Blackjack thriller ‘21’ top draw at theaters
Turning the tables on Las Vegas was a winning theme at the movie box office over the weekend, but audiences weren’t in the mood for another silly spoof or a serious drama about the Iraq war.
Sony Pictures’ blackjack thriller “21” topped the charts with an estimated $23.7 million in opening-weekend ticket sales, the studio said Sunday, knocking 20th Century Fox’s animated hit “Horton Hears a Who!” to No. 2. The Dr. Seuss tale has now grossed more than $100 million domestically.
The parody “Superhero Movie,” produced by Weinstein Co.’s Dimension Films and distributed by MGM, opened to a less-than-expected $9.5 million, ranking third, and Paramount Pictures’ “Stop-Loss,” about American soldiers coming home and being sent back overseas, launched to an underwhelming $4.5 million.
The weekend’s other wide release, Picturehouse’s British comedy “Run Fat Boy Run,” starring Simon Pegg, missed the top 10 with a disappointing $2.4 million.
The audience for “21,” a $35-million production starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Bosworth, was 53% male and 53% younger than 25, Sony said.
“The movie really played to everybody,” said Rory Bruer, the studio’s president of domestic distribution. “The terrific mix and the positive reaction bode well.”
Bruer said 82% of customers surveyed rated the film “excellent” or “very good.”
MGM declined to comment on the opening for “Superhero Movie,” whose cast includes Drake Bell, Sara Paxton and Leslie Nielsen. Industry analysts said that spoof fatigue from an onslaught of similar comedies in recent years might have hurt the film, and that its core audience of teenagers was shared with “21.”
“Stop-Loss,” starring Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is the latest in a string of movies focusing on Iraq to meet with disappointing results. The R-rated movie skewed female, with women and girls making up 61% of the audience.
The overall trend at the box office remained sluggish, with revenue off 17% from the same weekend in 2007, according to data tracker Media by Numbers.
Year to date, revenue is up 1%, thanks mostly to holdover hits from December, and attendance is down 3%.
Warner Bros.’ prehistoric epic “10,000 BC” continued to play well overseas, hauling in an additional $12 million. The big-budget picture has grossed $227.4 million worldwide.
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Box office
The Las Vegas thriller “21” knocked “Horton Hears a Who!” from No. 1 this weekend, while other new films including “Superhero Movie” and “Stop-Loss” were disappointing in their openings. The comedy “Drillbit Taylor” held up well in its second weekend. Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:
*--* Rank Movie 3-day gross Total Weeks -- (studio) (millions) (millions) 1 21 $23.7 $23.7 1 -- (Sony) 2 Horton Hears a Who! 17.4 117.3 3 -- (20th Century Fox) 3 Superhero Movie 9.5 9.5 1 -- (MGM) 4 Meet the Browns 7.8 32.8 2 -- (Lions Gate) 5 Drillbit Taylor 5.8 20.6 2 -- (Paramount) 6 Shutter 5.3 19.1 2 -- (20th Century Fox) 7 10,000 BC 4.9 84.9 4 -- (Warner Bros.) 8 Stop-Loss 4.5 4.5 1 -- (Paramount) 9 College Road Trip 3.5 38.4 4 -- (Disney) 10 The Bank Job 2.8 24.1 4 -- (Lions Gate) *--*
Industry totals
*--* 3-day gross Change Year-to-date gross Change (in millions) from 2007 (in billions) from 2007 $105.0 -17.3% $2.12 +0.6% *--*
Note: A movie may be shown on more than one screen at each venue.
Source: Media by Numbers