January 13-15, 2012 Box Office Results

Weekend of January 13-15, 2012

Contraband – 21.5 est – My prediction: Over – 24.3 act – Over
Beauty and the Beast 3D – 17.5 est – My prediction: Over – 17.8 act – Over
Joyful Noise – 15.5 est – My prediction: Under – 11.2 act – Under
The Iron Lady – 5.0 est – My prediction: Over – 5.4 act – Over

A fairly well-estimated weekend. Dano and I were the only ones to get all four predictions correct.

Contraband made more than almost any other action film released in January. It could not quite beat Taken which was released on the 30th of January in 2009. I predicted Over on this simply because of how well The Devil Inside did last weekend. Just like all of you, I was shocked to see how well it did, but after some research, it makes sense. With a lack of new movies and M:I4 and Sherlock 2 being out for a month now, people wanted some hot Marky Mark action.

I took my daughter to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D over the weekend and noticed that the theatre wasn’t as full as The Lion King 3D was. Still, considering that the film has already been out on Blu-ray in 3D for over three months, and the fact that converting the film to 3D cost Disney less than $10 million, this is a success.

Joyful Noise looked dumb. I thought the $15.5 million estimate was quite generous and never thought it would make that much. I would like to speak to the people who actually gave money to this film and simply ask them “Why?”

The Iron Lady was an easy one to predict because of how well it has already done on a limited release. All of us except Carlos correctly guessed Over on this one. It was still close though. I thought it would do better. It only made $6,749 average per theatre which was under Contraband and Beauty and the Beast.

We have three new releases, a movie going wide, and a limited release this weekend. The fourth installment in the Underworld franchise will be out in about 2,900 theatres. Underworld: Awakening will have 3D and IMAX 3D releases, so be sure to take that into account when making your prediction. The George Lucas-produced Red Tails will see about 2,500 theatres. Is it just me or should this film about the Tuskegee Airmen been released this past weekend with MLK Jr. Day? Haywire, starring MMA fighter Gina Carano and directed by Steven Soderbergh, will see a decent wide release. The film has an all-star supporting cast made up of Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, and Michael Fassbender. The 9/11 family drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close will finally have its wide release. Up until this weekend, it has been sitting quietly in six theatres since Christmas Day. Finally, getting a limited release on Friday is the Shakespeare tragedy Coriolanus, which is Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut film. The well-received film currently sits at a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes out of 57 reviews.