- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Friday Box Office Analysis (4/30)
By Lee Tistaert Published May 1, 2004
Taking the box office by a surprise storm on Friday, Lindsay Lohan?s teen comedy, Mean Girls, flooded theaters, taking in $9.1 million in ticket sales, averaging a very hot $3,192 per-screen. The movie surprised much like the debut of She?s All That ($6.0 million - $2,670 per-screen), and more relevantly (per-screen wise), Bring It On ($7.1 million - $2,979 per-screen).
However, the performance might not come as a huge surprise given the stars? recent willingness to crowd up television talk shows to promote the flick (and the buzz that Tina Fey got for writing the screenplay). Also, this is more of a mainstream comedic version of Thirteen (compared to the average cutesy teen flick), a story in which its target audience (of teenage girls) can relate to.
The question is whether Mean Girls has seen its peak business already, as Bring It On fell to $6.0 million ($2,505 per-screen) on its Saturday, while She?s All That had enjoyed a solid boost to $7.0 million ($3,150 per-screen). One other box office comparison is Save the Last Dance ($7.5 million - $3,369 per-screen), which had the benefit of MTV Films being on its back, along with having a very useful hip-hop marketing campaign. That teen flick jumped to $9.1 million ($4,094 per-screen) on its second day, but it also had the benefit of partially bringing in an urban crowd. For the weekend, Mean Girls should be looking at a gross of roughly $21 - 24 million.
On the other end of the spectrum, the critically panned cloning thriller, Godsend, debuted to slow numbers, bringing in $2.4 million, averaging $1,042 per-screen. The movie performed similarly (per-screen wise) to Frailty ($1.4 million - $939 per-screen), as well as Stir of Echoes ($1.9 million - $983 per-screen). The gross was also not too far behind Robert DeNiro?s crime drama, City by the Sea, which grossed $3.0 million ($1,151 per-screen), as well as Greg Kinnear?s goofy comedy, Stuck on You, per-screen wise ($3.4 million - $1,132 per-screen). For the weekend, Godsend should take in $7.0 - 7.5 million.
Even with an ad-campaign that jumpstarted in front of many Love Actually prints, the courtroom romantic comedy, Laws of Attraction, starring Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan, failed to ignite. Grossing $2.3 million on Friday, the screwball comedy averaged $931 per-screen, proving that a dead predictable (and bland) advertising campaign does not always sell. The closest comparison I have found for this one is the Matthew Perry/Elizabeth Hurley comedy, Serving Sara, which grabbed $2.0 million and $948 per-screen on opening day. With a decent incline on Saturday being likely, Laws of Attraction should be able to appeal around $7.0 million for the weekend.
Ben Stiller and Jack Black teamed up for the first time in the horribly buzzed Barry Levinson comedy, Envy. What could be referred to as Larry David?s Sour Grapes with an ad-campaign, the revenge flick opened to $2.2 million ($885 per-screen), similarly to Death to Smoochy ($1.7 million - $783 per-screen). The figure surpassed Stiller?s previous dud, Duplex ($1.5 million - $690 per-screen), which had been doomed with Danny DeVito?s directing track record and with its dark comedy genre (being a hard sell). Envy had the advantage of the appealing duo, even if most moviegoers probably knew it was going to suck. There?s no telling yet whether Envy?s going to slip on Saturday or receive a modest incline, but a weekend of $5 - 6 million should be in the works.
However, the performance might not come as a huge surprise given the stars? recent willingness to crowd up television talk shows to promote the flick (and the buzz that Tina Fey got for writing the screenplay). Also, this is more of a mainstream comedic version of Thirteen (compared to the average cutesy teen flick), a story in which its target audience (of teenage girls) can relate to.
The question is whether Mean Girls has seen its peak business already, as Bring It On fell to $6.0 million ($2,505 per-screen) on its Saturday, while She?s All That had enjoyed a solid boost to $7.0 million ($3,150 per-screen). One other box office comparison is Save the Last Dance ($7.5 million - $3,369 per-screen), which had the benefit of MTV Films being on its back, along with having a very useful hip-hop marketing campaign. That teen flick jumped to $9.1 million ($4,094 per-screen) on its second day, but it also had the benefit of partially bringing in an urban crowd. For the weekend, Mean Girls should be looking at a gross of roughly $21 - 24 million.
On the other end of the spectrum, the critically panned cloning thriller, Godsend, debuted to slow numbers, bringing in $2.4 million, averaging $1,042 per-screen. The movie performed similarly (per-screen wise) to Frailty ($1.4 million - $939 per-screen), as well as Stir of Echoes ($1.9 million - $983 per-screen). The gross was also not too far behind Robert DeNiro?s crime drama, City by the Sea, which grossed $3.0 million ($1,151 per-screen), as well as Greg Kinnear?s goofy comedy, Stuck on You, per-screen wise ($3.4 million - $1,132 per-screen). For the weekend, Godsend should take in $7.0 - 7.5 million.
Even with an ad-campaign that jumpstarted in front of many Love Actually prints, the courtroom romantic comedy, Laws of Attraction, starring Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan, failed to ignite. Grossing $2.3 million on Friday, the screwball comedy averaged $931 per-screen, proving that a dead predictable (and bland) advertising campaign does not always sell. The closest comparison I have found for this one is the Matthew Perry/Elizabeth Hurley comedy, Serving Sara, which grabbed $2.0 million and $948 per-screen on opening day. With a decent incline on Saturday being likely, Laws of Attraction should be able to appeal around $7.0 million for the weekend.
Ben Stiller and Jack Black teamed up for the first time in the horribly buzzed Barry Levinson comedy, Envy. What could be referred to as Larry David?s Sour Grapes with an ad-campaign, the revenge flick opened to $2.2 million ($885 per-screen), similarly to Death to Smoochy ($1.7 million - $783 per-screen). The figure surpassed Stiller?s previous dud, Duplex ($1.5 million - $690 per-screen), which had been doomed with Danny DeVito?s directing track record and with its dark comedy genre (being a hard sell). Envy had the advantage of the appealing duo, even if most moviegoers probably knew it was going to suck. There?s no telling yet whether Envy?s going to slip on Saturday or receive a modest incline, but a weekend of $5 - 6 million should be in the works.
