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Craig Younkin
Friday Box Office Analysis (7/9)
By Lee Tistaert Published July 10, 2004
One possible disadvantage is that Ferrell plays a character here who is full of himself, and his character?s dry sense of humor and egotistical personality in the ads can easily turn off some of the adults who loved Ferrell when he was nice in Elf.
With a supreme opportunity to take down Spider-Man (which would make DreamWorks look incredibly cool), Anchorman fell short of some box office expectations after Elf?s success led some to believe that this could be Will Ferrell?s biggest opening weekend debut. Grossing $11.0 million on Friday, Anchorman averaged $3,563 per-screen in 3,091 theaters. The figure is line with Dodgeball?s opening day of $11.3 million, though that comedy played in 400 fewer theaters, averaging a more impressive $4,205 per-screen.
In comparison, Elf had opened to $9.2 million on Friday, averaging $2,742 per-screen, and went on to gross $31.1 million for the weekend. That comedy had a mass of positive word of mouth after opening night, as it introduced Ferrell to a broad audience and moviegoers loved his clueless, good-natured character. Though Anchorman?s ad-campaign has been around since early in the year and its official trailer suggested a possible blockbuster in the works, the story doesn?t seem to have targeted the entire audience that found Elf so charming.
One possible disadvantage is that Ferrell plays a character here who is full of himself, and his character?s dry sense of humor and egotistical personality in the ads can easily turn off some of the adults over 30 who loved Ferrell when he was nice in Elf. The ad-campaign for Anchorman was also playing to younger demographics, as many people over 35 have found the ads rather stupid, while many in the 17 - 30 age bracket think it?s classic Ferrell. One box office comparison I had before the weekend was Austin Powers 2, but that had a wide appeal in the ages, and even though that also had stupid material involved the movie had more of a fun, loose sense of humor than a dry one.
Like Dodgeball, Anchorman isn?t too likely to increase on Saturday due to its dedicated fan base having rushed out on the first night. In that regard the comedy is looking to follow the path of American Wedding, which took in $12.2 million ($3,855 per-screen) on Friday and dipped to $11.3 million ($3,565 per-screen) on Saturday, for a $33.4 million weekend take. But Anchorman?s Sunday gross might not be as kind as that of Wedding ($9.8 million - $3,100 per-screen), which makes for the possibility that it doesn?t even hit $30 million for the weekend. A drop to about $10.0 million could occur on Saturday, which puts the weekend at roughly $28 - 30 million.
I think King Arthur?s box office potential was pretty clear when Disney decided to market the medieval flick using the heroes? names in the story rather than the actual stars involved. Instead of Clive Owen (who most people don?t even know) and Keira Knightley having their names being big mentions in the ads, we saw taglines like ?Arthur,? ?Lancelot,? ?Guinevere,? and ?Merlen? as if the moviegoing public should know who they are?when in fact, few people probably do.
Arthur was also advertised as being ?From the director of Training Day,? when in fact that drama debuted to $22.6 million ($8,393 per-screen) and featured Denzel Washington in a good role for him, one component that already rules over Arthur in appeal. Noting Training Day isn?t exactly an eye-opening tagline either, as not many people know who director Antoine Fuqua is, and his previous feature, Tears of the Sun, opened to a good but reserved $17.1 million ($5,737 per-screen) and collapsed soon after, and even that had Bruce Willis.
Probably facing some heat from Anchorman after its $4.8 million Wednesday gross, King Arthur didn?t improve much on Friday, delivering $5.0 million (in comparison, White Chicks went from $4.2 million to $6.8 million); booked in 3,086 theaters, the movie averaged $1,634 per-screen. It?s questionable whether Arthur will receive much of a Saturday boost, as its three-day weekend is on course for $14.5 - 15.5 million, with a five-day haul of $23 - 24 million.
After playing to empty sneak previews last week, it was even doubtful that Sleepover would live up to Win a Date with Tad Hamilton ($2.6 million - $972 per-screen), especially with literally zero cast appeal. Sleepover grossed $1.7 million on Friday, averaging a pathetic $778 per-screen from 2,207 theaters; the gross is in line with My Boss?s Daughter ($1.9 million - $844 per-screen) and close to Josie and the Pussycats ($2.2 million - $860 per-screen). Unlike Josie, Sleepover has a chance of increasing on Saturday, if only slightly ? a weekend of roughly $5.0 million should be in the works.
In comparison, Elf had opened to $9.2 million on Friday, averaging $2,742 per-screen, and went on to gross $31.1 million for the weekend. That comedy had a mass of positive word of mouth after opening night, as it introduced Ferrell to a broad audience and moviegoers loved his clueless, good-natured character. Though Anchorman?s ad-campaign has been around since early in the year and its official trailer suggested a possible blockbuster in the works, the story doesn?t seem to have targeted the entire audience that found Elf so charming.
One possible disadvantage is that Ferrell plays a character here who is full of himself, and his character?s dry sense of humor and egotistical personality in the ads can easily turn off some of the adults over 30 who loved Ferrell when he was nice in Elf. The ad-campaign for Anchorman was also playing to younger demographics, as many people over 35 have found the ads rather stupid, while many in the 17 - 30 age bracket think it?s classic Ferrell. One box office comparison I had before the weekend was Austin Powers 2, but that had a wide appeal in the ages, and even though that also had stupid material involved the movie had more of a fun, loose sense of humor than a dry one.
Like Dodgeball, Anchorman isn?t too likely to increase on Saturday due to its dedicated fan base having rushed out on the first night. In that regard the comedy is looking to follow the path of American Wedding, which took in $12.2 million ($3,855 per-screen) on Friday and dipped to $11.3 million ($3,565 per-screen) on Saturday, for a $33.4 million weekend take. But Anchorman?s Sunday gross might not be as kind as that of Wedding ($9.8 million - $3,100 per-screen), which makes for the possibility that it doesn?t even hit $30 million for the weekend. A drop to about $10.0 million could occur on Saturday, which puts the weekend at roughly $28 - 30 million.
I think King Arthur?s box office potential was pretty clear when Disney decided to market the medieval flick using the heroes? names in the story rather than the actual stars involved. Instead of Clive Owen (who most people don?t even know) and Keira Knightley having their names being big mentions in the ads, we saw taglines like ?Arthur,? ?Lancelot,? ?Guinevere,? and ?Merlen? as if the moviegoing public should know who they are?when in fact, few people probably do.
Arthur was also advertised as being ?From the director of Training Day,? when in fact that drama debuted to $22.6 million ($8,393 per-screen) and featured Denzel Washington in a good role for him, one component that already rules over Arthur in appeal. Noting Training Day isn?t exactly an eye-opening tagline either, as not many people know who director Antoine Fuqua is, and his previous feature, Tears of the Sun, opened to a good but reserved $17.1 million ($5,737 per-screen) and collapsed soon after, and even that had Bruce Willis.
Probably facing some heat from Anchorman after its $4.8 million Wednesday gross, King Arthur didn?t improve much on Friday, delivering $5.0 million (in comparison, White Chicks went from $4.2 million to $6.8 million); booked in 3,086 theaters, the movie averaged $1,634 per-screen. It?s questionable whether Arthur will receive much of a Saturday boost, as its three-day weekend is on course for $14.5 - 15.5 million, with a five-day haul of $23 - 24 million.
After playing to empty sneak previews last week, it was even doubtful that Sleepover would live up to Win a Date with Tad Hamilton ($2.6 million - $972 per-screen), especially with literally zero cast appeal. Sleepover grossed $1.7 million on Friday, averaging a pathetic $778 per-screen from 2,207 theaters; the gross is in line with My Boss?s Daughter ($1.9 million - $844 per-screen) and close to Josie and the Pussycats ($2.2 million - $860 per-screen). Unlike Josie, Sleepover has a chance of increasing on Saturday, if only slightly ? a weekend of roughly $5.0 million should be in the works.
'Anchorman' Articles
- Crowd Report: "Anchorman"
July 10, 2004 As for an opening day prediction, I think it?s either going to land at roughly $12.0 million or around $15.5 million (which is more or less what the argument was before the weekend). -- Lee Tistaert
