Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
March 24, 2007
BoxOfficeProphets.com
TMNT
The big winner of the weekend, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel/revival/reboot(?) topped the box office on Friday with $8.7 million. It was just about 17 years ago (don't you feel old?) that the first TMNT movie opened to a now quaint, but then-March record of $25.4 million. Oddly enough, that's a ballpark figure for where this version might end up. The X-factor is how much of a kiddie pull will it have over the weekend, sort of competing with more traditional family fare The Last Mimzy. I think it will perform pretty well over the remainder of the weekend, and I see a weekend estimate of $27.8 million
Shooter
The heavily-marketed Mark Wahlberg/Antoine Fuqua action/thriller performed decently with an estimated $4.8 on Friday. If 300 is too much for you, this is your choice for the weekend. Look for a total of about $14 million for the weekend.
The Hills Have Eyes II
The completely uncalled for sequel to last year's completely uncalled for horror remake earned $3.9 million. This is a big step backwards from last year when The Hills Have Eyes earned $5.6 million on its opening night. There will probably be an even worse weekend multiplier than the first film had, so a weekend estimate of $10 million should be in store.
The Last Mimzy
Kind of overshadowed by TMNT with only $2.8 million on Friday, The Last Mimzy is the type of movie that will have an extremely long life on DVD, though its time in theaters may be painfully short. Call it a weekend total of $8.7 million.
Reign Over Me
By far the most interesting of the new releases this week, the Adam Sandler/Don Cheadle 9/11 pic Reign Over Me could only muster $2.5 million on 1,671 screens. Clearly lost in the shuffle of six new releases for the weekend, Reign Over Me will likely disappear very quickly. Give it $7.7 million for the weekend.
Pride
Lionsgate released Pride on the wrong weekend (seriously, how can you go wrong with Tom Arnold as the Evil White Rival Coach? Shame on your marketing department.), to the tune of $1.2 million. Call it $3.3 million and good riddance.