theatres in New York and L.A., Susanne Bier’s After the Wedding, starring Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale), grossed $46 thousand, an average of $9,000 per theatre.
Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.
