Box Office Receipts for Jane Eyre March 11, 2011

http://www.indiewire.com/article/box_office_jane_eyre_gives_2011_its_best_specialty_debut/

Box Office: “Jane Eyre” Gives 2011 Its Best Specialty Debut
by Peter Knegt

Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë‘s “Jane Eyre” had an extremely promising debut this weekend. According to estimates, the film is on track to gross $182,317 from just 4 screens in New York and Los Angeles, averaging $45,579, which is by far the best per theater average of 2011 (unless one counts Kevin Smith’s roadshow tour of “Red State”). Distributor Focus Features will expand the feature, starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench, considerably next weekend, providing an even bigger test. But clearly there is great interest in the film from specialty audiences.

Also debuting to very strong numbers this weekend was Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy,” which IFC Films released in 5 theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The result was a $84,000 gross and a $16,800 per theater average, itself one of the stronger showings so far this year. Starring Williams Shimell and Juliette Binoche, IFC picked up the film out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Certified Copy” will expand to the top twenty markets within two weeks.

indieWIRE will offer a full weekend box office report later this afternoon, so check back.

http://www.biffbampop.com/2011/03/scotty-gs-box-office-wrap-up-report_13.html

Sunday, March 13, 2011
Scotty G’s Box Office Wrap-Up Report

Battle: Los Angeles dethroned Rango from the top of the box office this weekend with an excellent debut. The two other new releases did not fair so well. Red Riding Hood debuted to mixed results while Mars Needs Moms absolutely bombed on its opening weekend. In limited release, three films had excellent debuts and will be looking to build on their success from this weekend in the coming weeks. Overall, I had an amazing weekend of predictions, as I correctly picked all five films in the top five, and I got them all in order. In fact, I predicted all ten films in the top ten, getting 1st place to 7th place in order. The most I was off in any of my predictions was $5 million, which I would say is a strong week. Here’s how the weekend broke down:

Battle: Los Angeles debut in 1st place with a gross of $36 million (I predicted a 1st place finish and a gross of $31 million). Battle: Los Angeles had a per theatre average of $10,536, which was the highest per theatre average of any film in the top ten. Audiences were in the mood for a sc-fi adventure flick where aliens invade Earth and Battle: Los Angeles delivered on the expectations set by the ad campaign. The trailers did a great job of showing alien attacks, but not giving away too much of the plot, as most of the commercials for the film had a Kanye West song playing over images of the film. You could summarize the film in a couple of words, but you didn’t know how it would play out. Although Aaron Eckhart is not someone who most people think is a star, the fact that he was the lead actor in a number one film is definitely a nice boost for him. Sony has to be thrilled with the opening weekend as it has grossed just a little over half its reported budget in three days. Even if it does suffer a substantial drop next weekend, Battle: Los Angeles should have no problem making back its $70 million budget and it continues Sony Pictures hot streak at the box office.

Dropping from 1st place to 2nd place is the Johnny Depp animated film Rango with a gross of $23.1 million (I predicted a 2nd place finish and a gross of $23.4 million). The animated adventure had a per theatre average of $5,876 and dropped 39.5% from last weekend. The hold for Rango is a good one as it kept its percentage drop from weekend to weekend below 40% and it still has a per theatre average above $5,000. The film was definitely the counter-programming film of choice to Battle: Los Angeles this weekend so Paramount should be credited for releasing the film when it did last weekend, as its first weekend of release it was the must-see film for audiences, and this weekend it was designed to be the anti-action release for audiences. Rango still has its work cut out for it as the budget is rumoured to be around $135 million and after ten days Rango has grossed $68.6 million.

Debuting in 3rd place is the Amanda Seyfried//Gary Oldman thriller Red Riding Hood with a gross of $14.1 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a gross of $17 million). Red Riding Hood had a per theatre average of $4,665. The opening weekend has to be considered a disappointment for the film as the per theatre average is below $5,000 despite getting a high theatre count by Warner Bros. of 3,030. What I find amazing is that Beastly, a film that was going after the same demographic as Red Riding Hood (teenage females), a film that kept changing its release date and eventually opened in around 1,000 less theatres, actually had a better opening weekend per theatre average than that of Red Riding Hood (for the record, Beastly had an opening weekend per theatre average of $5,047). Beastly also cost a lot less to make than Red Riding Hood and maybe the decision by Warner Bros. to release Red Riding Hood the weekend after Beastly hurt its box office chances (I don’t think the bad reviews Red Riding Hood received would have discouraged the target audience from going to see the film). Still, the opening weekend is not a good one, and I doubt that Red Riding Hood makes back its $42 million budget.

Dropping from 2nd place to 4th place is the Matt Damon//Emily Blunt thriller The Adjustment Bureau with a gross of $11.4 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $12.2 million). The Adjustment Bureau had a per theatre average of $4,025 and was down 45.8% from its opening weekend, which is a larger drop than I suspected. The percentage drop shows that word of mouth is not strong on this film, and while audiences liked the premise of the film and supported it on its opening weekend, the people who saw The Adjustment Bureau last weekend didn’t think it lived up to the hype and the word-of-mouth on it hurt it at the box office this weekend. I also think that Battle: Los Angeles took away some of The Adjustment Bureau’s audience, but I must say that the drop The Adjusment Bureau suffered was a big surprise to me when I reviewed the numbers. After ten days, The Adjustment Bureau has grossed $38.4 million which is good, but I’m sure that Universal was hoping for a higher number after ten days.

Debuting in 5th place to terrible results is the animated sci-fi adventure Mars Needs Moms with a gross of $6.8 million (I predicted a 5th place finish and a gross of $11 million). Mars Needs Moms had a per theatre average $2,182, which is awful considering that the film opened in 3,117 theatres (that’s always a bad sign when your theatre count is higher than your per theatre average). I don’t think audiences cared for the premise of Mars Needs Moms and audiences might also be tired of animated films as Mars Needs Moms was the third animated release in just over a month after Gnomeo & Juliet and Rango. Walt Disney Pictures must be furious at how Mars Needs Moms performed this weekend because it has a reported budget of $150 million (that’s not a typo). From a financial standpoint, Mars Needs Moms could become the biggest bomb of 2011.

Dropping from 4th place to 6th place is the Owen Wilson comedy Hall Pass with a gross of $5.1 million (I predicted a 6th place finish and a gross of $5.5 million). Hall Pass had a per theatre average of $1,998, and was down 42.4% from last weekend. After three weeks, Hall Pass has grossed $34.9 million from a $36 million budget, so Warner Bros. will be making a profit on this film by next weekend (I said that last weekend, but I really mean it this time).

Dropping from 3rd place to 7th place is the “Beauty and the Beast” update Beastly with a gross of $5 million (I predicted a 7th place finish and a gross of $4.3 million). Beastly had a per theatre average of $2,598 and was down 48.3% from last weekend. Although the percentage drop from weekend to weekend is not good, CBS Films is happy with Beastly’s box office performance as the film cost only $17 million to make and has grossed $16.9 million in ten days of release, so this is a film that will be making CBS Films a profit by Monday.

Dropping from 7th place to 8th place is the Adam Sandler//Jennifer Aniston comedy Just Go With It with a gross of $4 million (I predicted a 10th place finish and a gross of $3.8 million). Just Go With It had a per theatre average of $1,668 and was down 37.8% from last weekend, which is the lowest percentage drop of any film in the top ten. After five weeks of release, Just Go with It has grossed $93.9 million from a budget of $80 million.

Dropping from 8th place to 9th place is the Academy Award winning The King’s Speech with a gross of $3.6 million (I predicted an 8th place finish and a gross of $4.092 million). The King’s Speech had a per theatre average of $2,050 and the film was down 41.8% from last weekend. The percentage drop for The King’s Speech stops its streak of having the best percentage hold in the top ten at six weekends in a row, and the 41.8% drop is the highest the film has suffered in its sixteen weeks of release. As predicted, now that the awards season is over, interest in The King’s Speech will be fading until it comes out on DVD. After sixteen weeks of release, The King’s Speech has grossed $129 million from a budget of only $15 million.

Rounding out the top ten, Gnomeo and Juliet drops from 5th place to 10th place with a gross of $3.5 million (I predicted a 9th place finish and a gross of $4.032 million). Gnomeo and Juliet had a per theatre average of $1,372 and was down 51% from last weekend. The percentage drop from weekend to weekend and the per theatre average were the worst of any film in the top ten, but that should always be the case when you’re the 10th place film. After five weeks, Gnomeo & Juliet has grossed $89 million.

In limited release:

Jane Eyre – Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender star in this adaptation of the famous Charlotte Bronte novel. Jane Eyre grossed $182,000 from 4 theatres, giving the film an amazing per theatre average of $45,500, which is the highest per theatre average of any film in release.

Kill The Irishman – Ray Stevenson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Linda Cardellini, Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken star in this film that is based on a true story about a turf war in Cleveland between the Irish and the Italians. Kill The Irishman grossed $155,500 from 5 theatres, giving the film an excellent per theatre average of $31,100.

Certified Copy – This film stars Juliette Binoche and is about a man and a woman who meet one day at a lecture and are mistaken as a married couple. They keep up the pretense for the day, but is it just for fun or are do they both feel something for one another? Binoche won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance. Certified Copy grossed $84,000 from 5 theatres giving the film a strong per theatre average of $16,800.

3 Backyards – This film stars Edie Falco and is about three people who live in the suburbs and whose lives intersect on a fall day. 3 Backyards grossed $11,000 from one theatre giving it the same per theatre avereage.

Clash (Bay Rong), Bonnie vs. Clyde vs. Dracula, Black Death and Making the Boys have not reported their grosses as of this writing.

So to recap, here were my predictions:

Battle: Los Angeles - $31 million
Rango - $23.4 million
Red Riding Hood - $17 million
The Adjustment Bureau - $12.2 million
Mars Needs Moms - $11 million

And here are the actual numbers:

Battle: Los Angeles - $36 million
Rango - $23.1 million
Red Riding Hood - $14.1 million
The Adjustment Bureau - $11.4 million
Mars Needs Moms - $6.8 million

My predictions were off by $13.2 million.

Next weekend, Battle: Los Angeles looks to be the #1 film for a second weekend in a row against three new films: the Bradley Cooper//Robert De Niro thriller Limitless, the Matthew McConaughey crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer and the Simon Pegg//Nick Frost sci-fi comedy Paul. Check out Biff Bam Pop next Friday to read my predictions!
Posted by AndyB at 4:35:00 PM

http://gotentertainment.us/jane-eyre-opens-to-highest-per-theater-average-of-2011

‘Jane Eyre’ opens to highest per-theater average of 2011
March 13, 2011
By in Got Entertainment

Just like its strong-willed heroine, “Jane Eyre” is proving to be a quiet-but-powerful force.

The new Focus Features film based on the 19th century Charlotte Brontë novel debuted in only four theaters this weekend and generated the highest per-theater average of any film this year. The movie grossed a distributor-estimated $182,317 overall, averaging $45,579 at two theaters in Los Angeles and two more in New York.

Last year, best picture winner “The King’s Speech” had the highest opening weekend debut in limited release, with a theater average of $88,863 in November. So far this year, Fox Searchlight’s Ed Helms comedy “Cedar Rapids” had held that record after opening to a $20,198 average in February.

“Jane Eyre’s” ticket sales were driven by a broad audience, according to Focus distribution President Jack Foley. While an older audience filled theaters for the matinee showings, an under-25 crowd showed up late into the evening to see the movie. The movie’s receipts jumped 53% from Friday to Saturday, indicating word-of-mouth on the well-reviewed “Jane Eyre” is positive.

Film adaptations of popular English literature often fare well at the box office. In 2005, Focus released a version of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” starring Keira Knightley that ultimately grossed $121.1 million worldwide. The last feature film version of Jane Eyre, however, a Franco Zeffirelli-directed Miramax movie starring Anna Paquin, only collected $5.2 million in 1996.

The new “Jane Eyre,” which stars Mia Wasikowska, will continue its slow roll out next week: It will play in about 23 theaters, opening in nine new markets including cities like Boston and Chicago.

– Amy Kaufman

Photo: Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska star in “Jane Eyre.” Credit: Focus Features.

Read More … LATimes – Celebs

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/03/13/weekend_box_office_march_13/

Weekend Box Office: Battle: Los Angeles Grabs Men; Red Riding Hood is Soft
Thompson on Hollywood

[Pictured: Red Riding Hood, Battle: Los Angeles, Jane Eyre]
The action blockbuster trumped the tween fairy tale at the weekend box office, while Jane Eyre scored the best specialty opening of the year (see indieWIRE). Anthony D’Alessandro reports. Film details, reviews and trailers are below.

A disaster film showed some fireworks at the weekend box office but not enough to make up for the damage many distributors have endured this year. Sony’s sci-fi invasion title Battle: Los Angeles easily secured $36 million at 3,417 theaters, showing that old tricks still work. Despite the gripes that this year has been plagued by bad movies and that the younger audience remains bored, Battle: Los Angeles, which is equal parts District 9 and 2012, proves that the masses are still suckers for formula. The film is a win on several fronts: first, it’s a cheap mini-tentpole at $70 million. Second it’s critic-proof, bucking its 32% rotten rating for respective A and A- Cinemascores among the under 18-ers and under 25ers. Lastly, Battle: Los Angeles bested its $35 million estimate. I Am Number Four was projected to win No. 1 over the Feb. 18-20 frame, Hall Pass beat Gnomeo and Juliet in its opening and Rango was estimated to post $50-$70 million during its first sesh.

Bowing to $14.1 million, Warner Bros.’ Red Riding Hood can’t be completely written off as a disaster given its bargain-basement $42-million budget. What it does show is that fangirls aren’t beholden to their auteurs like fanboys: many seemed not to care that Twilight-meister Catherine Hardwicke was behind this age-old fairy tale. However, the melodramatic concept put critics asleep; they gave it an 11% rotten rating. Aliens might be willing to travel to Earth to kidnap mothers in Disney’s $150-million child lit feature adaptation Mars Needs Moms, but audiences didn’t even travel two miles down to the road to the see the film which bombed in fifth with $6.8 million.

Blame it on motion-capture animation and 3D. James Cameron and Peter Jackson finesse this technology, but producer Robert Zemeckis’s human-to-toon transformations are downright disturbing. When Disney decided to shutter his ImageMovers Digital label a year ago, that was a signal that the film would tank. The studio worked tirelessly to propel the unit’s previous $200-million 2009 entry A Christmas Carol to $137.9 million at the domestic B.O. after a lackluster $30-million bow. Many families opted not to shell out extra bucks for 3-D and went to Paramount/ILM’sRango instead, which has proved a crowdpleaser with a second place take of $23 million, down just 39%. Film reviewers also swayed mothers against seeing Mars with a 42% rotten on the Tomatometer. Those who showed up gave the film a B Cinemascore.

Sony’s No. 1 win with Battle: Los Angeles stemmed from a four-month plus marketing campaign which included a viral trailer and several haunting one sheets/ billboards showing a war-torn Santa Monica ravaged by a missile downpour. With the casting of Michelle Rodriguez and R&B singer Ne-Yo, the studio also hit respective Latin and African American demos with advance hip hop radio screenings and appearances backstage at the Grammys. Sony also used as a tie-in the 1942 anniversary of the Los Angeles UFO sighting, an event which literally generated a full military response back in the day.

The studio was jazzed by this film’s potential. Earlier this month, they promoted Sam Dickerman to executive vp production,
who was one of the film’s point development execs, and extended producer Neal Moritz’s first look deal. Why the excitement? Even if Battle: Los Angeles runs out of ammunition stateside, Sony has a ton of cash to look forward to overseas since foreigners love disaster fare. 2012 minted a foreign haul of $604 million – close to four times its domestic take of $166.1 million. Already, Battle: Los Angeles has cleared $16.7 million with mostly No. 1 bows overseas. 68% of those enjoying Battle: Los Angeles were men over 25 (55%).

Red Riding Hood drew 64% females, 56% under 24, as well as a B- Cinemascore, posing questions as to whether the female demo will be around in weeks to come. Warner Bros. employed a vivid poster campaign with a one sheet of a bird’s eye view of Amanda Seyfried’s long red cape in the snow. The January release of a movie tie-in book hit No. 1 on the New York Times Children’s Paperback Bestseller list while Hardwicke has been working it at SXSW this weekend with directing tips on filming intimate scenes. Why didn’t this perform better? It’s not Twilight and the wolf isn’t Taylor Lautner. Luckily for Amanda Seyfried, she’s a rare bird who at 25 books big studio films and doesn’t get blamed for box office bombs. Many of her successes, including Mamma Mia! ($144.1 million) and Dear John ($80 million), stemmed from already established hit properties.

Box office continues to slide with weekend receipts of $126.5 million off 14% from a year ago’s take of $146.8 million. One distribution executive laments what many studio executives are feeling: “In a stronger marketplace, we would have done better.”

Here’s the THR on which studios are scoring the big profits: the ones that own still-hot franchises.


Here’s the weekend top ten chart:

1. Battle: Los Angeles (Sony): $36 million in its first weekend at 3,417 theaters. $10,536 theater average. Domestic total:$36 million.
2. Rango (Paramount/ILM): $23 million down 39% in its second weekend at 3,923 theaters. $5,876 theater average. Domestic total:$68.7 million.
3. Red Riding Hood (Warner Bros.): $14.1 million in its first weekend at 3,030 theaters. $4,665 theater average. Domestic total: $14.1 million.
4. The Adjustment Bureau (Universal): $11.5 million down 46% in its second weekend at 2,847 theaters. $4,025 theater average. Domestic total: $38.5 million.
5. Mars Needs Moms (Disney): $6.8 million in its first weekend at 3,117 theaters. $2,182 theater average. Domestic total: $6.8 million.
6. Hall Pass (Warner Bros.): $5.1 million down 42% in its third weekend at 2,555 theaters. $1,998 theater average. Domestic total: $34.9 million.
7. Beastly (CBS Films): $5.09 million down 48% in its second weekend at 1,959 theaters. $2,598 theater average. Domestic total: $17 million.
8. Just Go With It (Sony): $4 million down 38% in its fifth weekend at 2,398 theaters. $1,668 theater average. Domestic total: $94 million.
9. The King’s Speech (Weinstein Co.): $3.625 million down 42% in its sixteenth weekend at 1,768 theaters. $2,050 theater average. Domestic total: $129.1 million.
10. Gnomeo and Juliet (Disney): $3.546 million down 51% in its fifth weekend at 2,585 theaters. $1,372 theater average. Domestic total: $89 million.

Battle: Los Angeles, Columbia
Dir: Jonathan Liebesman; Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo | 36% on Metacritic, 33% on RottenTomatoes.

Red Riding Hood, Warner Bros. (review round-up)
Dir: Catherine Hardwicke; Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons | 30% on Metacritic, 8% on RottenTomatoes.

Jane Eyre, Focus Features (interviews here and here)
Dir: Cary Fukunaga; Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender | 79% on Metacritic, 90% on RottenTomatoes, B+ on CriticWIRE.

Mars Needs Moms, Disney
Dir: Simon Wells; Stars: Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler | 51% on Metacritic, 40% on RottenTomatoes.

Battle: Los Angeles

Red Riding Hood

Jane Eyre

Mars Needs Moms

http://www.articlesinbox.com/scott-mendelson-weekend-box-office-031311-battle-los-angeles-hits-hard-red-riding-hood-lands-softly-while-disneys-mars-needs-moms-crashes/

Scott Mendelson: Weekend Box Office (03/13/11): Battle: Los Angeles hits hard, Red Riding Hood lands softly, while Disney’s Mars Needs Moms crashes.

As expected, the heavily-hyped Battle: Los Angeles (teaser/review) topped the box office this weekend, grossing an estimated $36 million. If that number holds, it will be the twelfth-biggest March opening in history, and a rock-solid start for a would-be tentpole that cost (depending on who you asked) $80-100 million. There was talk that the picture would break out and perhaps reach $50-60 million, but that was frankly silly. We’ve been spoiled the last few years, with massive March openings like 300 ($70 million), Watchmen ($55 million), and the astonishingly-huge Alice in Wonderland ($116 million). But generally speaking, March releases that aren’t animated don’t even top $35 million. We didn’t have a single live-action $35 million opener in March until 2005 (The Ring Two), and there have been only five others since then prior to this weekend (the three above examples, plus Wild Hogs at $39 million, 10,000 BC at $35 million, so getting anywhere close to $40 million in the third month of the year has to be considered a win, especially without any kind of 3D or IMAX advantage.

The critically-savaged film (which was as much a case of critics expecting another Independence Day) scored a B from Cinemascore, with an A- from under-25 audiences and an A from males under-18. It remains to be seen if real-life disaster in Japan effected the film’s weekend take in any way, pro or con. You could argue that some audiences were at home non-fiction devastation instead of paying to see CGI-destruction, or you could argue that audiences responded to the ‘comforting escape’ that the unlikely (aliens from another world attack!) scenario provided. Regardless, and sometimes its just a great trailer, the film counts as the fourth-consecutive number-one opening for Sony this year, although its likely that they won’t have another number one opening this year until The Smurfs in early-August (Priest won’t top the second weekend of Thor or the opening of Bridesmaids, and Bad Teacher looks fun but it won’t top Green Lantern).

The next big opener was Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood (trailer/review), which pulled in just $14.1 million. The Amanda Seyfried vehicle was expected to reach $20 million, but Warner wasn’t expecting the senselessly-negative reviews. Again, the film is no masterpiece, but most of the most vicious pans seemed dead-set on the idea that the film was ripping off Twilight (false – it’s ripping off Sleepy Hollow), while condemning the film for highlighting a lover’s triangle above a werewolf’s rampage (also false – the romantic subplot is just that, and its dealt with in a mature and timely fashion). Point being, the sheer venom directed at the sloppy-but-fun picture gives credence to Lisa Cholodenko’s assertion that female-driven stories aren’t taken as seriously or considered as worthwhile as male-driven stories. Whatever the case, the teen girl demographic didn’t show up, which caused the softer-than-expected opening. On the plus side, the film only cost $40 million, a number it may reach barring complete collapse next weekend.

The last major opener was an unqualified disaster. Disney’s $150 million animated motion-capture fable Mars Needs Moms opened with just $6.8 million. It is the lowest-opened for any Disney animated film since the $5.9 million opening of Valiant back in August 2005. But this was no cast-off/second-rate pick up project. This was supposed to be Disney’s major entry in the first half of the year, and it will likely end up losing money on a Pluto Nash/Cutthroat Island level. I honestly can’t remember the last time a major Disney cartoon opened to so little, but it may indeed be the $3.4 million opening of The Rescuers Down Under back in 1990. Still, Disney followed up that costly miss with Beauty and the Beast, and now Disney will follow up this catastrophe with the sure-to-be-huge Cars 2 (teaser/trailers) in June.

But while The Rescuers Down Under still brought about the breakthrough use of computer animation, the collapse of Mars Needs Moms will likely mean the end of Robert Zemeckis’s groundbreaking motion-capture technology (he only produced this one). Disney closed Image Movers Digital after screening this critically-panned cartoon, and it’s unlikely that any other studio will fund the uber-expensive 3D animation when they can just do cheapo-conversions and charge the same ticket surcharge. It’s a damn shame, as Zemeckis was doing genuinely groundbreaking work and all anyone would talk about is ‘how scary it looked’. My three-year didn’t think it looked scary in the ads, and she’s in her scaredy-cat phase. For better or worse, the reemergence of 3D would not exist without the astonishingly eye-popping The Polar Express back in 2004, and Beowulf remains a stunningly good piece of adult action/horror that should have been devoured by those who complain about kid-centric animated films.. Still, the film itself was handicapped by an unclear premise (were the Martians malevolent?) and brutal reviews that pointed out the film’s allegedly retrograde gender politics. On the plus side, perhaps Robert Zemeckis will actually make another live-action film again, something he hasn’t done since the one-two punch of What Lies Beneath and Cast Away back in 2000.

The main action in limited-release was the dynamite $45,000 per-screen average for Jane Eyre. The acclaimed literary adaptation (which stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Sally Hawkins) opened on four screens and the terrific opening assures that it will expand in the coming weeks. In holdover land, the good news was the solid hold for Rango (review), which weathered mediocre audience polling to score another $23 million. The 39% drop is a little high for animation, but the best film of 2011 thus-far has still amassed $68 million in ten-days and seems to be catching on amongst adults and lovers of westerns and/or film history. The Adjustment Bureau (guest review) dropped about 44% in its second weekend, taking in $11.5 million and ending day-ten with $38.5 million. It’s a mediocre hold, and a sign that the film will just barely get to the $60 million that Universal paid for it. Still, the film is doing equally-well (if not better) overseas at this point, so this should still be a solid win for the studio. Hall Pass is at $35 million at the end of weekend three, while Beastly sits at $17 million after weekend two and will struggle to reach $25 million.

And that is indeed it for this weekend. Join us for another crowded session, when two adult, star-driven thrillers The Lincoln Lawyer (with Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, and William H. Macy) and Limitless (with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro) inexplicably fight for the same audience, while Greg Motala’s Paul goes for the sci-fi geek crowd.

Scott Mendelson

Tagged with 03/13/11,

By admin – March 13, 2011

http://ultralife1.blogspot.com/2011/03/battle-los-angeles-winning-box-office.html

Sunday, March 13, 2011
"Battle Los Angeles" winning box office war

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Battle Los Angeles" will win the battle of the sexes at the weekend box office in North America, likely to sell about $30 million worth of tickets to bloodthirsty young men.

The distaff "Twilight" crowd, meanwhile, will flock to "Red Riding Hood," which should open with $18 million-$20 million. Its ranking depends on the size of the fall of last weekend's champion, "Rango," which started off with $38 million.

There's also a new family offering -- Disney's performance-capture 3D toon "Mars Needs Moms." But meek interest has prepared Disney for an especially poor opening in the $8 million to $10 million range. The film cost about $140 million to make.

"Battle Los Angeles," a sci-fi war picture that cost about $70 million, stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan and Michael Pena. In its marketing campaign, Sony has trumpeted the action and special effects.

The film also opens in a handful of foreign markets, including the U.K. and Hong Kong.

"Red Riding Hood," starring Amanda Seyfried, is Catherine Hardwicke's first film since "Twilight," and Warner Bros. has relied heavily on the director's name in promoting the $40 million film.

The dark fantasy is based on the well-known fairy tale -- only in this version, the wolf is a werewolf. Gary Oldman, Billy Burke and Shiloh Fernandez also star.

"Battle Los Angeles" and "Red Riding Hood" are drawing especially bad reviews. "Mars" is faring slightly better.

On the specialty side, Focus Features opens "Jane Eyre," starring Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland") and Michael Fassbender, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Cary Fukunaga directed the critically acclaimed film, based on the classic novel by Charlotte Bronte.
Posted by atik at 9:50 AM

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/battle-los-angeles-scores-36-167154

'Battle: Los Angeles' Scores $36 Million Opening to Take Top Spot
12:04 PM 3/13/2011 by Pamela McClintock

"Mars Needs Moms" grosses just $6.8 million in its debut to come in No. 5.

Sony’s sci-fi action pic Battle: Los Angeles topped the domestic box office with a strong $36 million opening, but Warner Bros.' Red Riding Hood and Disney’s Mars Needs Moms weren’t so lucky.

The news was particularly bad for Disney financially, since Mars cost $150 million to produce, but only grossed $6.8 million in its debut—one of the studio's lowest openings in recent memory.

Paramount holdover Rango trounced both Mars and Red Riding Hood in its second weekend, falling only 39% to an estimated $23.1 million. In the first 10 days since its worldwide release, the critically acclaimed toon, placing No. 2, has earned a robust $68.7 million domestically and $46 million overseas for a total of $114.7 million.

Battle also made a major play overseas, grossing $16.7 million from 33 territories for a worldwide bow of $52.7 million.

Between Battle and Rango, the domestic box office showed some signs of recovery. Revenues were down only 10% from a year ago, a narrower decline than in other recent weekends.

But that didn’t mollify Warners, who said the general box office slump hurt Red Riding Hood. Starring Amanda Seyfried, the dark fantasy opened to an estimated $14.1 million, well behind expectations. The film, eviscerated by the critics, played to its intended audience—young females—only not enough turned out.

Red Riding Hood came in No. 3, followed by Universal holdover The Adjustment Bureau, which fell a respectable 46% in its second weekend to an estimated $11.5 million for a cume of $38.5 million, according to Rentrak.

Mars, the final film from Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers Digital under its now-severed deal with Disney, came in No. 5.

At the specialty box office, Focus Features' Jane Eyre got off to a winning start, scoring the best location average of 2011 so far. The film grossed an estimated $182,317 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a per screen average of $45,579.

Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Fukunaga, stars Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. Focus succeeded in getting both older and younger moviegoers, evidenced by strong matinee and nighttime business.

“It was an ideal mix of patrons,” Focus president of distribution Jack Foley said.

If Jane Eyre and Red Riding Hood played heavily to females, Battle: Los Angeles was the clear choice for men.

Males made up 68% of the audience, while 55% of those buying tickets were over the age of 25. The film drew a B CinemaScore, although younger moviegoers gave it an A-.

Battle placed No. 1 in many of the international markets where it opened, including Russia, where it grossed an impressive $4.6 million.

Battle, which cost $70 million to produce after tax incentives, is Sony’s fourth film in a row to open at No. 1 domestically after Green Hornet, The Roommate and Just Go With It.

Sony insiders said director Jonathan Liebesman and producer Neal Moritz worked closely with the studio in successfully delivering an event pic in March, coupled with a marketing campaign that wooed males by emphasizing the film’s action and visuals.

Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer said the collaboration proved an unbeatable combination.

“The result validated our belief in the film,” Bruer said. “It had imagery that was totally visceral and fun.”

Red Riding Hood received a B- CinemaScore. Of the audience, 64% were females, while 56% were under the age of 25.

Red Riding Hood’s soft bow isn’t good news for similar projects in the works, including two Snow White pics. Nor has CBS Films' Beastly -- a modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast -- broken out. Beastly’s gross through Sunday was $17 million.

Red Riding Hood's marketing campaign heavily promoted filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first Twilight. But the studio’s efforts to lure Twilight fans fell somewhat short.

At the same time, Warners has limited financial exposure on Red Riding Hood, since it cost under $40 million to produce.

Warner Bros. executive vice president of distribution Jeff Goldstein said Red Riding Hood was a victim of circumstances, at least in part.

“I think in a stronger marketplace, it would have done more business,” Goldstein said.

Disney didn’t try to sugarcoat its disappointment at Mars Needs Moms, which Walt Disney Studios chair Rich Ross inherited from the previous administration.

Family films often start out slow, then gain steam, but Mars will probably not recoup, since it was designed to open north of $20 million domestically.

Mars didn’t fare any better overseas, where it opened in 14 territories, grossing $2.1 million.

In the U.S., families made up 85% of the audience, while 53% of those buying tickets were female. The film received a B CinemaScore.

"The right audience came, but not in the numbers we needed," Disney president of worldwide distribution Chuck Viane said. "I’m disappointed for the filmmakers. They spent at least two years of their lives making a terrific movie that people won’t see."

Zemeckis, who produced Mars, doesn’t usually miss so badly. ImageMovers’ last film was A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. That pic grossed a solid, but not stellar, $325.3 million at the worldwide box office.

http://www.themoviebanter.com/2011/03/march-11th-%E2%80%93-13th-weekend-box-office-invasions-abound-as-mars-needs-money/

March 11th – 13th Weekend Box Office: Invasions Abound as Mars Needs Money

Posted by Nick Ondras on March 13, 2011 at 7:54 pm

No big surprise: the heavily anticipated invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles scored number one at the weekend box office with $36 million reeling at more than 3,400 sites. It taps another great opening for the month of March, coming off Rango’s $38.1 million bow last week. But aliens aren’t the only hot topic right now. Know what else is? Fairytales. Specifically, post-modern fairytales. Competing with Battle: LA was a movie targeted at the polar opposite of the testosterone-fueled, Xbox-playing men LA set out to attract, and, similarly, was equally loathed by critics.

Red Riding Hood, directed by Twilight alumni Catherine Hardwicke, started out a far cry away at #3 with $14.1 million. Still, this one made a modest entry financial into the whole werewolf genre but could in no way show up the debuts of Hardwicke’s Twilight or last year’s The Wolfman (which, say what you will, I refuse to dub “Oscar-winning”.) If nothing at all this weekend we learned Battle: LA was where it was at, mostly. And now that we know it’s a whiny pile of crap, maybe it’ll fall significantly from its royal perch by next weekend. “But we just have to see for ourselves…”

The only other movie in wide release last Friday was Disney’s animated Mars Needs Moms, an ironic-enough title since it seems there weren’t any on Earth left for kids to drag along to the local marquee. The Robert Zemeckis-produced flop headlined fifth place with $6.8 million at 3,117 sites, the tenth-worst opening ever for a movie playing at more than 3,000 sites. This came a blow to both Zemeckis and Disney, with their eerie motion-capture style per usually toting a hefty price tag of somewhere near $150 million. Maybe if they readjusted it to be fixed around a holiday, such as Zemeckis’s A Christmas Carol…?

In limited release, Sin Nombre director Cary Fukunaga’s take on Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, with Mia Wasikowska (practice makes perfect in spelling that name) and Michael Fassbender, was all the buzz of indie cinema this weekend. It raked in $182,000 at four sites, and easily nailed the highest per-screen average of any other film with a $45,500 medium. Elsewhere, Jonathan Hensleigh’s Kill the Irishman, filming once again his Punisher star Ray Stevenson as an Irish gangster in the 1970s, made $155,000 at five sites.

Here are the complete box office results for the top ten movies according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. 1. Battle: Los Angeles…$36 million
2. 2. Rango…$23.1 million
3. 3. Red Riding Hood…$14.1 million
4. 4. The Adjustment Bureau…$11.5 million
5. 5. Mars Needs Mom…$6.8 million
6. 6. Hall Pass…$5.1 million
7. 7. Beastly…$5.1 million
8. 8. Just Go With It…$4 million
9. 9. The King’s Speech…$3.6 million
10. 10. Gnomeo and Juliet…$3.5 million

http://www.ocean10studios.com/box-office-battle-l-a-explodes-mars-needs-bombs/

Box Office: Battle L.A. Explodes; Mars Needs Bombs

Posted by admin on March 14, 2011

A Marine crew faces off opposite an visitor advance in Los Angeles in Columbia Pictures’ movement thriller Battle: Los Angeles.

Desperate to captivate large crowds behind to film houses, Hollywood dispatched dual of a favorite class of box-office commandos: aliens and werewolves. The scheme finished in a delay adjacent on retreat, and a North American film business remained stranded in a months-long trough.

Two of a 3 new films in far-reaching recover offering various class of extraterrestrials: nasty warriors for a teenagers in a movement film Battle Los Angeles and darling Martian babies in Disney’s 3-D motion-capture comedy Mars Needs Moms. Only one organisation survived: Battle L.A. surfaced a box bureau with an OK $36 million, according to early studio estimates, while a Disney’s CGI 3-D planetary comedy Mars Needs Moms tested barren, earning a scandalously low $6.8 million. (See this week’s Pop Chart, where aliens attack.)

Nor was a werewolf film any utterance success: Red Riding Hood, a fairy-tale regretful fear film that was approaching to land in a high teenagers by appealing to teen girls, underperformed during $14.1 million. A Twilight counterpart destined by Catherine Hardwicke, who did a initial film in that series, and starring Amanda Seyfried, Red Riding Hood finished third behind final week’s champ, a Johnny Depp charcterised Western comedy Rango.

Battle L.A. is a World War II tale with a sci-fi twist: a garland of inglourious basterds (actually, one gutsy section of U.S. Marines) fights to keep an army of space invaders from overrunning Santa Monica. Produced for a bit underneath $100 million, a film warranted a disregard of film critics, who don’t matter, and a CinemaScore rating of B from moviegoers underneath 18, who do. One problem: there weren’t adequate kids to pull Battle L.A. into a stratosphere. More than half of a assembly was comparison than 25 — nonetheless another denote that kids are selecting giveaway party on amicable networks over a kind they have to compensate for during theaters. (See Richard Corliss’s examination of Battle L.A.)

Overseas, where a film is called World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, it purebred strong numbers: $16.7 million in 33 territories, with No. 1 openings in a U.K., India, Russia and South Korea. In a touching coincidence, a film announces that a aliens have combined disaster in coastal areas around a world, including Japan. Alas, real-life disaster trumped a movie’s many baleful imaginings.

Last week, NASA scientists deserted as fake a new investigate claiming to have found justification of visitor life. If there is any on Mars, it didn’t seductiveness moviegoers, who boycotted writer Robert Zemeckis’ chronicle of a children’s book by Bloom County‘s Berkeley Breathed. Made for about $150, and destined by maestro animator Simon Wells, Mars Needs Moms competence have endured a lamest opening for a Disney charcterised underline given 1990, when The Rescuers Down Under took in $3.5 million (about $6 million today), though in only 1,230 theaters to Mars‘ 3,117. The CinemaScore pollees gave a film a same altogether B rating as Battle L.A. got, though a ubiquitous audience, by being absentees, gave it an F.

This competence seem like a standard box-office brew of good, bad and ugly, solely that a bad and nauseous have outnumbered a good given before final Christmas. The stream weekend’s sum melodramatic sum is estimated during $126.5 million, that is off about 14% from a same support in 2010. That creates this a 16th of a past 17 weeks when weekend income fell next a take of a year before. And that one time was a fluke, when Valentine’s Day fell on President’s Day weekend and people had dual reasons — date night and a holiday — to go to a movies.(See a examination of this week’s series 2 film Rango.)

Worse, from Hollywood’s perspective, is a blockbuster drought. Hit cinema — ones that sum $50 million or some-more in a weekend — move business to a multiplexes; and if they can’t get a sheet to a large smash, they compensate to see something else. That expansive zephyr has been absent so distant this year, when no weekend has boasted a film that warranted as most as $40 million. Last year, that happened on 7 of a initial 11 weekends: 3 times with Avatar, once with a regretful comedy Valentine’s Day, once with a Scorsese-DiCaprio thriller Shutter Island and twice with Tim Burton’s Disney reconstitute of Alice in Wonderland. On 5 weekends of a initial 11 final year, a winner’s sum surfaced $50 million; 3 times it bested $60 million; and Alice‘s opening weekend took a Jabberwock-size transport of $116.1 million. No film this year has non-stop to even a third of that amount. See how bad things are?

In a micro-bank business of indie films, Jane Eyre non-stop with a stormy $182,317 on 4 screens in New York and Los Angeles, for a year’s top per-screen normal ($45,579). The medieval romance, starring Alice‘s Mia Wasikowska and Inglourious Basterds co-star Michael Fassbender, goes wider this entrance weekend, when a foe includes a R-rated comedy Paul, starring Seth Rogen as… an alien. There’s Hollywood knowledge for you: When Plan B doesn’t work, try it again.

Here are a Sunday estimates of this weekend’s top-grossing cinema in North American theaters, as reported by Box Office Mojo:

1. Battle Los Angeles, $36 million, initial weekend
2. Rango, $23.05 million; $68.7 million, second week
3. Red Riding Hood, $14.1 million, initial weekend
4. The Adjustment Bureau, $11.5 million; $38.5 million, second week
5. Mars Needs Moms, $6.8 million, initial weekend
6. Hall Pass, $5.105 million; $34.9 million, third week
7. Beastly, $5.09 million; $17 million, second week
8. Just Go With It, $4 million; $94 million, fifth week
9. The King’s Speech, $3.6 million; $129.1 million, 16th week
10. Gnomeo Juliet, $3.5 million; $89 million, fifth week

http://hollywooddaily.us/2011/03/14/box-office-jane-eyre-gives-2011-its-best-specialty-debut/

Box Office: ‘Jane Eyre’ Gives 2011 Its Best Specialty Debut
March 14th, 2011 | admin | 0 Comments »

Box Office: “Jane Eyre” Gives 2011 Its Best Specialty Debut (UPDATED)

Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë‘s “Jane Eyre” had an extremely promising debut this weekend. According to estimates, the film is on track to gross $182,317 from just 4 screens in New York and Los Angeles, averaging $45,579, which is by far the best per theater average of 2011, more than doubling “Cedar Rapids”‘s $20,198 last month (unless one counts Kevin Smith’s roadshow tour of “Red State”). Distributor Focus Features will expand the feature, starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench, considerably next weekend, providing an even bigger test. But clearly there is great interest in the film from specialty audiences.

“‘Jane Eyre’‘s strong box office momentum continued from Friday to Saturday with a sizeable 53% increase from Friday to Saturday,” Focus Features said. “Strong matinee business in NY and LA helped to drive the large uptick in Saturday’s business; late matinee, prime and late shows continued to experience actual or close to sell out conditions in every theater… The combination of strong reviews, positive word-of-mouth (as indicated by increase from Fri to Sat), and audience demand for a quality movie choice in the marketplace (reflected in heavy advance ticket sales) helped to deliver great opening weekend box office results.”

Its best gross was at New York’s Lincoln Square, where the film took in $54,387.

“Eyre” was not alone in its promise as the weekend saw a quartet of films enter the specialty marketplace to hopeful results. Anchor Bay found very strong numbers from Jonathan Hensleigh’s mobster drama “Kill The Irishman,” which in itself topped “Cedar Rapids” for the year’s second best per-theater-average. On 5 screens, the film took in $155,000 for a $31,000 average. Starring Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken and Vincent D’Onofrio, the film will expand in the coming weeks.

Also debuting to great numbers this weekend was Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy,” which IFC Films released in 5 theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The result was a $84,000 gross and a $16,800 per theater average, itself one of the stronger showings so far this year. Starring Williams Shimell and Juliette Binoche, IFC picked up the film out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Certified Copy” will expand to the top twenty markets within two weeks.

On one screen, Screen Media saw Eric Mendelsohn’s “3 Backyards” take in a decent $11,000. Starring Embeth Davidtz, Edie Falco and Elias Koteas, the film had debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.

As for holdovers, “Irishman”‘s Anchor Bay saw a steep drop off in per-theater-average for the second weekend of another 2010 Sundance alum, Josh Radnor’s “happythankyoumoreplease.” The film expanded from 2 to 19 screens but only rose 50%, grossing $52,700 and averaging $2,774. The film’s total now stands at $95,908.

Xavier Beauvois’ “Of Gods and Men,” held on much better in its third weekend.The Sony Pictures Classics’ release, which won the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, grossed $107,919 on 16 U.S. screens (up from 7) over the weekend, averaging $6,745. That gave the film a 10-day total of $293,604 in the U.S. only, and an additional $916,365 from Canada (where it’s being released much more aggressively through Mongrel Media).

In its fourth weekend, Dereck Joubert’s nature doc “The Last Lions” went from 14 to 39 screens. The National Geographic-distributed film, which follows a journey of a lioness as she battles to protect her cubs, grossed $117,501 for a $3,013 per-theater average. The film’s cume is now a strong $325,835 as it continues to expand in the coming weeks.

Paladin received good numbers from the fourth weekend of the Tom Shadyac “I Am,” a doc in which Shadyac speaks with intellectual and spiritual leaders about what’s wrong with the world and how it can be improved. Shadyac, known best for directing studio films like “Bruce Almighty” and “The Nutty Professor,” saw his “I Am” gross $43,950 from 7 theaters averaging $6,279. That marks only a slight drop in per-theater-average for the film, which is unsing geographically unique platform strategy that seems to be paying off quite nicely. After debuting in in Seattle, Portland, and the San Francisco Bay area, in the past weeks, it opened in Los Angeles this weekend to an estimated $22,000 from its lone theater. Shadyac has been touring with the film, as noted in indieWIRE‘s profile of the film’s strategy earlier this week.

Finally, in its fifth weekend, Fox Searchlight’s “Cedar Rapids” continued to hold up nicely. The Miguel Arteta directed comedy – starring Ed Helms and John C. Reilly – went from 235 to 395 theaters and found a $955,000 gross, averaging $2,424 as it took its new total to $4,631,294. That makes it the first specialty release of 2011 to gross over $4 million in a year that has been dominated by 2010 Oscar-related holdovers.

Peter Knegt is indieWIRE Associate Editor. Follow him on Twitter and on his blog.

indieWIRE:BOT tracks independent/specialty releases compiled from Rentrak Theatrical, which collects studio reported data as well as box-office figures from North American theatre locations. To be included in the indieWIRE Box Office Chart, distributors must submit information about their films to Rentrak at studiogrosses@rentrak.com by the end of the day each Monday..

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3120&p=.htm

'Jane Eyre' Maintains Momentum
by Ray Subers
Jane Eyre

March 21, 2011

Jane Eyre continues to build its case as a limited release hit: the movie added 24 locations for a total of 26 and improved 155 percent to $466,409. While it's average of $17,939 was way off from last weekend, that's still a very strong figure and indicates that the movie has plenty of room left to grow. Through ten days the Mia Wasikowska-Michael Fassbender drama has already amassed $719,514, and will be playing in at least 78 theaters this coming weekend.

While it didn't come close to Jane Eyre's excellent opening last weekend, Win Win still managed to make some noise in its debut frame. The Paul Giamatti-Amy Ryan comedy opened to $150,362 at five locations, which translates to a solid per-theater average of $30,072. That's a big improvement over writer-director Tom McCarthy's first two movies, The Station Agent and The Visitor, which ultimately finished with $5.7 million and $9.4 million, respectively. While official expansion plans aren't currently available, it's likely that distributor Fox Searchlight at least doubles the theater count this weekend.

Among other holdovers, Of Gods and Men triumphed with $295,102 from 94 locations, an increase of 40 from last weekend. Through just under a month in theaters, the French period drama has earned $1.6 million.

Further down the chart, last weekend's surprise hit Kill the Irishman more than quadrupled its theater count but ended up down three percent to $140,637. It has now made $332,638 through ten days, and has already become distributor Anchor Bay's third highest-grossing movie ever behind City Island and Solitary Man.

French drama Certified Copy lost less altitude than Kill the Irishman, expanding to 23 locations and improving 70 percent to $132,733. The movie has now made $245,820, and distributor IFC will almost certainly move forward with more playdates.

There were a substantial number of new releases besides Win Win, though only one found any measure of success. After breaking the opening day record at New York's Film Forum on Wednesday, Bill Cunningham New York earned $33,677 over the weekend from that single theater. That's the second-best opening average of 2011 behind Jane Eyre, and the documentary has reached a five-day total of $49,036.

The rest of the new releases all faltered to various degrees. The Music Never Stopped, starring J.K. Simmons and Lou Taylor Pucci, earned just $76,543 from 32 locations for a weak $2,392 average. It was even worse for The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman, which grossed just $23,425 at 37 locations for a meager $633 per-theater average. The movie surely fared better in China, where it was opening simultaneously, though that data isn't currently available.

Winter in Wartime debuted to $14,937 at three locations, while Eva Green drama Cracks started with $9,467 at three venues. Finally, Desert Flower finished with $7,657 from three theaters.

http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/michael-fassbender-mia-wasikowska-jane-eyre-box-office/

Michael Fassbender-Mia Wasikowska's JANE EYRE Doing Well: Box Office
Zac Gille | Mar 28, 2011

Michael Fassbender, Mia Wasikowska in Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre

David Bowers' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules topped the North American box-office chart this past weekend (March 25-27), despite earning about $700k less than studio estimates.

According to actuals found at Box Office Mojo, Rodrick Rules grossed $23.75m at no. 1, followed by Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jena Malone, with $19.05m at no. 2.

Doing well in limited release were Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, which scored $970k at 90 sites; Tom McCarthy's Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan, which pulled in $464k at 23 locations; and, somewhat more modestly, François Ozon's Potiche, starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, with $85k at 7 venues. (Potiche has taken in $21.53m overseas, $18.15m of which in France*.)

Starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel, and Robert De Niro, Neil Burger's thriller Limitless earned $15.05m at no. 3.

Matthew McConaughey's The Lincoln Lawyer was next at no. 4, taking in $10.75m. Also in the cast of the Brad Furman-directed crime drama: Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, Josh Lucas, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, and Michael Peña.

At no. 5, Gore Verbinski's Rango, featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fischer, and Abigail Breslin, drew $9.77m.

Next in line was not Battle: Los Angeles — as per studios' Sunday estimates — but the Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy Paul, with $7.85m at no. 6. Aaron Eckhart's Battle: Los Angeles was actually no. 7, with $7.58m.

Directed by Twilight's Catherine Hardwicke, and starring Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman, Red Riding Hood brought in $4.31m at no. 8.

Rounding out the top twelve were Matt Damon-Emily Blunt's The Adjustment Bureau with $4.29m, the Robert Zemeckis-produced animated 3D feature Mars Needs Moms with $2.25m, Alex Pettyfer-Vanessa Hudgens' Beastly with $2.16m, Owen Wilson-Jason Sudeikis' Hall Pass with $1.7m.

Gone from the top twelve were Colin Firth-Geoffrey Rush's The King's Speech and Gnomeo & Juliet.

Among the top-twelve movies, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules had the highest per-theater average, $7,500. Mars Needs Moms had the lowest, $1,041.

Also among the top-twelve (barring newcomers Sucker Punch and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules), The Lincoln Lawyer posted the lowest weekend-to-weekend attendance drop-off rate, -18.5%. Mars Needs Moms posted the steepest by far, -57.5%.

* Bizarrely, Hollywood studios still consider Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia as part of France.

Photo: Jane Eyre (Laurie Sparham / Focus Features)

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3126&p=.htm

Arthouse Audit: 'Jane Eyre,' 'Win Win' Continue to Impress
by Ray Subers
Jane Eyre

March 28, 2011

Jane Eyre led all limited releases thanks to its theater count advantage, and Win Win showed signs of growth potential. None of the weekend's new entries really stood out, with sports drama The 5th Quarter stumbling out of the gate and controversial drama Miral failing to leverage substantial press coverage.

Jane Eyre finished in 16th place on the overall weekend chart, up 108 percent to $969,993. This gain was mostly attributed to an increase from 26 to 90 theaters, but the movie's per-theater average declined 40 percent to $10,778. The Mia Wasikowska-Michael Fassbender drama continued to outperform similar movies The Duchess and The Young Victoria, which ended their runs with $13.9 million and $11 million, respectively. With $1.9 million so far, Jane Eyre is set to expand to at least 150 locations this coming weekend.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/box_office_miral_and_potiche_debut_as_bill_cunningham_leads_another_strong_/

Box Office: “Miral,” “Potiche” Debut As “Cunningham” Leads Another Strong Specialty Frame (UPDATED)
by Peter Knegt (March 28, 2011)

Francois Ozon's "Potiche."

Four new specialty films - “Miral,” “Potiche,” “Mia and the Migoo,” and “My Perestroika” - reported box office estimates this morning, each scoring per-theater-averages above $10,000. Alongside a trio of robust holdover films including, “Bill Cunningham, New York,” “Win Win” and “Jane Eyre,” all combined for another strong weekend for the specialty market, in contrast to the studio box office, which continued to slump.

On 7 screens, Francois Ozon “Potiche” had the widest debut. Starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, the 1970s-set French import grossed $85,000 for distributor Music Box Films, averaging $12,143. That’s a considerable step up from Ozon last film, “Hideaway” (Le Refuge), which opened last September to a $2,781 per-theater average. That film, which clearly was at a disadvantage to “Potiche”‘s international star power, ended up totalling $34,525, a number “Potiche” more than doubled already. “Potiche” had a long way to go, though, before topping Ozon best North American numbers. 2003’s “Swimming Pool” grossed $10,130,108.

Julian Schnabel’s “Miral,” which like “Potiche” made its debut at last year’s Venice Film Festival, also hit U.S. theaters this weekend. Released by The Weinstein Company, the tepidly reviewed film managed a $65,000 gross from 4 screens. That made for a decent $16,250 per-theater-average, though it is a far cry from Schnabel’s last narrative release, 2007’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” That film averaged over $25,000 in its first weekend en route to a $6,003,227 final gross. “Miral,” which depicts Hind Husseini and her quest to build an orphanage in Jerusalem in the wake of the establishment of Israel in 1948, is unlikely to match that number during its run, though this is a reasonable debut. Expansion in the coming weeks will be the true test for the film.

The weekend’s top debut averages came from the two least high profile films, Robin Hessman’s doc “My Perestroika” and Jacques-Rémy Girerd’s animated French import, “Mia and the Magoo.” Both opened exclusively at the IFC Center, and both found nearly identical numbers. Distributor International Film Circuit estimated a weekend gross of $17,663 for “Perestroika,” a critically acclaimed alum of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

The gross was, “driven by exceptionally good reviews across the board coupled with a robust grassroots outreach campaign to target audiences,” International Film Circuit’s Wendy Lidell told indieWIRE.

Since debuting on Wednesday, the film has totalled $25,067. A national rollout will occur in the coming weeks.

“Mia and the Migoo,” which is being released by GKIDS, grossed a strong $17,239 this weekend. Created from 500,000 hand-painted frames of animation, the second feature from French animator Girerd. It follows a young heroine, Mia, who goes up against profit-hungry developers, with the future of life on Earth in the balance. A “special preview week,” the film will re-open on Earth Day (April 22nd).

The weekend’s most impressive numbers, though, came from a trio of holdovers. Last weekend’s top debuts, Richard Press’s “Bill Cunningham New York” and Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win,” both continued to show considerable strength in their sophomore frames. The former, which last weekend had the best documentary debut since October’s “Inside Job,” expanded from 1 to 3 screens, grossing a fantastic $67,880 and averaging $22,627. That’s the best second weekend average of 2011 thus far, and bodes well for the Zeitgeist Films release as it continues to expand the feature. The film actually saw a stunning 32% rise at New York’s Film Forum, where it had opened the week prior. The grossed $44,401 there over the weekend, and $16,582 on Saturday alone, breaking their previous Saturday record.

“Cunningham” is a portrait of the titular 80 year old New York Times photographer who has been riding around New York City on his bicycle for 40 years documenting fashion trends on the street by day and New York’s social scene at night.

Another big winner this weekend was Tom McCarthy’s “Win Win.” According to estimates, the high school wrestling dramedy, which stars Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and Bobby Cannavale, rocketed 213% as it expanded from 5 to 23 screens. The film took in $470,804, which made for a $20,470 per-theater-average, tracking it well ahead of McCarthy’s previous efforts, 2008’s “The Visitor” and 2003’s “The Station Agent.”

“It’s Tom McCarthy’s biggest film and word of mouth with the adult audience is terrific,” distributor Fox Searchlight’s Sheila DeLoach told indieWIRE. “We held strong in the opening 5 theatres and sold out many shows in the new regional city openings. Next week we will open 12 additional markets and be playing in 130-140 theatres.”

Also holding on very strong was Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë‘s “Jane Eyre.” The film expanded from 26 to 90 theaters in its third frame and grossed a very strong $982,765. Distributor Focus Features should be quite pleased with the film’s $10,920 per-theater-average and its $1,898,298 total. Heading into further expansion, “Eyre,” which stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench, should easily manage the $5 million milestone.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3131&p=.htm

Arthouse Audit: 'Jane Eyre,' 'Win Win' Solid Again
by Ray Subers

April 4, 2011

Jane Eyre and Win Win each underwent significant expansion over the weekend, yielding solid results though their long-term prospects remained murky. Meanwhile, a large slate of new releases was for the most part unsuccessful.

Jane Eyre doubled its theater count to 180 and grew 25 percent to $1.22 million. Its per-theater average of $6,751 was its lowest so far, though the average was still high enough to warrant further expansion. In fact, the Michael Fassbender-Mia Wasikowska period drama will look to improve on its $3.5 million total when it adds at least another 40 theaters this weekend.

http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/atlas-shrugged-michael-fassbender-jane-eyre-box-office/

ATLAS SHRUGGED Plummets, Michael Fassbender-Mia Wasikowska's JANE EYRE Holds On: Box Office
Zac Gille | Apr 24, 2011

Meanwhile, Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, continues to do decent business in limited release. At 319 locations on its seventh weekend out, the latest film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic grossed $782k, down 21% after the addition of 45 theaters (about 15% more than last weekend). Total to date: $7.91m.

http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/bridesmaids-jane-eyre-thor-box-office/

BRIDESMAIDS Beats THOR, Michael Fassbender-Mia Wasikowska's JANE EYRE Passes $10 Million: Box Office
Zac Gille | May 17, 2011

Paul Feig's Bridesmaids, the first major sleeper hit of 2011, topped the North American box office for the first time on Monday, May 16, collecting $2.99m according to Box Office Mojo. The Universal release features Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm, Rose Byrne, and Jill Clayburgh's last film appearance.

Also worthy of (art-house) box-office note, Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska passed the $10m mark on Monday. Total: $10.01m.

http://www.3news.co.nz/The-Inbetweeners-tops-UK-box-office-for-fourth-week/tabid/418/articleID/225763/Default.aspx

The Inbetweeners tops UK box office for fourth week
!
Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:16p.m.

Teen movie The Inbetweeners is still top at the UK box office, marking its fourth week in the number one spot.

The British comedy, a spin-off of the hit television series, took £2.1 million last week, holding off competition from Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis' Friends With Benefits, which debuted in second place with £1.9 million.

Jane Eyre, starring Michael Fassbender, came in at number three with £1 million, while The Smurfs £817,306 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes £701,258 rounded out the top five.

The Inbetweeners has now racked up a total of £39.4 million in takings in the UK.