Box-Office Report - Week of 13 May 2011

The week of May 13 proved to be quite rich at the box-office, despite the fact that only two new entries managed to debut in the first 10 movies : "Bridesmaids" and "Priest". The two new openers failed to win first place, though. Let's check out the top 10 :

• Once again taking first place is Kenneth Branagh's "Thor", with $34.5 in its second week-end, aproximatively a 50% drop from its opening week-end, and a 10-day total of $119M. The comic book adaptation starring Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth is doing good business and looks to recuperate its $150M budget next week. Furthermore, if it keeps this rythm up, it may easily go over the $200M mark in 2-3 weeks, where it's possible it may halt its advance. Just another good day at the movies for Marvel.

• Opening at #2 is the raunchy comedy "Bridesmaids". Rated R, the Judd Apatow produced movie has grossed $24M in three days, marking a business-as-usual opening for Apatow, whose movies always score somewhere between $20M and $30M on their opening week-ends. Director Paul Feig, who previously worked on TV series such as "The Office" and "Nurse Jackie" has opened the movie to rave reviews by critics who fell in love with the movie's edgy charm. At the end of its theatrical run, it might earn as much as $70-75M.

• Last week's #2 becomes #3 this week : "Fast Five". Taking in $19.5M this week-end, dropping considerably from its $32.5M earned in the previous week-end time frame, the Vin Diesel starrer seems to be hitting on the breaks hard. Its 17-day total now at a healthy $169M, it's going to take some time before reaching the $200M milestone, probably in a week or two. The way it's going, it looks to finish somewhere around $250M, all on a budget of $120M. Not bad.

• At #4, another new entry rolls in. The 3D sci-fi thriller "Priest" underachieves, sporting a mediocre $14.5M during its first week-end. Although cheaper than most blockbusters these days, made on a $60M budget, it will have to pull off some kind of miracle to recuperate all that money. Mauled by critics and not particularly loved by audiences, "Priest" looks to finish off around $40-50M, if the negative word-of-mouth doesn't kill it sooner.

• At #5, "Rio" stands its ground for a second consecutive week, earning $8M over the week-end, same as last week, bringing its total cume to $125M. With this unexpected breath of fresh air, the movie looks to finish its run somewhere around $140M, quite possibly while still within the top 10. However, these little strokes of good luck are followed by steep declines. We'll see next week how well "Rio" does.

• The comedy "Jumping the Broom" falls three places to #6 this week, taking in $7.3M over the last three days, after a surprising opening week-end gross of $13.7M. Its 10-day total now at $26M, on a $6M budget, the movie looks to finish its theatrical run rapidly, with a total that will come close to $50M.

• "Something Borrowed" takes a similarly big tumble, falling three spots to # 7, earning a disappointing $7M in the last three days, which brings its 10-day total to $25.6M. The movie, made on a $35M budget, looks to finish at around $50M, but its future in the top 10 looks shaky, and it's quite possible that its decline will accentuate next week, which means it will be lucky if it finishes at over $40M. Chalk this up as a flop. Not major, but a flop.

• At #8, "Water for Elephants" continues its decline, although the shift between weeks isn't too great. This week-end it has grossed $4M, while last week-end it grossed  $5.6M. Totally it has grossed $48.5M in 24 days. With a budget of $48M, it's not very profitable, but despite a slow start, it has managed to achieve a constant presence in the top 10. Estimated earnings should round up to about $60-65M.

• "Madea's Big Happy Family" descends two spots, to #9, after earning $2M at the box-office this week-end. With a total return of  $50M, on a $25M budget, it looks to finish at around $55M, pretty good for a Tyler Perry movie. It might not be featured in the top 10 next week, though.

• At #10, in its last week in the top 10 is "Soul Surfer". With one of the longest period of time in the first 10 top grossing movies, in the last two months, this little movie has grossed a total of $39M in 38 days. Made on a budget of $18M, it has become quite the little earner, bringing home double its original investment. More money is expected to come from DVD/Blu-Ray sales, plus the international market. You could say the inspirational true story has become quite an inspirational money-maker for the independent filmmakers.

The movies that exited the Top 10 are : "Prom" and "Hoodwinked Too !", both after a weak two-week run.

Here is the Top 10 for the week of 8 April 2011 :

1. Thor
Weekend : $34.5M
Total : $119M

2. Bridesmaids
Weekend : $24.4M
Total : $24.4M

3. Fast Five
Weekend : $19.5M  
Total : $169M

4. Priest
Weekend : $14.5M   
Total : $14.5M

5. Rio
Weekend : $8M  
Total : $125M

6. Jumping the Broom
Weekend : $7.3M  
Total : $26M

7. Something Borrowed
Weekend : $7M    
Total : $25.6M

8. Water for Elephants
Weekend : $4M    
Total : $48.5M

9. Madea's Big Happy Family
Weekend : $2M
Total : $50M

10. Soul Surfer
Weekend : $1.8M  
Total : $39M