In it's third week of release, Ben Affleck's thriller finally takes the number one spot...
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What a weekend. Theaters were flush with new films, but it was Argo that ends up taking the top spot with $12 million dollars in tickets sold. Affleck's film is showing similar tracking to his previous effort, The Town. The film's continued success is a testament to Warner Bros. who has marketed this film extremely well, and to the power of good word of mouth among ticket buyers. The film is showing no signs of slowing down. The film could easily pass $100 million in North America. I'm not sure what the international interest will be in this film. I'm guessing it's not going to fare well in Iran.
The much ballyhooed Cloud Atlas opened in second place, which has to be seen as disappointing given the budget and the name attachments. The film was unable to get into double digits with $9.5 million in ticket sales this past weekend. The three hour running time seemed to be a stumping point for many. Studio insiders have suggested that the film was a hard sell from the beginning. Since the film was independently financed, Warner Bros. won't see too much red ink on this one. Cloud Atlas will turn out to be an interesting failure, but a failure none the less. At least on this side of the pond. The movie doesn't open in many major international markets for months, so it may be too early to call this one a disappointment.
Hotel Transylvania continues to win over the family audiences. The animated Adam Sandler film brought in another $9 million for a cume of $130 million.
Speaking of scary things, last week's number one Paranormal Activity 4 is sinking like a stone. A 70% week over week drop sent the movie plummeting to the number four spot with $8.5 million. However, with a budget of $6 million, the film will still be a money earner for Paramount. Though the law of diminishing returns is starting to apply here. How much gas is left in this series tank is anyone's guess. My guess: one more theatrical release before the whole things goes straight to DVD.
I know a lot of people who refer to Silent Hill as the best video game film adaptation. I doubt many people are saying the same thing about the horribly reviewed sequel Silent Hill: Revelation. Even with inflated 3D ticket prices, the movie was barely able to crack the top five bringing in an estimated $8 million. Unless there's a big international push, this is one franchise that won't be revived.
In other news, the comedy Fun Size and the surfing drama Chasing Mavericks were battling out for the week's biggest disappointment. Fun Size made $3.5 million at 3000+ screens, while Chasing Mavericks wiped out with $2.2 million at 2000+ screens. The word you're looking for is 'ouch'.
Next week sees two major releases. For the kids, Disney rolls out their video game themed family adventure Wreck-It Ralph, and Robert Zemeckis returns from his self imposed motion capture exile with the new drama Flight starring Denzel Washington.
Here's your top films for North America:
1. Argo
Weekend Estimate: $12 million; $61 million total
2. Cloud Atlas
Weekend Estimate: $9.5 million
3. Hotel Transylvania
Weekend Estimate: $9 million; $130 million total
4. Paranormal Activity 4
Weekend Estimate: $8.5 million; $42 million total
5. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
Weekend Estimate: $8 million
Anghus Houvouras![]()
The much ballyhooed Cloud Atlas opened in second place, which has to be seen as disappointing given the budget and the name attachments. The film was unable to get into double digits with $9.5 million in ticket sales this past weekend. The three hour running time seemed to be a stumping point for many. Studio insiders have suggested that the film was a hard sell from the beginning. Since the film was independently financed, Warner Bros. won't see too much red ink on this one. Cloud Atlas will turn out to be an interesting failure, but a failure none the less. At least on this side of the pond. The movie doesn't open in many major international markets for months, so it may be too early to call this one a disappointment.
Hotel Transylvania continues to win over the family audiences. The animated Adam Sandler film brought in another $9 million for a cume of $130 million.
Speaking of scary things, last week's number one Paranormal Activity 4 is sinking like a stone. A 70% week over week drop sent the movie plummeting to the number four spot with $8.5 million. However, with a budget of $6 million, the film will still be a money earner for Paramount. Though the law of diminishing returns is starting to apply here. How much gas is left in this series tank is anyone's guess. My guess: one more theatrical release before the whole things goes straight to DVD.
I know a lot of people who refer to Silent Hill as the best video game film adaptation. I doubt many people are saying the same thing about the horribly reviewed sequel Silent Hill: Revelation. Even with inflated 3D ticket prices, the movie was barely able to crack the top five bringing in an estimated $8 million. Unless there's a big international push, this is one franchise that won't be revived.
In other news, the comedy Fun Size and the surfing drama Chasing Mavericks were battling out for the week's biggest disappointment. Fun Size made $3.5 million at 3000+ screens, while Chasing Mavericks wiped out with $2.2 million at 2000+ screens. The word you're looking for is 'ouch'.
Next week sees two major releases. For the kids, Disney rolls out their video game themed family adventure Wreck-It Ralph, and Robert Zemeckis returns from his self imposed motion capture exile with the new drama Flight starring Denzel Washington.
Here's your top films for North America:
1. Argo
Weekend Estimate: $12 million; $61 million total
2. Cloud Atlas
Weekend Estimate: $9.5 million
3. Hotel Transylvania
Weekend Estimate: $9 million; $130 million total
4. Paranormal Activity 4
Weekend Estimate: $8.5 million; $42 million total
5. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
Weekend Estimate: $8 million
Anghus Houvouras
