DVD Talk Forum - Weekend Box Office (8/6-8/8): #1 goes to those Other Guys

From Deadline Hollywood:

1. The Other Guys (Sony) expectedly knocked off Inception as the #1 domestic movie Friday with a right-on-target $13.1 million opening from 3,651 theaters. That should be a very big $35.5M weekend for the $90M budget buddy cop comedy. Sony Pictures' summer hit streak (Karate Kid - $173M, Grown Ups - $152M, Salt - $78M) continues with what the studio believes will be another strong performer this weekend. The Adam McKay pic was helped considerably by Will Ferrell's and Mark Wahlberg's willingness to sell it anywhere and everywhere. (If it had tanked, then Will's career would have tanked with it after Land Of The Lost. But The Other Guys will open at the higher end of Ferrell's previous with McKay. Together, they're 3 for 3: Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers) "Our stars did a ton for us -- all of the talk shows and lots of print coverage," a Sony exec told me. "I think the one that really stood out included Will and Mark at Comic-Con where they hosted quite possibly the funniest panel in its history." (Comic-Con: 'The Other Guys' Panel) The film was even well-received by critics, with a 79% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. As for marketing tools, Sony launched a poll on Facebook with Wahlberg/Ferrell urging users to vote for their city to host “The Other Premiere.” Radio stations got behind the promotion, and even the mayor of Cleveland posted a youtube video lobbying citizens to vote. (St. Louis won.)

2. Step Up 3D (Disney/Summit) debuted Friday with only $6.6 million from 2,435 venues for what's expected to be just a $15.5M weekend and #3 behind Inception. Looks like 3D wasn't enough of a draw since that's the worst opening of the franchise even with higher ticket prices in 1,826 locations. But it's also a crowded 3D market this late in the summer. The first Step Up opened to $20.7M and the sequel to $18.9M. All three had Jamal Sims as their supervising choreographer, the same guy doing Footloose. (He also choreographed Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour and Miley Cyrus’ recent World Tour.) The franchise started at the old Summit, and Disney came in as a partner handling domestic, with Summit overseeing the foreign release and licensing the film to Universal International in some territories. This weekend, the pic rolls out in Belgium, Netherlands, Israel, Denmark, Finland, Australia (via Universal), New Zealand (via Universal), UK (via Universal), South Korea, and Thailand.

3. Inception (Warner Bros) dropped its usual 31% -- again, an excellent hold at the start of its 4th week in release -- for $5.5 million Friday from 3,418 theaters and probably a $19M weekend. Chris Nolan's expanding cume should be $228M.

4. Dinner for Schmucks (DW/Spyglass/Paramount) Week 2 [3,004 Runs]
Friday $3.3M (-60%), Estimated Weekend $10.2M, Estimated Cume $46.5M

That's a large drop from last Friday's only so-so opening. And now there's a rival new comedy in the marketplace.

5. Salt (Sony) Week 3 [3,317 Runs)
Friday $3.2M (-45%), Estimated Weekend $10.8M, Estimated Cume $91.5M

6. Despicable Me 3D (Illumination/Universal) Week 4 [3,413 Runs]
Friday $2.9M (-38%), Estimated Weekend $10M, Estimated Cume $210M

This toon will be in a 3-way race for #4 by end of Sunday.

7. Cats & Dogs: Kitty Galore 3D (Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,705 Runs]
Friday $2.1M (-49%), Estimated Weekend $7M, Estimated Cume $26.5M

8. Charlie St Cloud (Relativity/Universal) Week 2 [2,725 Runs]

Friday $1.7M (-69%), Estimated Weekend $4.9M, Estimated Cume $23.8M

Ouch! What a drop! Universal tried to spin last weekend's mediocre opening last weekend, but the studio can't deny now that Zac Efron's High School Musical fanbase faded away. Pick better material, kiddo.

9. Toy Story 3-3D (Disney) Week 8 [1,714 Runs]
Friday $855K, Estimated Weekend $3M, Estimated Cume $396.3M

10. Grown Ups (Sony) Week 7 [1,769 Runs]
Friday $740K, Estimated Weekend $2.3M, Estimated Cume $155.5M