Weekend Receipts: Soft Puss in Boots Claws Paranormal Activity 3
Temperatures plunged this weekend -- but enough about the box-office heat foreseen for this week's new openings and even a few holdovers. Grab a snow shovel and let's get to digging ourselves out of the icy trap also known as Weekend Receipts.
1. Puss in Boots
Gross: $33,000,000 (new)
Screens: 3,952 (PSA $8,350)
Weeks: 1
Much fuss has been made about the imposition of this weekend's stunningly early Nor'easter on the East Coast box office. And while the storm may be somewhat to blame for Puss in Boots's soft opening, it might also be attributable to DreamWorks Animation's overestimation of public interest in a Shrek spinoff. Like, either give us Shrek or give us something new! Plus -- it's October! Well-done as it is, this inbetween-y swashbuckling cat stuff was never going to do blockbuster summer numbers. Just take your eventual $200 million global haul, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and let's move on with our lives.
2. Paranormal Activity 3
Gross: $19,000,000 ($81,500,000)
Screens: 3,329 (PSA $5,707)
Weeks: 2 (Change: -64%)
Everyone knew the slide was coming, but a 64 percent drop? On Halloween weekend? Scary indeed.
3. In Time
Gross: $12,000,000 (new)
Screens: 3,001 (PSA $3,998)
Weeks: 1
How much slack do we give leading man Justin Timberlake? Friends With Benefits performed well on a modest romantic comedy budget; this one fell on its face on a little bulkier sci-fi/action budget. Is he cut out for anything but the funny stuff? Should he just go back to music and fill in on the supporting side in the Bad Teachers and Social Network of the world? No one would argue against his talent, but it might be worth asking him to stick to what he's best at -- whatever that is. Anyone?
4. Footloose
Gross: $5,500,000 ($38,500,000)
Screens: 3,224 (PSA $1,705)
Weeks: 3 (Change: -50%)
5. The Rum Diary
Gross: $5,000,000 (new)
Screens: 2,272 (PSA $2,200)
Weeks: 1
The booze-soaked, Hunter Thompson-inspired escapades of Johnny Depp's Puerto Rican sojourn couldn't muster the audience to overtake a three-week old remake that previewed for what seemed like months ahead of its actual release. Maybe Depp is the leading man we should be worried about? I mean, this didn't need to do Tourist money or anything, but $5 million? Oy. Anyway, that happened.
[Figures via Deadline]
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Comments
I didn't go see In time, but not because of JT. It just looks daft. Presumably the movie tries to make its scenario plausible, but the trailer raises too many questionsI have the suspicion I'm going to leave the theatre frustrated and disappointed. I have been burned by high concept hollywood too many times to risk shelling out seeing non-sensensical committee made single idea movies, regardless of who's acting in them.
Oh, it won't be committee-made. It'll be Andrew Niccol doing his high-concept nosedive into the back end of the second act again. We'll be stopping and saying "hang on... why would that character do *that*?" On the plus side, JT sounds like a lot more fun than Ethan Hawke (sorry, Ethan).
After the first act, I realized that this flick was definitely more then what I could have imagined it's potential to be. This story is really touching because it deals with such real sculpted characters. Each one of them goes through some sort of change throughout the film. Everyone will love it. make sure you don't miss it on