Friday Box Office Analysis
by Tim Briody
January 26, 2013
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Surprisingly not the strangest concept among the wide releases this weekend, fairy tale turned action movie Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters tops the box office on Friday with $6.1 million. I would make more jokes about how future Brothers Grimm fairy tales can be adapted into anachronistic modern films but it turns out some of those have already happened. This performance shows us that while Arnold Schwarzenegger's time as an action star has passed, viewers will turn out for a fairy tale character manning a gatling gun. Hansel and Gretel don't have the same pull as January's recent horror offerings, but it's just enough to win the weekend before vanishing into the woods. A weekend of $14.1 million will be good enough to get there.
Parker
Jason Statham's latest action movie (also starring Jennifer Lopez) only comes in with $2.1 million on Friday, even less than Safe earned last April ($2.6 million). Statham's schtick has become tiresome to audiences and anyone interested in an action movie this weekend picked Hansel and Gretel over seeing the exact same movie Statham has released numerous times over the last decade. Look for a weekend of $6.3 million.
Movie 43
Written by, directed by and starring virtually everyone in Hollywood, Movie 43 generated no excitement among audiences as it only earned $1.8 million on Friday. With its multiple unconnected story lines, it's attempting to be a film version of a sketch comedy show, and that's not something that's going to play well in the YouTube era. It also doesn't help that what's been shown in the ads has been completely devoid of the funny. It's entirely possible Movie 43 finishes the weekend with $4.3 million (that would take a 2.39 multiplier) but I expect it to do just a notch or two better, thus robbing us of some irony. Give it $4.5 million and an eventual cult following on DVD.
Notable Holdovers
After last week's breakout, Mama drops 62% to $3.8 million. Hey, at least it's better than the 82% Texas Chainsaw 3D plummeted in its second Friday. $10.7 million for the weekend will be Mama's fate in weekend number two.
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