Friday Box Office: Bucket List #1, First Sunday #2, Juno #3

By Steve Mason/Jan. 12, 2008 3:38 am EST

ALL-TIME TOP 10 ROB REINER WIDE OPENINGS

  1. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

  2. A Few Good Men – $15.5M

  3. Misery – $10.07M

  4. The American President – $10.01M

  5. The Story of Us – $9.6M

  6. When Harry Met Sally – $8.8M

  7. Alex & Emma – $6.1M

  8. Rumor Has It – $3.4M

  9. The Sure Thing – $3.1M

  10. North – $3M

Warner Bros gave Bucket List a limited holiday release with the hopes of winning the attention of Academy Awards voters, but the film has met with lukewarm-to-negative reviews (only 40% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), and not even the star-craved Hollywood Foreign Press Association could figure out a way to nominate Jack Nicholson. Still, for Jack, this movie will mark the 4th-best wide opening of his career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 JACK NICHOLSON WIDE OPENINGS

  1. Anger Management – $42.2M

  2. Batman – $40.4M

  3. The Departed – $26.8M

  4. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

  5. Wolf – $17.9M

  6. Something’s Gotta Give – $16M

  7. A Few Good Men – $15.5M

  8. As Good As It Gets – $12.6M

  9. The Witches of Eastwick – $9.4M

  10. Mars Attacks! – $9.3M

Meanwhile, The Bucket List becomes the #7 opening of the venerable Morgan Freeman’s career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 MORGAN FREEMAN WIDE OPENINGS

  1. Bruce Almighty – $67.9M

  2. Batman Begins – $48.7M

  3. Deep Impact – $41.1M

  4. Evan Almighty – $31.19M

  5. The Sum of All Fears – $31.17M

  6. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – $25.6M

  7. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

  8. Along Came a Spider – $16.7M

  9. Dreamcatcher – $15.02M

  10. Unforgiven – $15.01M

It appears that the broad comedy First Sunday (Sony) is #2 both for Friday and the weekend with a better-than-expected performance. With a cast that includes Ice Cube, Tracey Morgan and Katt Williams, the movie has opened with downright horrible reviews (17% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), but it’s bulletproof at the box office. First Sunday grabbed $5.75M on opening day, and it will finish the weekend with an estimated $17.25M.

Ice Cube, a founding member of the gangsta rap group N.W.A., continues to build an impressive box office resume with First Sunday likely becoming the 4th-best opening of his career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 ICE CUBE OPENINGS

  1. Barbershop 2: Back in Business – $24.2M

  2. Barbershop – $20.6M

  3. Are We There Yet? – $18.5M

  4. First Sunday – $17.25M (estimate)

  5. Anaconda – $16.6M

  6. Three Kings – $15.8M

  7. Next Friday – $14.4M

  8. Are We Done Yet? – $14.2M

  9. Higher Learning – $13.2M

  10. Friday After Next – $13M

This also marks another successful opening for a film with a predominantly black cast. Looking at the last 12 months, there are 2 double digit openings for Tyler Perry, now an established African American star, but First Sunday is the 6th 3-day opening of $10M+.

TOP 10 OPENINGS FOR MOVIES WITH

PREDOMINANTLY BLACK CASTS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS

  1. Stomp the Yard – $21.8M

  2. Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? – $21.3M

  3. This Christmas – $17.9M

  4. Are We Done Yet? – $14.2M

  5. Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls – $11.2M

  6. The Great Debaters – $6M

  7. I Think I Love My Wife – $5.6M

  8. Pride – $3.5M

  9. Who’s Your Caddy? – $2.7M

National Treasure 2 (Disney) added $3.5M to start the 3-day, and the Nicolas Cage sequel is headed for an $11.2M weekend a new cume of just under $180M. Will Smith’s I Am Legend (Warner Bros) rounds out the top 5 with an estimated $2.6M Friday and a likely weekend take of $8.3M or so.

There are 2 other new wide releases that have met with disappointing results. Universal’s The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie managed only $1.2M on Friday. The Christian-themed animated film will likely finish the weekend at #9 with an estimated $4.56M. Meanwhile, video game adaptation In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (Freestyle Releasing), another Uwe Boll schlockfest, only sold $950K worth on opening day, and it’s headed for a meager $2.8M weekend.

Counting down to the anti-climactic Golden Globes press conference on Sunday, There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) has expanded with wildly successful results. The Paul Thomas Anderson-directed adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil is now at 127 locations, and it registered over $600,000 for the day for a per screen average of over $4,600. With a searing performance from Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who will almost certainly claim the Golden Globe for Best Actor â€" Drama on Sunday night, Blood will register an estimated $2.16M weekend and a 3-day PTA of $16,787.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES

  1. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $6M, $2,061 PTA [$7.4M cume]

  2. NEW – First Sunday (Sony) – $5.75M, $2,598 PTA [$5.75M cume]

  3. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $3.5M, $1,046 PTA [$179.3M cume]

  4. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $2.6M, $775 PTA [$234.7M cume]

  5. One Missed Call (Warner Bros) – $2.03M, $2,321 PTA [$5.2M cume]

  6. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $1.8M, $522 PTA [$180.4M cume]

  7. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $1.64M, $709 PTA [$43.6M cume]

  8. Charlie Wilson’s War (Universal) – $1.36M, $565 PTA [$56.5M cume]

  9. NEW â€" Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything (Universal) – $1.2M, $895 PTA [$1.2M cume]

  10. Atonement (Focus) – $1.17M, $1,236 PTA [$22M cume]

  11. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $1.01M, $766 PTA [$41.6M cume]

  12. NEW – In the Name of the King (Freestyle Releasing) – $950,000, $475 PTA [$950,000 cume]

  13. The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $728,164, $564 PTA [$24M cume]

  14. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $687,818, $274 PTA [$32.5M cume]

  15. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $601,521 $4,663 PTA [$3M cume]

  16. The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $595,574, $842 PTA [$1.7M cume]

  17. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $449,966, $629 PTA [$2.5M cume]

  18. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $423.038, $307 PTA [$39M cume]

*Enchanted (Disney) – $416,276, $347 PTA [$120.9M cume]

*No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $385,000, $586 PTA [$45.9M cume]

*The Golden Compass (New Line) – $244,200, $299 PTA [$66.6M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $86,448, $1,153 PTA [$1.6M cume]

*Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$39,723, $3,611 [$393,000 cume]

*Heartbeat Detector (Independent) – $1,978, $1,978 PTA [$1,978 cume]

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES

  1. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $18.6M, $6,390 PTA [$20M cume]

  2. NEW – First Sunday (Sony) – $17.25M, $7,795 PTA [$17.25M cume]

  3. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $11.2M, $3,317 PTA [$187M cume]

  4. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $8.32M, $2,481 PTA [$240.4M cume]

  5. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $6.14M, $1,776 PTA [$184.7M cume]

  6. One Missed Call (Warner Bros) – $6.1M, $2,724 PTA [$20.6M cume]

  7. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $5.1M, $2,197 PTA [$47.1M cume]

  8. NEW â€" Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything (Universal) – $4.56M, $3,411 PTA [$4.56M cume]

  9. Charlie Wilson’s War (Universal) – $4.35M, $1,809 PTA [$59.5M cume]

  10. Atonement (Focus) – $3.99M, $4,202 PTA [$24.9M cume]

  11. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.24M, $2,450 PTA [$43.9M cume]

  12. NEW – In the Name of the King (Freestyle Releasing) – $2.8M, $1,746 PTA [$2.8M cume]

  13. The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $2.36M, $1,835 PTA [$25.6M cume]

  14. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $2.3M, $919 PTA [$34.1M cume]

  15. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $2.16M, $16,787 PTA [$4.5M cume]

  16. The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $2.02M, $2,864 PTA [$3.1M cume]

  17. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $1.55M, $2,171 PTA [$3.6M cume]

  18. Enchanted (Disney) – $1.35M, $1,126 PTA [$121.9M cume]

  19. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $1.33M, $967 PTA [$39.9M cume]

*No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $1.27M, $1,934 PTA [$46.8M cume]

*The Golden Compass (New Line) – $854,700, $1,047 PTA [$67.2M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $337,145, $4,495 PTA [$1.8M cume]

*Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$144,987, $13,191 [$500,000 cume]

*Heartbeat Detector (Independent) – $6,626, $6,626 PTA [$6,626 cume]

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