Friday Box Office Analysis (4/15)

Despite efforts of recapturing the box office flame of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, The Amityville Horror debuted in the realm of this year?s other horror flicks. The MGM flick turned in $8.8 million on opening day in an ultra-wide 3,324-theater release, averaging $2,636 per-screen. The studio hasn't been known for bigger debuts outside of well-known sequels or the James Bond franchise. Just recently the loose sequel, Be Cool, opened to $8.2 million, while their sequel with heavy roots, Red Dragon, had turned in $13.5 million. Within its genre, the opening was very much in sync with Boogeyman, which opened to $8.1 million and $2,641 per-screen, and was a notch above Hide and Seek, which took in $7.8 million and $2,606/screen.

Hide and Seek had appeal amongst adult audiences, whereas Boogeyman and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were very youth-oriented, which limited their Saturday incline. Hide and Seek benefited from a 12% second day increase while Boogeyman jumped only 5%, and Texas Chainsaw jumped just 1%. A Saturday boost of 1 - 5% should result for Amityville Horror considering it is not a sequel and is not backed by a cult audience (like Dawn of the Dead, which fell on Saturday), which are factors that can result in second day drops for this genre. A gross of roughly $23.0 million could be on the way for the weekend.