Bad weekend at the box office gets worse

The Angels weren't the only ones who had a bad Sunday.

In a rarity for the movie industry, every movie in the top 10 ended up selling fewer tickets for the weekend than the studios that released them predicted on Sunday morning.

"Paranormal Activity" ended up grossing $21.1 million, down from Paramount's estimate of $22 million. "Saw VI" collected $14.1 million compared with Lionsgate's $14.8 million call. Warner Bros. thought on Sunday that "Where the Wild Things Are" would sell $14.4 million worth of tickets for the weekend, but it ended up at $14 million.

Projected grosses issued Sunday morning, which are based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales compared with similar films that played on similar dates, are often off by a few hundred thousand dollars. It's unusual, however, that every estimate is too high; typically some are too low.

That means fewer people went to the movies than studio distribution executives predicted Sunday morning. While there's no way to know for sure, one possible reason is that people stayed home to watch what turned out to be the  final game of the American League Championship Series between the Angels and Yankees and a few high-profile NFL games including the Steelers' big win over the previously undefeated Vikings.

Total weekend receipts were $116 million, according to Hollywood.com. Sunday morning, the box office analysis firm pegged the number at $121 million. That means actual ticket sales fell a substantial 13% from the same period a year ago.

That's bad news Hollywood didn't need after a weekend on which every new movie -- "Saw VI," "Astro Boy," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" and "Amelia" -- opened poorly.

--Ben Fritz

Comments

[Kristal]

I'm not surprised the box office is down, given the lackluster movies that opened up on Friday. Paranormal Activity is the best reviewed of the bunch (http://moviereviewintelligence.com/index.aspx?BID=27&RID=598&CID=0) but it seems like the audiences aren't always agreeing with the critics. I know many of my friends who saw Paranormal Activity thought it was boring and overhyped. I expect to see big declines now that's opened wide and there's more word of mouth to conteract the marketing hype.

[Jen]

I love movies, and I love going to see movies in the theater. I get a little worried when I see all of the doom and gloom about declining ticket sales. But stories all seem to avoid looking at the most likely cause of lower attendance: lack of interesting movies that you can't wait to see.

Movies that I simply cannot wait to release on DVD are few and far between. The crop of movies last weekend didn't appeal to me in the slightest. If I watch Paranormal Activity--and that's a big if--I will watch it on my own TV so I can pause and regain my equilibrium from the handheld-style camera work. (Blair Witch made me so nauseated.)

I have no interest in seeing Saw VI, Where the Wild Things Are, Astro Boy, or Cirque du Freak at all. And Amelia is probably good--I have some passing interest in Amelia Earhart, but not enough to drag myself to the theater to see a movie about it.

Hollywood needs to make more original and interesting movies rather than hoping to bank on remakes, sequels, and novel adaptations if they want to compete with our home theater systems.

[Toni]

It's a shame about Astro Boy - it was surprisingly good, one of the best CGI toons I've ever seen. Its writing was sharp and heartfelt, and its visuals was amazing. The kids in the audience loved it. And so did I. My only complaint is about the ridiculous political commentary that was injected into the film's plot. Was that really necessary? It didn't kill my enjoyment of the movie, but it didn't help either.

[RLB]

Do you really think that the majority of intellegent movie goers wants to see teenage vampires, Jennifer Aniston looking for another man, comic book heros and the same lackluster plots or remakes of former movies anymore???? Hollywood has hit rock bottom and perhaps the movie moguls should retire and spend some time in the real world...let's recycle the studio heads who haven't a clue how to entrall or capture the magic of movies anymore.

[Mo Zeb]

They dumb you down on tv with mind numbing television shows and then expect you to go see trashy teen movies, Halloween remakes six times over, or lowly chick-flick that essentially is the same never-ending story. And to top it off....who the hell are these Hollywood Exec's who approve the financing for these bombs and with what money??? Could these be the same people who funneled money to Bernie Madoff??

I dont think I'll be at the movies for a while.

[palmstring]

Free screenings are helpful to determine whether films are worthwhile to watch. It's tiresome to spend this favorite pastime at full charges without getting discounts during recessive times. Sometimes, animation movies are difficult to get in for free since you need to bring kids at a certain age range (even applied to adults, too). Astroboy is just very hyped up with light emotions despite the action at a quick pace. Boy, does Nicolas Cage sound sagged in playing Dr. Bill Tenma? (It could be the bad investment scam created by his ex-business manager.) Reviews from critics & viewers play a role in the decision-making process.

[Phil]

As Hollywood executives will no doubt crow when the inevitable good string of weekends come, content is king. There's nothing wrong with the movie business that creativity, originality and stellar film-making won't solve. But instead, we have studios run by the sorriest bunch of cynical finance mavens the industry has ever seen, and they hire a typecast array of too-cool-for-school managers to select, oversee and market productions. The TV guys are no better. Watching movies today is too often like watching General Motors release cars in the 1980s and 1990s. For everyone who remembers the compelling designs of the great Bill Mitchell and the marketing power of a corporation that once mastered the discipline, we marvel at what's been forgotten.

And after the all hype about Avatar, I saw the trailer for the first time this weekend and found it underwhelming too.

[Ben K]

Simple solution, stop following trends and spending large amounts of money on things like Astro Boy and The Vampire's Assistant. Stop releasing the same rehashes over and over, like Saw VI. Stop trying to create epics and Oscarizing pictures thereby turning them into flops like Amelia.

I paid for three tickets this weekend: the excellent Cold Souls, and the mediocre Bright Star and The Boys Are Back.

[Ross]

Hollywood needs to stop using the same old tired formula, vampires, remakes,
poorly done comedy that is more about ego than entertainment. People listening to late night hype and then getting burned at the box office is driving people away from theaters. HOLLyWOOD needs to start going with something fresh, ideas from out side the 310. However today to get the big three to read a script that is from outside 90210 is like telling GM and Chrysler in the 70's that they need to make a better car. So what are we getting at the box office this year a whole lot of K-CAR movies. Americans don't want vampires it reminds us Wall Street, we don't want mysteries that like a bad joke give away the punch line and then explain the joke, we don't want comedy that only shows an ACTOR cannot get out of character (Lost World, Year One) The readers need to start allowing fresh content and stop the entourage mentality that has taken over the gate keeper agencies or in the end Hollywood will end up like Chrysler. Clearly the producers and agents are out of touch and they are not reading or making the material of people who are. D9 was the only refreshing movie of the past few months and it came from outside the box thinking. If Hollywood was smart they would stop reading scripts from 90210 and start making the ones that clearly they have not been reading. It is the emperors new clothes that has the entourage off track at CAA WMEE and ICM and UTA and a let them eat popcorn mentality that is driving people away from Movies, away from Malls and further damaging the economy nation wide. 90210 material, K-car scripts, time to try something new. This trend has been coming a long time, Pearl Harbor, nice idea but the dialogue was not 1940 it was 1960 and the love triangle was 1970 Hollywood lapped it up but the viewers did not like it. Alexander was too in your face, gay and that is not a slam on Gay people it is a slam on the writers producers and directors having an entourage agenda, the day the earth stood still, horrible remake of a classic again entourage agenda driven. No wonder other states and Canada are making inroads into the market, Hollywood readers agents and producers, directors and stars and moving like K-CARS, out of step with the audience.

[Chris B]

well, well, what happened to us is that a friend went to see Paranormal activity last weekend and told us its really bad (thought so) so, we didnt go. Please producer better movies again. This is all just so bad what we have to live through here. Where is the quality gone? Havent been to cinema for quiet a while now.