The Weekend Gross - Page 6

Harry Potter mania shows no signs of abating as Warner's flagship franchise continued its incredible run at the box office, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince posting the biggest worldwide opening of all-time. Since Wednesday, the sixth film in the Potter saga has amassed a jaw-dropping $396.6 million.

In North America the two-and-a-half hour fantasy pic ranked in $159.7 million over five days, including a record $22.2 million on Wednesday midnight screenings alone. Half-Blood Prince took in $79.5 million from Friday to Sunday, besting its immediate predecessor Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which grossed $77.1 million over its first weekend and $139.7 million over its Wednesday-Sunday frame. The biggest three-day weekend opening in the franchise still belongs to the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which took in $102.6 million in November 2005.

After pushing back the release date for this sixth film from November 2008 until now, Warner Bros.'s high stakes gamble paid off, as the studio's final caretaker for the remaining three films David Yates (Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince along with the final two films encompassing the seventh book) has delivered both a critical and financial hit. Critics polled by Rottentomatoes.com gave the film an impressive 84%.

Thanks to that record $22.2 million midnight haul Prince finished with a Wednesday take of $52.8 million. Numbers fell off significantly for the rest of the weekend, falling well-short of the $201 million five-day take of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But if international totals remain as strong as they were for Order of the Phoenix, where nearly 70% of all ticket sales came from overseas, Prince should wind up out-pacing Transformers 2 globally when all is said and done. Phoenix amassed a whopping $938 million worldwide despite making "only" $292 million domestic. Among international markets, the United Kingdom posted by far the biggest debut, as Potter-mania produced a $32.4 million bow.

Despite Harry Potter dwarfing all other films this weekend, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs slipped just 36% to $17.7 million, bringing its 19-day cume to $152 million. The film is on pace to match or beat its predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown, which took in $195.3 million domestic back in 2006.

Falling 43% to third was Paramount/DreamWorks' blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which took in $13.8 million this weekend. In four weeks the $200 million budgeted robot actioner has grossed $363.9 million, moving past Jurassic Park's $357 million for #13 on the all-time list. At its current pace the film looks likely to break $400 million by the end of its domestic run.

The most interesting number from the weekend but perhaps the least surprising was the disastrous sophomore frame from Sacha Baron Cohen's latest mockumentary Bruno, which tumbled 73% to $8.4 million, falling from first to fourth. His latest shock comedy proves there is a fine line between pushing the boundaries of laughter and making it feel to audiences like the joke's on them. Apparently he crossed that line. Still, the low-budget Universal comedy has grossed $49.6 million in ten days, and should have no problem breaking $60 million domestic.

Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy Bruno out-poshed Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to land in the top spot this weekend, debuting with a strong $30.4 million. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper finished weak in seventh with just $5 million. Without a blockbuster opening to headline the weekend, the top ten films slipped 5% from last year's comparable frame, and 21% from the same weekend in 2007.

Thanks to a hilarious and omnipresent marketing campaign from Universal, moviegoers packed in theaters to see everyone's favorite Austrian fashion celebrity Bruno, aka Sacha Baron Cohen, take on America. Debuting in 2,756 theaters, the film amassed $30.4 million, averaging a strong $11,040 per theater.

But despite the strong weekend Universal has reason to be concerned about those shaved legs. After an opening day haul of $14.4 million, early projections had Bruno finishing with $35-40m for the weekend. But a disastrous drop in ticket sales on Saturday by 39% to $8.8 million reset totals to $30.4 million, and potentially lower when final estimates come in on Monday.

Despite solid reviews from critics, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a C grade, indicating word of mouth may be weak. Featuring shock gags, controversial situations and a healthy dose of full frontal on-screen male genetalia, it seems likely American audiences weren't quite prepared for a full dose of Bruno.

The debut was larger than Cohen's sleeper hit Borat, but not by much considering the 2006 film opened in just 837 theaters for a whopping $26.5 million. That works out to a $31,607 per theater average, and the film finished its domestic run with a phenomenal $128.5 million. Don't expect similar numbers from Bruno though, particularly with internal numbers showing rapidly declining market share. Internationally, Bruno took in a solid $20 million in eight overseas markets.

Maintaining its second place slot was Fox/Bluesky Studios' Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which slipped just 32% from its opening frame to $28.5 million. In 12 days the 3D computer-animated comedy has grossed $120.6 million, nearly matching the performance of its immediate predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown. Helped by heavy runs in 3D equipped theaters, it will be interesting to see how the film will fare next weekend when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince rampages through the box office. Worldwide the film has taken in $312 million.

Falling 43% to third was last week's champ Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which after two consecutive weeks at the top of the charts finished the weekend with $24.2 million. The $200 million budgeted blockbuster has now amassed $339.2 million in 19 days, blowing past the entire domestic gross of its predecessor Transformers, which took in $319.1 million in 2007.

At its current pace, Revenge of the Fallen appears headed towards a $400+ million domestic gross. Overseas, the Michael Bay pic has amassed $364.5 million.

MovieTickets.com is reporting over 350 sold out performances worldwide for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” including 216 midnight sellouts in the U.S. alone, according to a report Wednesday morning.

According to the site, the film currently accounts for 61 percent of ticket sales at MovieTickets.com, ahead of “Ice Age 3” (10%) and “Transformers 2” (5%).

Online ticket seller Fandango.com has also reported that Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is outpacing Transformers 2 in advance ticket sales, representing 65% of daily ticket sales at that site. Advance ticket sales are also outpacing sales for Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix at the same point ahead of its release. That film finished its opening weekend with $77.1 and $139.7 for a five-day bow.

Meanwhile, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen just crossed the $300 million mark domestic in its 14th day of release, becoming the second fastest film to ever reach that mark behind The Dark Knight's incredible 10-day record. The $200 million budgeted sequel has amassed $600 million worldwide.

After the fireworks cleared Sunday, final numbers put Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen just barely ahead of Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for the top spot with $42.3 million over the July 4th weekend. Ice Age was a close second with $41.7 million, while Universal's period gangster pic Public Enemies finished solidly in third with $25.2 million.

With July 4th falling on a Saturday (causing Friday-to-Saturday sales to fall 36% across the board), Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fell a steep 61% to $42.3 million, bringing its 12-day cume to a monstrous $293.5 million. The Michael Bay blockbuster surpassed Pixar's Up to become the highest grossing film of 2009 and now sits at No. 31 on the all-time list, just behind 1999's The Sixth Sense.

Internationally, the $200 million budgeted robot-destruction sequel has amassed $298 million, bringing its worldwide total to $591.4 million. The original Transformers took in $319m domestic and $708m worldwide back in 2007. Look for Revenge to blow past both numbers by the end of the month.

Fox/Bluesky Studios' computer-animated 3D feature Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs hauled in $41.7 million over the weekend and $66.7 million since its opening on Wednesday, tying Transformers 2 for the No. 1 slot. Averaging $10,171 in 4,099 theaters, the film fell short of the debut of its predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown, which bowed with $68 million (over three days) in March 2006. By comparison, Pixar's Up debuted in May to $68.1 million over three-days.

Internationally, Fox execs were uncorking the champagne as Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs hauled in $148m in 101 markets, posting the sixth biggest international launch and biggest international 3D opening in history. Adding North American totals, the sequel has now grossed an incredible $215 million worldwide. Ice Age: The Meltdown finished with $195.3 million domestic. Pixar's Up has grossed $264.9 million thus far, making the acclaimed pic the second highest grossing in Pixar history, surpassing 2004's The Incredibles with $261.4 million.

Johnny Depp's period gangster drama Public Enemies debuted in third with $25.2 million and $41 million over the five-day Wednesday-Sunday frame, averaging $7,850 in 3,334 theaters. The Universal debut was the biggest of director Michael Mann's career, surpassing both Collateral with $24.7m and Miami Vice with $25.7m.