Box Office: Vantage Point Surprises w/$7.5M Friday, Headed For $22.4M

By Steve Mason/Feb. 23, 2008 2:11 am EST

Vantage Point has overcome soft industry tracking (I forecasted just $16M in my Weekend Tracking column) and taken advantage of a weekend with no serious competition to absolutely swamp the field. In fact, the 2nd place movie during Oscar weekend will likely be holdover The Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) with an estimated $13M. That’s almost a full $10M behind the weekend’s #1 movie.

Fox’s Jumper added $3.9M on Friday compared to Spiderwick’s $3.1M, but the Doug Liman sci-fi action flick will finish 3rd for the 3-day with $12.2M or so. That’s off 55% from opening weekend, but the Hayden Christensen vehicle will wrap up the weekend with $55.7M.

Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) danced to another $2.9M on Friday, and it will finish the weekend at #4 with $8.2M. Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros) delivered another $2.1M to kick off the frame, and it will stay in the Top 5 with a probable $6.4M and a new cume of $52.5M.

Beyond Vantage Point, the most successful new wide release is Be Kind, Rewind (New Line), the latest cinematic adventure from Academy Award winner Michel Gondry. The Jack Black-Mos Def surrealist comedy scored a nifty $1,485 Friday PTA for a $1.2M opening day. I’m projecting $3.65M for the 3-day or a $4,517 PTA.

As expected, Witless Protection (Lionsgate) and Charlie Bartlett (MGM) are both unmitigated disasters. Witless managed $700,000 on Friday, and it’ll finish the weekend with a meager $2M. The well-reviewed Charlie deserves better, but could only muster $600,000 on opening day, and it’ll crawl to just $1.8M for the frame.

U2-3D (National Geographic) has expanded to 686 locations with some success. The 3D concert film racked up $800,000 in Friday ticket sales, and this spectacular movie-going experience will finish the weekend in the Top 10 with an estimated $3.36M. Originally, I felt a $10,000-$12,000 PTA was possible, but, as it turns out, U2-3D is sharing many of those screens with Disney’s Hannah Montana. That will keep the Per Theatre in the $4,000-$5,000 range.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES

  1. NEW – Vantage Point (Sony) – $7.5M – $2,382 PTA – 7.5M cume

  2. Jumper (Fox) – $3.9M – $1,137 PTA – $47.4M cume

  3. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) – $3.1M – $806 PTA -$34M cume

  4. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) – $2.9M – $1,169 PTA – $34.5M cume

  5. Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros) – $2.1M – $683 PTA – $48.2M cume

  6. Definitely Maybe (Universal) – $1.7M – $766 PTA – $18.2M cume

  7. NEW – Be Kind, Rewind (New Line) – $1.2M – $1,485 PTA – $1.2M cume

  8. Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (Universal) – $1M – $534 PTA -  $32.5M cume

  9. U2-3D (National Geographic) – $800,000 – $1,166 – $4.6M cume

  10. NEW – Witless Protection (Lionsgate) – $700,000 – $525 – $700,000 cume

  11. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $675,000 – $481 PTA – $33.1M cume

  12. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $650,000 – $342 PTA – $83.2M cume

  13. NEW – Charlie Bartlett (MGM) – $600,000 – $535 PTA – $600,000 cume

  14. 27 Dresses (Fox) – $490,000 – $358 – $71.9M cume

*Hannah Montana (Disney) – $300,000 – $489 PTA – $60.6M cume

*In Bruge (Focus) – $175,000 – $1,075 PTA – $2.1M cume

*NEW – The Signal (Magnolia) – $33,600 – $210 PTA – $33,600 cume

*George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead (Weinstein Company/MGM)     $31,000 – $646 PTA – $360,000 cume

*The Band’s Visit (Sony Classics) – $25,000 – $3,125 PTA -      $296,000 cume

*NEW – The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) – $14,000 – $2,333 PTA – $14,000

*NEW – Cover (Independent) – $9,800 – $700 PTA – $9,800 cume

*NEW – The Duchess of Langeais (IFC Films) – $5,800 – $2,900 PTA – $5,800 cume

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES

  1. NEW – Vantage Point (Sony) – $22.4M – $7,113 PTA – $22.4M cume

  2. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) – $13M – $3,379 PTA -$43.9M cume

  3. Jumper (Fox) – $12.2M – $3,557 PTA – $55.7M cume

  4. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) – $8.2M – $3,306 PTA – $39.8M cume

  5. Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros) – $6.4M – $2,081 PTA – $52.5M cume

  6. Definitely Maybe (Universal) – $5M – $2,252 PTA – $21.5M cume

  7. NEW – Be Kind, Rewind (New Line) – $3.65M – $4,517 PTA – $3.65M cume

  8. Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (Universal) – $3.6M – $1,922 PTA -  $35.1M cume

  9. U2-3D (National Geographic) – $3.36M – $4,898 – $7.2M cume

  10. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $2.63M – $1,878 PTA – $35M cume

  11. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $2.37M – $1,247 PTA – $84.9M cume

  12. NEW – Witless Protection (Lionsgate) – $2M – $1,500 PTA – $2M  cume

  13. NEW – Charlie Bartlett (MGM) – $1.8M – $1,604 PTA – $1.8M cume

  14. 27 Dresses (Fox) – $1.71M – $1,255 PTA – $73.1M cume

*Hannah Montana (Disney) – $1.26M – $2,055 PTA – $61.6M cume

*In Bruge (Focus) – $665,000 – $4,080 PTA – $2.6M cume

*The Band’s Visit (Sony Classics) – $112,000 – $14,000 PTA -     $383,000 cume

*NEW – The Signal (Magnolia) – $100,000 – $625 PTA – $100,000

*George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead (Weinstein Company/MGM)     $95,000 – $1,979 PTA – $425,000 cume

*NEW – The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) – $54,600 – $9,100 PTA – $54,600 cume

*NEW – Cover (Independent) – $29,000 – $2,071 PTA – $29,000 cume

*NEW – The Duchess of Langeais (IFC Films) – $21,000 – $10,500 PTA – $21,000 cume

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