By Tim Briody
None of the four new wide releases were able to topple Barbershop Friday as the box office continues to lurch its way through the month of September.
The Banger Sisters
With probably the most risqué title since Freddy Got Fingered, The Banger Sisters managed an estimated $3.3 million Friday. Aimed solely at the older female market, the Goldie Hawn/Susan Sarandon vehicle will do a bit better over the rest of the weekend, but should only end up with a fairly disappointing $11.0 million total.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (what is it with the titles this weekend?) had an estimated Friday take of $2.4 million. As I type this, the folks behind next month's The Transporter are probably patting themselves on the back for moving their film out of September (and having an infinitely better marketing campaign). The Antonio Banderas/Lucy Liu action flick will likely end the weekend with something in the range of $6.7 million.
The Four Feathers
Behaving like a good little period piece, The Four Feathers had an estimated $2.3 million Friday take. Despite the hype and attempts to make it look like a serious Oscar contender, the Heath Ledger/Kate Hudson epic looks to take in only $7.0 million for the weekend.
Trapped
And the title of Biggest Flop of the Weekend belongs to Trapped. A film whose plot involves the kidnapping of a child isn't exactly going to bring many viewers in, considering current events. With its estimated $1 million Friday and likely $3.0 million weekend, the thriller becomes just another obscure flick to use when playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Notable Holdovers
The gravy train continues for MGM as Barbershop stays on top. Despite a 43% decline from last Friday (after adding nearly 300 screens), the weak product released into the market this week keeps it at number one for its second weekend. A 40% drop for the weekend gives it $12.3 million.
As shocking as it is to believe, One Hour Photo may be a little too dark for mainstream audiences. Despite adding a little over 100 screens to attempt to keep its momentum going, the Fox Searchlight film drops 39% from the previous Friday. That won't help Robin Williams' Oscar hopes. Still, the film looks to end up with $4.8 million for the weekend.
Check back tomorrow for the full weekend numbers and analysis.
Extrapolated Estimates for the Top Ten |
Projected
Rank |
Film |
Estimated Gross (M$) |
|
1
|
Barbershop
|
12.3
|
|
2
|
The Banger Sisters
|
11.0
|
|
3
|
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
|
10.0
|
|
4
|
The Four Feathers
|
7.0
|
|
5
|
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
|
6.7
|
|
6
|
One Hour Photo
|
4.8
|
|
7
|
Signs
|
3.7
|
|
8
|
Swimfan
|
3.1
|
|
9
|
Trapped
|
3.0
|
|
10
|
City by the Sea
|
1.9
|
Internal multiplier = A comparison of Friday's numbers to the rest of the
weekend. So if Barbershop makes $5.1 million
on Friday and $17.8 million for the whole weekend, then its internal
multiplier is 3.5 ($17.8 million / $5.1 million = 3.5).
Analysts use this number in reverse to predict weekend numbers from Friday's
numbers.
View other columns by Tim Briody
