Apr 6 -8, Weekend Box Office, "Blades of Glory Grinds it Out for no. 1"

[Minnesota]

Back by semi popular demand . This week was a real shocker for fans of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, as their fourth collaboration effort disappoints at the box office with the 4th spot. Number 1 again goes to Will Ferrell's ice skating comedy and the new Disney picture continues to be strong at number 2. Also, debuting this week is a sequel by Ice Cube and a new flick by Hilary Swank respectively taking the number 3 and 5 spots . As per usual with this thread, grab a keyboard and discuse with fellow roundtable members. Actuals ARE up.


'Blades' Grinds Out a 2nd Week at No. 1
Sunday April 8 7:05 PM ET


Movie audiences were more interested in light comedy over Easter weekend than in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse," a double-feature ode to bloody exploitation flicks.

Paramount and DreamWorks' figure-skating romp "Blades of Glory" remained the No. 1 movie with $23 million, followed for the second weekend by Disney's animated comedy "Meet the Robinsons" with $17 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Grindhouse," a three-hour reinvention of the down-and-dirty B-movie double features Tarantino and Rodriguez grew up watching, debuted at No. 4 with $11.6 million.

It finished behind Sony's family comedy "Are We Done Yet?", starring Ice Cube in a sequel to "Are We There Yet?", which opened at No. 3 with $15 million.

Released by the Weinstein Co., "Grindhouse" fell well short of expectations. Box-office forecasters had figured the movie would premiere in the ballpark of Tarantino's two "Kill Bill" movies and Rodriguez's "Sin City," whose opening weekends ranged from $22 million to $29 million.

The weak debut for "Grindhouse" was a blow to the Weinstein Co., formed two years ago by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein after they departed their old outfit, Disney-owned Miramax. The "Grindhouse" directors were steady providers for the Weinsteins at Miramax, which released Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" films and Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" movies.

"Grindhouse" presents two full films. Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" features Rose McGowan as a go-go dancer who becomes a zombie fighter with a machine gun for a leg. Tarantino's "Death Proof" stars Kurt Russell as a serial killer who stalks women with his beefed-up car.

"With these two filmmakers' pedigree and the overall cool factor that this film had going for it, you would have figured it would have done a lot more business," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The movie's running time was an impediment, limiting the number of screenings theaters could fit in.

Harvey Weinstein said disappointing returns for "Grindhouse" resulted from the "novelty in America of releasing a double bill and asking an audience to make a three-hour commitment."

"Grindhouse" played to big crowds on the East and West coasts but failed to click with audiences in the Midwest and South, Weinstein said.

With theatrical receipts, overseas sales, television and home-video revenues, "Grindhouse" will turn a profit on its $53 million budget, Weinstein said. The company hoped that word of mouth from those who did see it would sustain it at theaters in coming weeks, he said.

"If you go see it with any audience, walk into any theater, you'll see people screaming and applauding like a rock concert," Weinstein said. "Maybe we didn't educate the audience that it's such an experience."

Movie-goers clearly were in the mood for something lighter. "Blades of Glory," starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as skating rivals who team up as the sport's first men's pair, raised its 10-day total to $68.4 million, its receipts dropping a slim 30 percent from opening weekend.

"There's a real hunger out there for something that you can go to and say, 'Hey, let me get away from the terrible things we have to watch and read every day,'" said Marvin Levy, spokesman for DreamWorks, one of the studios behind "Blades of Glory."

"Meet the Robinsons," the animated adventure of a time-traveling orphan boy, also held strongly in its second weekend, raising its 10-day total to $52.2 million.  Source: http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20070408/117608430000.html

Weekend Box Office Actuals (U.S.)
Apr 6 - 8 weekend

This Wk  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101

Last Wk 1 2 - - - 3 5 6 4 - 7 9 12 10 8 - 11 16 17 18 20 14 13 15 29 23 21 19 31 28 30 32 51 - 26 22 24 35 27 46 40 34 33 59 41 42 71 45 - 53 38 44 52 37 49 47 43 62 56 48 61 50 - 68 58 72 83 80 87 60 - 77 93 63 104 75 64 65 55 67 86 90 85 57 - 91 78 - - 92 100 88 96 103 110 105

Title Blades of Glory Meet the Robinsons Are We Done Yet? Grindhouse The Reaping 300 Wild Hogs Shooter TMNT Firehouse Dog Premonition Reign Over Me The Namesake The Last Mimzy The Hills Have Eyes 2 The Hoax The Lookout Amazing Grace The Lives of Others Night at the Museum Ghost Rider Dead Silence Pride I Think I Love My Wife Deep Sea 3D The Host Zodiac Bridge to Terabithia The Wind That Shakes... Pan's Labyrinth Miss Potter Avenue Montaigne Dreamgirls Black Book Happy Feet Norbit Music and Lyrics Magnificent Desolation... Breach The Astronaut Farmer The Queen The Last King of Scotland Journey From the Fall First Snow After the Wedding Into Great Silence Letters From Iwo Jima Roving Mars The TV Set Killer of Sheep Arthur and the Invisibles The Painted Veil The Page Turner Blood Diamond Notes on a Scandal Volver Epic Movie Boy Culture The Italian Reno 911!: Miami Galapagos Black Snake Moan Romeo & Juliet... Offside The Good German Venus Days of Glory Sacco and Vanzetti Puccini for Beginners Breaking and Entering Whole New Thing Sweet Land Aliens of the Deep An Unreasonable Man Bamako T-Rex: Back to the... Hannibal Rising Color Me Kubrick Nomad (The Warrior) Live Free or Die Flannel Pajamas Grbavica: The Land... Wild Safari 3D... Eragon Glastonbury Space Station 3-D Tears of the Black Tiger Moonlight Old Joy Iraq in Fragments Race You to the Bottom American Cannibal... Climates The Hawk is Dying The Cave of the Yellow Dog In the Pit

Weekend Gross  $22,522,330 $16,715,437 $14,262,724 $11,596,613 $10,025,203 $8,368,382 $6,644,971 $5,856,494 $4,825,445 $3,838,916 $3,091,107 $2,448,183 $1,715,144 $1,672,000 $1,574,291 $1,449,320 $1,025,652 $624,442 $590,779 $540,423 $450,770 $414,935 $414,720 $242,363 $215,217 $171,796 $171,282 $168,426 $145,472 $130,764 $123,813 $117,742 $115,990 $112,521 $111,559 $104,419 $97,506 $96,870 $95,985 $88,981 $72,478 $70,835 $67,645 $59,247 $50,728 $44,791 $37,487 $35,223 $34,531 $31,728 $28,269 $27,973 $27,620 $25,150 $24,136 $19,107 $17,952 $17,515 $15,804 $13,561 $13,561 $11,932 $11,895 $11,556 $7,466 $7,385 $7,094 $6,447 $5,250 $5,019 $4,949 $4,895 $4,749 $4,413 $3,825 $3,752 $3,062 $3,021 $2,847 $2,323 $2,298 $2,102 $1,930 $1,761 $1,538 $1,533 $995 $964 $683 $675 $470 $370 $334 $192 $78 $57

Cumulative                    $67,905,237 $51,947,271 $18,517,017 $11,596,613 $11,958,518 $193,402,459 $145,260,566 $36,712,076 $46,607,331 $5,101,907 $44,510,378 $17,344,515 $6,881,956 $18,991,000 $19,153,873 $1,449,320 $3,808,036 $19,238,386 $7,427,381 $248,532,584 $114,824,199 $16,298,900 $6,653,995 $12,297,056 $25,919,074 $1,739,988 $32,758,035 $80,732,533 $750,720 $37,158,355 $2,072,956 $893,602 $103,192,980 $137,034 $197,756,995 $94,772,025 $49,933,530 $18,455,782 $32,958,840 $10,853,908 $56,222,759 $17,449,410 $309,372 $100,519 $120,314 $295,559 $13,704,488 $6,650,464 $34,531 $76,685 $15,064,790 $7,981,038 $95,886 $57,366,262 $17,436,676 $12,872,473 $39,700,553 $76,659 $378,312 $20,306,687 $16,834,443 $9,288,383 $186,194 $49,735 $1,304,837 $3,343,528 $301,434 $23,948 $80,042 $920,442 $4,949 $1,590,480 $8,875,912 $150,050 $66,559 $52,976,928 $27,586,964 $68,054 $51,744 $12,706 $120,148 $26,252 $12,627,035 $75,030,163 $7,317 $65,006,795 $68,500 $51,168 $242,780 $173,080 $2,517 $16,566 $110,688 $1,904 $141,803 $6,683

Theaters 3,410 3,435 2,877 2,624 2,603 2,674 2,825 2,353 2,811 2,860 1,752 1,747 335 1,169 2,104 235 955 392 213 367 418 312 370 168 36 101 130 287 39 113 91 35 220 9 224 202 123 13 120 201 132 69 32 7 14 120 12 8 2 77 47 28 21 36 3 18 43 2 19 3 7 3 4 10 12 9 15 3 11 5 1 6 3 3 3 5 14 3 4 2 6 8 3 5 2 1 2 2 1 3 1 1 1

Gross Per    $6,605 $4,866 $4,957 $4,419 $3,851 $3,130 $2,352 $2,489 $1,717 $1,342 $1,764 $1,401 $5,120 $1,347 $716 $6,167 $1,074 $1,593 $2,774 $1,473 $1,078 $1,330 $1,121 $1,443 $5,978 $1,701 $1,318 $587 $3,730 $1,157 $1,361 $3,364 $527 $12,502 $498 $517 $793 $7,452 $800 $443 $549 $1,027 $1,851 $7,247 $3,199 $312 $2,935 $4,316 $15,864 $367   $535 $862 $910 $499 $5,838 $878 $315 $6,781 $628 $3,965 $1,651 $3,251 $2,432 $747 $615 $788 $463 $2,149 $456 $979 $4,749 $736 $1,317 $1,251 $1,021 $604 $203 $890 $581 $1,149 $322 $220 $513 $307 $498 $964 $342 $338 $470 $111 $237 $78 $57

Days Inn 10 10 5 3 4 31 38 17 17 5 24 17 31 17 17 3 10 45 59 108 52 24 17 24 402 31 38 52 24 101 101 52 115 3 143 59 54 563 52 45 191 194 17 10 40 110 437 3 10,691 115 110 122 105 157 73 17 80 45 2,719 38 164 17 3 15,623 115 109 52 185 78 115 178 801 68 17 3,090 59 17 24 52 10 145 731 115 45 1,816 87 325 227 152 10 164 66 150 66

Source:        http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/             &                http://www.the-numbers.com/charts/thisweek.php

[MisterRiffley]

well, it's three and a half hours long. i coulda told em that would scare a lot of people away. i almost didn't go because of the length but now i sure am glad i did!

[Petey Wheatstraw]

I used to like Will Ferrel. Now I wish death upon him and everyone else involved with Blades of Glory. No, I'm kidding, Will's great, and I'll probably see the film on DVD, but I still don't think that it, or even more repugnantly, Are We Done Yet?, should have made more money than Grindhouse. In fact, I still can't figure out why Are We Done Yet? beat Grindhouse? Who would want to watch 90 minutes of Ice Cube being kicked in the crotch, when you could see Rose McGowan with a gun for a leg? (The idea of a film of Ice Cube getting repeated shots to the crotch brings to mind the "Ow, My Balls!" segment from Mike Judge's Idiocracy.)

[mrbasehart]

I'm surprised at the low numbers for Grindhouse.  Perhaps it's for the reasons Weinstein stated in his interview, but one still has to wonder how popular Tarantino is with the general movie going public. 

[MisterRiffley]

a lot of great movies get crap box office. i'd see it as a badge of honor! a truly great movie isn't necessarily going to be for every taste and not only are some people gonna be put off by the running time, some won't like the violence, a lot of people don't evne know what "Grindhouse" is, as a movie genre, and a lot of people just... suck. you know, like in death proof when they talk about the difference between vanishing point and pretty in pink -- how come everyone knows about pretty in pink but only hardcore movie wonks will have heard of vanishing point? cuz pretty in pink, not to take anything away from it but it was  made and marketed to appeal to everyone on some level, whereas vanishing point is the sort of flick that would make a lot of people mad or confused. vanishing point's a way better movie though.

you know what i'm saying? grindhouse takes a lot of risks. that it's not going to get the kind of box office "spiderman" is gonna get is only reasonable.

[Minnesota]

Yup, and to be fair Harvey did say that the movie will make a profit.

"With theatrical receipts, overseas sales, television and home-video revenues, "Grindhouse" will turn a profit on its $53 million budget, Weinstein said".

Bank on Grindhouse being yet another movie made for DVD and rental succes.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

well im not really surprised at all, its a niche film, which means it has a niche not a large ecosystem to play in. 

[Bob]

Maybe Easter weekend was not the right time for a niche film like Grindhouse?

I am sure it will make a killing when the DVD comes out.   I bet they make more on the DVD sales than the box office.

I wonder if studios take potential DVD sales into account when agreeing to make movies like Grindhouse?    "Sure, we will not make that much at the boxoffice, but we will make it up on DVD sales?"

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

of course they do i wouldnt think they would be in business right now if they were that dumb.


sure hollywood makes shitty movies, but they sure know how to capitalize on it.

[JonnyFrag]

Maybe Easter weekend was not the right time for a niche film like Grindhouse?

I am sure it will make a killing when the DVD comes out.   I bet they make more on the DVD sales than the box office.

I wonder if studios take potential DVD sales into account when agreeing to make movies like Grindhouse?    "Sure, we will not make that much at the boxoffice, but we will make it up on DVD sales?"

Heh, I just posted the same thing in the Grindhouse thread. Yes, bad bad timing for releasing this film. And yes, they fully do take into consideration the DVD sales expectations and the foreign market expectations. This film will still make them a lot of money,but the harm comes from the Weinsteins not taking the trophy. It's the scheduling department's fault.

[BBQ Platypus]

I think the timing was terrible.  On Easter weekend, most people are spending time with their families.  I wasn't able to see Grindhouse for that very reason.  Nobody wants to drag their kids to see an R-rated exploitation flick, even if it is by Tarantino and Rodriguez.  The studio has only itself to blame for this one.  I can't think of any reason they couldn't have waited until a more appropriate, summer-ish time.

[robertraur]

Put all the blame on Grindhouse failures on the Weinstein Company.  They shove Quentin's name on anything they put out and that just sullies his name for the projects that really matters.  I bet some people put the Protector and Hostel I and II as Tarantino movies.

[RandyMistie]

It's all women's fault, as I stated in another thread.  They liked 300 cause it had alot of sweaty, half naked men, but as soon as you give somebody a GUN FOR A LEG!!!  They don't wanna see it.

I mean, SHE HAS A FRIGGIN GUN FOR A LEG!!!!  AND, she can blow on the TIP OF IT!!!  Sometimes I just don't understand chicks...

BEST MOVIE EVER!!!

[Petey Wheatstraw]

Put all the blame on Grindhouse failures on the Weinstein Company.  They shove Quentin's name on anything they put out and that just sullies his name for the projects that really matters.  I bet some people put the Protector and Hostel I and II as Tarantino movies.

Actually, no. Quentin Tarantino puts his own name on films he likes and really wants to help get some attention. He's credited as a producer on Hostel because he likes Eli Roth's work. Never seen Hostel, but Roth's debut, Cabin Fever, was excellent. Can't wait to see Roth's future projects. The Thanksgiving trailer from Grindhouse would make a great feature-length film. Ah, hell, any of the Grindhouse trailers would be excellent if expanded into feature-length projects.

[gbeenie]

I talked about this in the Grindhouse thread:

http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php/topic,2630.msg79477.html#msg79477