box office

When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy.

Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

1. The Last Exorcism - $21,300,000
2. Takers - 21,000,000
3. The Expendables - $9,500,000 ($82,010,000)
4. Eat Pray Love $7,000,000 ($60,716,000)
5. The Other Guys - $6,600,000 ($99,300,000)
6. Vampires Suck - $5,300,000 ($27,912,000)
7. Inception - $5,105,000 ($270,749,000)
8. Nanny McPhee Returns - $4,743,000 ($17,020,000)
9. The Switch - $4,658,000 ($16,484,000)
10. Piranha 3D - $4,308,000 ($18,272,000)

Jennifer Aniston, Nanny McPhee and Piranha 3D fought for box office scraps this weekend. Sylvester Stallone's Expendables held off the teen romance spoof Vampires Suck for the number one spot, while Eat Love Pray, The Lottery Ticket and The Other Guys held the other three new releases to the bottom of the box office.

From Box Office Mojo: "Nanny McPhee Returns lost much of its predecessor's magic, making an estimated $8.3 million at 2,784 locations. The first Nanny McPhee debuted to $14.5 million at 1,995 locations more than four and a half years ago. The Switch delivered an estimated $8.1 million at 2,012 locations, which was about the same as Love Happens but more impotent than The Back-Up Plan."

The Aniston and Jason Bateman film may have failed due to the nondescript advertising campaign. The studio hid the fact the movie was about a man switching his semen in a woman's artificial insemination with his own. If I knew that I might have seen it.

Weekend Studio Estimates for August 20-22, 2010

1. The Expendables - $16,500,000 ($64,890,000)
2. Vampires Suck - $12,200,000 ($18,564,000)
3. Eat Pray Love - $12,000,000 ($47,100,000)
4. Lottery Ticket - $11,125,000
5. The Other Guys - $10,100,000 ($88,190,000)
6. Piranha 3D - $10,035,000
7. Nanny McPhee Returns - $8,310,000
8. The Switch - $8,100,000
9. Inception $7,655,000 ($261,848,000)
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - $5,034,000 ($20,730,000)

Just watching the trailers and TV spots for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World gave me AIDs, and the country obviously agreed, because nobody saw it this weekend. Stallone's Expendables took the top spot at this weekend's box office.

Here is what Box Office Mojo said about Scott Pilgrim AIDS...

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Release Date: August 13, 2010 - Domestic Total as of Aug. 15, 2010: $10,525,000 (Estimate) - Production Budget: $60 million

"Scott Pilgrim scored a modest estimated $10.5 million on around 3,000 screens at 2,818 locations, which was less than Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist's $11.3 million opening weekend. It also paled compared to the launches of Kick-Ass ($19.8 million) and Zombieland ($24.7 million), among recent fan boy affairs. Buzz from the Comic-Con crowd and the media may have created unrealistic expectations, but Scott Pilgrim was always going to be a tough sell for the mainstream, given its niche premise and genre-bending. The movie's poster, featuring Michael Cera posing with his bass guitar, didn't help, because it didn't explain the movie and made it seem like a rock 'n' roll comedy, which is an unpopular sub-genre."

Weekend Studio Estimates for August 13-15, 2010

1. The Expendables - $35,030,000
2. Eat Pray Love - $23,700,000
3. The Other Guys - $18,000,000 ($70,543,000)
4. Inception - $11,370,000 ($248,554,000)
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - $10,525,000
6. Despicable Me - $6,767,000 ($221,993,000)
7. Step Up 3-D - $6,626,000 ($29,565,000)
8. Salt - $6,350,000 ($103,569,000)
9. Dinner for Schmucks - $6,316,000 ($58,816,000)
10. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $4,075,000 ($35,104,000)  read more »

New York City Police Detectives Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P. K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) are the toughest and most famous cops in the city with the best capture rate no matter what it takes to get their man, even if the city must pay $12 million in property damages to capture a small crook. However, in their ranks, there are two other detectives that are want-to-be heroes sitting in the wings. Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) just want their chance in the sun to make a big collar and get a medal too. They get their chance when a small case falls into their lap which ends up being a very big high-profile case instead. It's the opportunity they have been waiting for, but do they have what it takes to be the next police heroes. (Synopsis from IMDB.com, Box Office Estimates from Box Office Mojo)

1. The Other Guys - $35,600,000
2. Inception - $18,600,000 ($227,732,000)
3. Step Up 3-D - $15,500,000
4. Salt - $11,100,000 ($91,980,000)
5. Dinner for Schmucks - $10,500,000 ($46,746,000)
6. Despicable Me - $9,400,000 ($209,400,000)
7. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $6,910,000 ($26,436,000)
8. Charlie St. Cloud - $4,700,000 ($23,500,000)
9. Toy Story 3 - $3,048,000 ($396,317,000)
10. The Kids Are All Right - $2,606,000 ($14,011,000)

Inception - Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. (Box office estimates from Box Office Mojo. Synopsis from IMDB.com.)

1. Inception - $27,520,000 ($193,348,000)
2. Dinner for Schmucks - $23,300,000
3. Salt - $19,250,000 ($70,800,000)
4. Despicable Me - $15,543,000 ($190,349,000)
5. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - $12,525,000
6. Charlie St. Cloud - $12,136,000
7. Toy Story 3 - $5,035,000 ($389,674,000)
8. Grown Ups - $4,500,000 ($150,713,000)
9. The Sorcerer's Apprentice - $4,320,000 ($51,881,000)
10. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $3,965,000 ($288,200,000)

Depending on who you talk to or what report you read, the cost to make and market James Cameron's Avatar changes from person to person. I'm jut going to go with the last number I saw -- $430 million... It sounds close enough!

According to Box Office Mojo's Weekend Studio Estimates for December 18-20, 2009, Avatar (Read Review), "earned an estimated $73 million on approximately 7,000 screens at 3,452 sites over the weekend, claiming the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie that's neither a sequel, a remake nor a direct adaptation. It was also the second highest-grossing December opening weekend after I Am Legend ($77.2 million)."

The L.A. Times reported that the studio estimates reach $232.2 million in worldwide ticket sales, and claim that weather conditions are the reason the movie failed to top I Am Legend.

"In the U.S. and Canada, bad weather limited the haul for the film to a solid but far from spectacular $73 million. Depressed attendance in the snowy Northeast and mid-Atlantic region Saturday probably kept it from beating the December record of $77.2 million set by "I Am Legend" two years ago. "

Weekend Studio Estimates For December 18-20, 2009

1 Avatar $73,000,000
2 The Princess and the Frog $12,224,000 ($44,756,000)
3 The Blind Side $10,030,000 ($164,734,000)
4 Did You Hear About the Morgans? $7,000,000
5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $4,370,000 ($274,561,000)
6 Invictus $4,170,000 -($15,845,000)
7 A Christmas Carol (2009) $3,419,000 ($130,789,000)
8 Up in the Air $3,100,000 ($8,106,000)
9 Brothers $2,630,000 ($22,091,000)
10 Old Dogs $2,289,000 ($43,574,000)  read more »

Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side flipped-flopped with The Twilight Saga: New Moon taking the number one spot at the box office this weekend.

Weekend Studio Estimates for December 4-6, 2009

1 The Blind Side $20,440,000 ($129,264,000)
2 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $15,704,000 ($255,639,000)
3 Brothers $9,700,000
4 A Christmas Carol (2009) $7,520,000 ($115,006,000)
5 Old Dogs $6,901,000 ($33,934,000)
6 Armored $6,600,000
7 2012 $6,600,000 ($148,787,000)
8 Ninja Assassin $5,030,000 ($29,790,000)
9 Planet 51 $4,300,000 ($33,966,000)
10 Everybody's Fine Mira. $4,027,000

1 2012 - $65,000,000
2 A Christmas Carol (2009) $22,325,000 ($63,289,000)
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $6,200,000 ($23,376,000)
4 Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire $6,090,000 ($8,915,000)
5 Michael Jackson’s This Is It $5,100,000 ($68,211,000)
6 The Fourth Kind $4,744,000 ($20,588,000)
7 Couples Retreat $4,253,000 ($102,133,000)
8 Paranormal Activity $4,200,000 ($103,847,000)
9 Law Abiding Citizen $3,932,000 ($67,326,000)
10 The Box $3,185,000 ($13,206,000)

Weekend Studio Estimates For November 6-8, 2009

1 A Christmas Carol $31,000,000
2 Michael Jackson's This Is It $14,000,000 ($57,855,000)
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $13,309,000
4 The Fourth Kind $12,521,000
5 Paranormal Activity . $8,600,000 ($97,430,000)
6 The Box $7,855,000
7 Couples Retreat $6,428,000 ($95,980,000)
8 Law Abiding Citizen $6,172,000 ($60,873,000)
9 Where the Wild Things Are $4,225,000 ($69,268,000)
10 Astro Boy $2,588,000 ($15,073,000)

Does anyone else find it odd that Michael Jackson's movie, This Is It, was number one at the box office on a Halloween weekend? Jackson's life was kind of stuck in a perpetual masquerade. He not only constantly hid himself and his children behind masks, but his face made him look like he permanently belonged in a George Romero film.

Before you jump all over me, remember, on the weekend when ghost and ghouls normally reign supreme, Jigsaw or Michael "The Boogeyman" Myers were not number one, Michael Jackson was. Kind of a fitting end to his legacy. Jackson not only the "King of Pop," but also the "King of Things That Go Bump in the Night."

I also find it odd that a country who witch hunted the man twice, for being a pedophile while he was alive, have once again fallen in love with him now that he is dead. America is a bunch of morbid hypocrite freaks!

Weekend Studio Estimates For October 30-November 1, 2009

1 Michael Jackson’s This Is It $21,300,000 ($32,509,000)
2 Paranormal Activity $16,540,000 ($84,780,000)
3 Law Abiding Citizen $7,303,000 ($51,385,000)
4 Couples Retreat $6,097,000 ($86,663,000)
5 Saw VI $5,560,000 ($22,824,000)
6 Where the Wild Things Are $5,081,000 ($61,800,000)
7 The Stepfather $3,400,000 ($24,748,000)
8 Astro Boy $3,035,000 ($10,891,000)
10 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant $2,809,000 ($10,521,000)