Matthew Chmiel

Right from http://www.deadline.com this morning; expect more in-depth results later in the day.

1. Couples Retreat (Universal) NEW [3,000 theaters] $11.5M Fri, Est Wkd $28M
2. Zombieland (Sony) Week 2 [3,038] $4.8M Fri (-49%), Est Wkd $15M
3. Cloudy/Meatballs (Sony) Week 3 [2,992] $3M Fri, Est Wkd $13M
4. Toy Story 3D (Disney) Week 2 [1,752] $2M Fri, Est Wkd $8.5M
5. Paranormal Activity (Paramount) Week 3 [159] $2M Fri, Est Wkd $5.5M
6. Surrogates (Disney) Week 3 [2,992] $1.3M Fri, Est Wkd $4.7M

It blows my mind that Couples Retreat, reviewed as one of the worst films of the year, was number one this weekend.

Good to see Zombieland holding it's ground for a genre entry. I really dug the film and it's good to see WOM still spreading.

But Paranormal Activity. $2 million Friday with close to $6 million by the end of this weekend in under 200 theaters is impressive.

RyoHazuki

What did you think was gonna beat it? Zombieland in it's second week? Couples Retreat was pretty much a lock for the number one spot.

SethDLH

Glad to see Zombieland holding strong.

Sessa17

It is absolutely ridiculous, I mean, hard to even comprehend the profit a $11,000 movie like Paranormal Activity is going to make. Such a simple idea, good for the creators.

Deftones

they probably won't see much of the profit since they sold the film. but they did pretty much earn the right to write/direct a full studio project now.

Daytripper

Make way for "Paranormal Activity: Book of Shadows".

fumanstan

Yeah, I don't see how Couples Retreat being #1 would shock anyone.

Drexl

I don't see how any crappy movie doing well would shock anyone.

PopcornTreeCt

I thought Transformers 2 was the worst reviewed movie of the year?

I thought Toy Story would do better.

Deftones

Toy Story did pretty well last week. Everyone probably already saw it.

Rypro 525

also, they are still doing midnight/late night showings only still right?

riotinmyskull

for kristen bell...even if the movie is as bad as the reviews say, i'm glad for her.

PopcornTreeCt

I wouldn't have even guessed that she's in it. Haven't seen her in any of the trailers except for real quick shots.

I doubt she's going to get any credit for it.

riotinmyskull

she's on the poster...7th billing

Rypro 525

how does Malin Akerman get a billing above Bell? Did getting naked in Watchmen really help?

sauce07

Did Fanboys really help?

Troy Stiffler

It's because they made a good movie, I assume. But $11,000 is definately cool. Anything over $3mil or so, I can see. But it's really interesting that an $11k budget made a movie that gets noticed.

I don't watch TV. But if this movie is getting exposure in commercials and it's going 'wide' and whatnot, the studio probably paid closer to $20mil after everything (advertising and distribution). It'd be interesting to hear what Paramount paid the production company for it.

fumanstan

Akerman's been in a bunch of movies lately. Bell is really only noticeable by the "nerdier" audience that seems to obsess over her from Veronica Mars, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall seemed to do more for Jason Segal and Mila Kunis (as far as her film career goes) then Bell.

Matthew Chmiel

Paramount isn't releasing an "official" number, but to this point, the advertising and distribution costs are extremely low.

A majority of the first two week's screenings were in theaters that had the capability of DLP. Very few prints were made for the first 60 theaters. This is the first true week where a majority of the screenings were 35mm prints versus digital projection.

It also helps that a majority of the commercials being aired for the film are on that of Viacom's networks such as MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central. Paramount is playing this one really smart.

Even when the film is released wide in the next week or two, I don't see Paramount going gung-ho on advertising. The free press Paramount has got from WOM, the internet, newspapers, magazines, etc. is enough to keep the train going.

Patman

It might have helped when she was truly nekkid in "The Heartbreak Kid".

Dr. DVD

"Jackhammer me!"


I wish I could say I am surprised by this, but given the success of stuff like Wild Hogz and Four Christmases that play to the masses, it doesn't. A lot of people who see movies as something for pure entertainment tend to flock to stuff like this; it's not about art, it's about getting some quiet for a brief time period.


If nothing else, it continues to prove that Vince Vaughn is a draw. Nice to see that Trent and Mikey are successful, even if they are selling out.

Ravenous

Why? What makes her so special? Are you banging her?

I dont see the surpise for the movie being #1. I wouldnt mind seeing it, but thats cause I want to see Jean Reno in a nonPink Panther comedy role

And thats the chick from watchmen? Cool. Didnt know she did a full nude scene before either.

fumanstan

She was the naked chick in the first Harold and Kumar too

tylergfoster

I think it's ridiculous that DVDTalk has these banner ads up for Couples Retreat without Faizon Love and his girlfriend on them, who they totally could have fit into the image. (Also, they did an extremely bad job of moving Malin Akerman closer to Vaughn, her hand is still holding his and thus in the wrong place, and the shadow is also unmoved.)

cungar

Because she's in a movie that opened with an 11 million weekend?