A bright outlook from ‘Vantage Point’
The twist-filled plot of “Vantage Point” aims to keep the audience guessing about a presidential assassination attempt, but there was no mystery to the weekend box-office results.
The Sony Pictures political thriller was the only movie among four major new releases to click with a broad audience, leading the industry with an estimated $24 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, according to Sunday’s studio estimates.
Twentieth Century Fox’s science-fiction adventure “Jumper” ranked second with about $12.7 million, edging out Paramount Pictures’ family fantasy “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” which took third with $12.6 million. Both opened on Valentine’s Day.
Rory Bruer, Sony’s president of domestic distribution, credited aggressive marketing for the success of “Vantage Point,” whose ensemble cast includes Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt.
“It was an out-of-the-box campaign that went so well with the movie,” Bruer said. “It drew the audience in with the idea of being part of the puzzle.”
Trailers and TV spots showed the attack from the vantage points of eight witnesses -- the movie’s central gimmick -- and posters and other ads used mosaic-style images in the tradition of classic thrillers.
The PG-13 movie, produced for a moderate $38 million with Sony’s partner Relativity Media, opened toward the upper end of expectations despite unfavorable reviews and drew fairly balanced demographics, with 52% of customers male and 51% younger than 30.
Three comedies, meanwhile, sputtered commercially in their opening weekends.
New Line Cinema’s “Be Kind Rewind,” starring Jack Black and Mos Def, matched modest expectations by taking in about $4.1 million to rank seventh, while two others fared worse and missed the top 10.
Larry the Cable Guy’s “Witless Protection,” from Lions Gate Films, grossed an estimated $2.2 million, and the teen comedy-drama “Charlie Bartlett,” from MGM, took in $1.8 million, their distributors said.
New Line acquired domestic rights to “Be Kind Rewind,” directed by art-house favorite Michel Gondry, for less than $10 million. The struggling studio, feeling heat from corporate parent Time Warner Inc., has high hopes for Will Ferrell’s R-rated comedy “Semi-Pro,” coming Friday.
“Witless Protection,” which had the weakest opening of the three Larry the Cable Guy features produced by Parallel Entertainment, cost $6.2 million to make.
“Charlie Bartlett,” whose R rating surely limited its teenage audience, was produced for $11.5 million by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.
“Jumper,” produced for about $85 million with Fox’s partner New Regency Pictures, fell 54% from last weekend, when it led the box-office charts. It has grossed about $56 million domestically through 11 days in the market.
“The Spiderwick Chronicles,” produced for about $92 million, dropped 34% from the three-day portion of its first weekend tally. Family films tend to hold up well in the marketplace. The picture, from Paramount’s Nickelodeon Movies division, has totaled about $44 million so far.
“Jumper” and “The Spiderwick Chronicles” are seen as potential franchise movies, although in both cases international box-office results will be a major factor as the studios decide whether to go ahead with sequels.
“Jumper” took in $22 million this weekend from 40 overseas markets, lifting its international total to $61.2 million. “Spiderwick” has grossed $2.6 million overseas, although it has opened only in South Korea and the Philippines.
Overall box-office revenue in the U.S. and Canada sank 7% from the same weekend in 2007, cooling off the year’s strong start, according to data tracker Media by Numbers. Year to date, receipts are up 9% and attendance 5%.
The Presidents Day holiday boosted last weekend’s results a bit, studios said, while this weekend the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday put a slight damper on ticket sales.
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Box-office results
The political thriller “Vantage Point” easily led the industry in its opening weekend, while “Jumper” fell a fairly steep 54% to rank No. 2. Academy Award contenders including “Juno” and “There Will Be Blood” continued to benefit from the extra exposure during Oscar season. Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:
*--* Movie (studio) 3-day gross (millions) Total (millions) Weeks 1 Vantage Point (Sony) $24.0 $24.0 1 2 Jumper (20th Century 12.7 56.2 2 Fox) 3 The Spiderwick 12.6 43.6 2 Chronicles (Paramount) 4 Step Up 2 the Streets 9.8 41.4 2 (Disney) 5 Fool’s Gold (Warner 6.3 52.4 3 Bros.) 6 Definitely, Maybe 5.2 21.8 2 (Universal) 7 Be Kind Rewind (New 4.1 4.1 1 Line) 8 Juno (Fox Searchlight) 4.1 130.4 12 9 Welcome Home Roscoe 4.0 35.5 3 Jenkins (Universal) 10 There Will Be Blood 2.6 35.0 9 (Paramount Vantage) *--*
Industry totals
*--* 3-day gross Change Year-to-date gross Change (in millions) from 2007 (in billions) from 2007 $108.0 -7.0% $1.42 +8.9% *--*
*--* Note: A movie may be shown on more than one screen at each venue. Source: Media by Numbers Los Angeles Times *--*
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