Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
06-23-12, 02:43 AM
#1
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Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
I was hoping to invoke a joke involving the Emancipation Proclamation into the thread title, but I don't have as many characters to do so. 
to Brave's performance.
to Seeking a Friend for the End of the World's performance.
Originally Posted by Deadline
Sources tell me that Pixar’s heroine-in-the-highlands Brave will open to around $70M this weekend and $25M for today. So it’ll be an easy #1 this weekend – incredibly, Pixar’s 13th straight first place finish. That’s just about where DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted opened two weeks ago for distributor Paramount ($60.3M). Looks like concerns that Brave would only appeal to girls and their mothers may have been overplayed. Then again, every Pixar 3D movie has opened to at least $60M. Plus, this is a giant release into 4,164 theaters, 2,790 of which are 3D shows. This is the first anti-princess toon bringing Disney into the 21st Century and audiences responded with CinemaScores of straight ‘A’s.
Also just as interesting is the untested mash-up genre. But Twentieth Century Fox’s R-rated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (in 3,106 theaters) only came in 3rd behind DreamWorks Animation’s holdover toon Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. My sources keep lowering their opening weekend estimates: now $17.5M and possibly under for the weekend after a flat $6.5M debut. That’s about where tracking was showing and Fox was dreading for the 3D horror thriller. Today’s number includes $701,261 in midnight screenings from 1,168 locations. But don’t expect much imrovement: audieces gave the pic only a ‘C+’ CinemaScore which doesn’t bode well for word of mouth.
This Lincoln: Vampire Hunter high-concept/no-stars pic is doing only slightly better than the openings of Tom Cruise’s PG-13 Rock Of Ages and Adam Sandler’s R-rated That’s My Boy which both flopped last weekend. Remember that the studio bought the mash-up package for $69M with most elements attached like producer Tim Burton and director Timur Bekmambetov who used their own money to buy scripter Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling book. (Only Hollywood would defile the reputation of one of America’s greatest Presidents…) Fox’s only reticence was the first dollar gross request which initially was just north of 25%. The final deal was rich. But Fox, led by production president Emma Watts, thought it had a major tentpole teed up. That’s probaby no longer the case.
Focus Features’ offbeat Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (in only 1,618 theaters) from writer-director Loraine Scafaria starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley finished 10th today. It posted $1.2M Friday and maybe a $4.5M weekend opening which is just under the low end of its box office projections.
Also just as interesting is the untested mash-up genre. But Twentieth Century Fox’s R-rated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (in 3,106 theaters) only came in 3rd behind DreamWorks Animation’s holdover toon Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. My sources keep lowering their opening weekend estimates: now $17.5M and possibly under for the weekend after a flat $6.5M debut. That’s about where tracking was showing and Fox was dreading for the 3D horror thriller. Today’s number includes $701,261 in midnight screenings from 1,168 locations. But don’t expect much imrovement: audieces gave the pic only a ‘C+’ CinemaScore which doesn’t bode well for word of mouth.
This Lincoln: Vampire Hunter high-concept/no-stars pic is doing only slightly better than the openings of Tom Cruise’s PG-13 Rock Of Ages and Adam Sandler’s R-rated That’s My Boy which both flopped last weekend. Remember that the studio bought the mash-up package for $69M with most elements attached like producer Tim Burton and director Timur Bekmambetov who used their own money to buy scripter Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling book. (Only Hollywood would defile the reputation of one of America’s greatest Presidents…) Fox’s only reticence was the first dollar gross request which initially was just north of 25%. The final deal was rich. But Fox, led by production president Emma Watts, thought it had a major tentpole teed up. That’s probaby no longer the case.
Focus Features’ offbeat Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (in only 1,618 theaters) from writer-director Loraine Scafaria starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley finished 10th today. It posted $1.2M Friday and maybe a $4.5M weekend opening which is just under the low end of its box office projections.
to Brave's performance. to Seeking a Friend for the End of the World's performance.
06-23-12, 07:39 AM
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06-23-12, 09:12 AM
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06-23-12, 10:02 AM
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
Most of the reviews I've seen for Brave have called it average at best.
Abe Lincoln looked terrible; I can't believe Fox thought it was a tentpole picture.
Abe Lincoln looked terrible; I can't believe Fox thought it was a tentpole picture.
06-23-12, 10:43 AM
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a much smaller film, on less screens, and a lot darker than Carell's usual fare.
06-23-12, 10:50 AM
#10
Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
But the commercials say that Seeking a Friend... is the one of the funniest movies of the year... so which is it?
06-23-12, 11:01 AM
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
see that's the problem. you're equating that to financial value. Being the funniest film of the year doesn't mean it'll bank like crazy.
06-23-12, 11:02 AM
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
The script is floating around, someone linked it in the movie's thread. I read it, it has it's funny moments but it's more dark and heartfelt. I don't really think its supposed to be a comedy. It's more along the lines of Wristcutters.
I say this just having read the script though. I haven't seen the movie yet and don't know how real true they stayed to the script.
Yup. The book was great. It looks like they just completely fucked up the movie though.
06-23-12, 11:06 AM
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
That might be true, but I read that Fox ordered the writer to essentially butcher the book in order to "make it more marketable", so they should've known better. An Oct. release would've possibly opened stronger.
06-23-12, 12:12 PM
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DVD Talk Legend
06-23-12, 12:57 PM
#18
Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
With the exception of Evan Almighty, when has he made a movie that was a failure?
06-23-12, 07:28 PM
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DVD Talk Godfather
06-23-12, 08:43 PM
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DVD Talk Limited Edition
06-23-12, 09:19 PM
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
They had a couple of things going against this, the first it being rated R (which I appreciate), and releasing it in June instead of October. This would have done much better in the Fall given the source material.
I didn't expect it to do well as it is, so it's no surprise. I'm going to try and catch it this week.
06-23-12, 09:29 PM
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DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
Yeah Lincoln looks good, but not Summer tent-pole good. Looks like a movie that would do gangbusters around Dec-Feb.
06-23-12, 09:44 PM
#23
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
Sorry to hear "Seeking A Friend" is doing so lousy. It looks really good to me and my wife and I WILL be seeing it next week, I guess in a much less crowed theater than we expected.
06-23-12, 09:46 PM
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DVD Talk Limited Edition
06-23-12, 10:43 PM
#25
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Re: Weekend Box Office (6/22 - 6/24): The Scottish Destroy Abraham Lincoln
I would have thought that Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was the kind of superb book that would be impossible to make a bad adaption of. It is so cinematic in style with great speeches and opportunities for actors. Sadly they have somehow found a way to screw it up - very sad, I was so looking forward to it.