Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
August 23, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In a bit of a surprise, the [bp:209_]Anna Faris[/bp]-led comedy [tm:4465_]The House Bunny[/tm] topped the box office on Friday with $5.8 million. This is a bit of a far cry from the $40 million openings three of the four Scary Movie films have seen, but it's quite good for what is pretty much Faris' first leading role outside of that franchise. Tropic Thunder held well, but The House Bunny should stay on top at the end of the weekend. I see a total weekend of $16.2 million.
[tm:4463_]Death Race[/tm]
The remake of Death Race 2000 places third on Friday with $4.5 million. I think they released this film too early. Don't they know that Labor Day weekend is where [bp:1214_]Jason Statham[/bp]'s films do much better? It's going to get swallowed by the comedies and that pesky Dark Knight over the remainder of the weekend. A total weekend of $11.7 million should be in store.
[tm:4454_]The Longshots[/tm]
[bp:126_]Ice Cube[/bp]'s football family film is pretty much an afterthought this weekend, coming in ninth on Friday with just $1.3 million. It will remain lost in the shuffle at the bottom of the pack, with $3.8 million for the weeekend.
Notable Holdovers
Tropic Thunder holds pretty well, off just 41% from Friday. With that strong hold, it's going to come awfully close to The House Bunny, but the opener should just end up just ahead of it, as the [bp:122_]Ben Stiller[/bp] comedy looks to earn $15.9 million.
[tm:4461_]Star Wars: The Clone Wars[/tm] and [tm:3833_]Mirrors[/tm] do not hold nearly as well, off 75% and 64% respectively. That's pretty laughable for The Clone Wars. Both films will be neck and neck for sixth place with $4.6 million and $4.5 million.