erik lundegaard

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Sunday November 25, 2012

Hollywood B.O.: 'Twilight' Stumbles, 'Lincoln' Surges

The headlines are all about how “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” and “Skyfall” led the way during this record-setting Thanksgiving weekend. The previous overall record was $175.2 million, set three years ago, and the new record is $206.7 million, which, yes, is about what “The Avengers” grossed opening weekend in May.

Here are the headlines:

And here's the top 10:

  Movie Weekend Thtrs /Change Average Total Gross
1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2 $43,070,000 4,070 - $10,582 $226,951,000
2 Skyfall $36,000,000 3,526 21 $10,210 $221,720,000
3 Lincoln $25,020,000 2,018 243 $12,398 $62,178,000
4 Rise of the Guardians $24,025,000 3,653 - $6,577 $32,607,000
5 Life of Pi $22,000,000 2,902 - $7,581 $30,150,000
6 Wreck-It Ralph $16,760,000 3,259 -363 $5,143 $149,512,000
7 Red Dawn (2012) $14,600,000 2,724 - $5,360 $22,004,000
8 Flight $8,600,000 2,638 26 $3,260 $74,880,000
9 Silver Linings Playbook $4,623,000 367 351 $12,597 $6,451,000
10 Argo $3,875,000 1,255 -955 $3,088 $98,114,000

So the headlines are technically accurate.

The amazing thing is that during a record-breaking weekend, in which it was the No. 1 movie, the “Twilight” movie still fell off by nearly 70%:

  Movie Weekend
% Diff.
Average Total Gross
1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 $43,070,000 -69.50% $10,582 $226,951,000
2 Skyfall $36,000,000 -12.40% $10,210 $221,720,000
3 Lincoln $25,020,000 18.90% $12,398 $62,178,000
4 Rise of the Guardians $24,025,000 - $6,577 $32,607,000
5 Life of Pi $22,000,000 - $7,581 $30,150,000
6 Wreck-It Ralph $16,760,000 -9.80% $5,143 $149,512,000
7 Red Dawn (2012) $14,600,000 - $5,360 $22,004,000
8 Flight $8,600,000 -2.30% $3,260 $74,880,000
9 Silver Linings Playbook $4,623,000 943.60% $12,597 $6,451,000
10 Argo $3,875,000 -4.20% $3,088 $98,114,000

Look at the other films. “Silver Linings Playbook” went wider than its original dozen or so theaters and increased exponentially. “Lincoln” added 243 theaters in its third weekend and increased by nearly 20%. That indicates very good word-of-mouth. The others—“Argo,” “Flight,” “Wreck-It Ralph”—dropped single percentages. Again: impressive.

And “Twilight”? Or “TTS:BDP2”? It had the 12th-biggest second-weekend drop for any film opening in more than 3,000 theaters:

  Movie 1st Wknd $ Drop 2nd Wknd Thtrs
1 Friday the 13th (2009) $40,570,365 -80.40% $7,942,472 3,105
2 Doom $15,488,870 -72.70% $4,228,385 3,042
3 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) $32,902,299 -72.30% $9,119,389 3,332
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 $169,189,427 -72.00% $47,422,212 4,375
5 Paranormal Activity 4 $29,003,866 -70.70% $8,510,186 3,412
6 Hellboy II: The Golden Army $34,539,115 -70.70% $10,117,815 3,212
7 Valentine's Day $56,260,707 -70.40% $16,665,299 3,665
8 The Twilight Saga: New Moon $142,839,137 -70.00% $42,870,031 4,042
9 Eragon $23,239,907 -69.90% $7,006,467 3,030
10 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 $138,122,261 -69.80% $41,683,574 4,066
11 Hulk $62,128,420 -69.70% $18,847,620 3,674
12 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 $141,067,634 -69.50% $43,070,000 4,070

Among movies opening in more than 4,000 theaters? Fourth-biggest: the last “Harry Potter” and then two previous “Twilight” movies. So in a certain sense, it improved, right? A bit? At the same time, when seemingly everyone was going to the movies, “TTS:DBP2” still fell off nearly 70%.

In other good news, “Red Dawn” was finally released to a big yawn. It finished in 7th place. I guess American moviegoers have better things to do than indulge in the right-wing fantasy of North Korea, a tiny country that can barely feed itself, successfully attacking what is after all the strongest country in the history of the world. The Duchy of Grand Fenwick would have a better shot.

The numbers here.

Go see “Lincoln.” My nephew Jordy wants you to.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"

Lincoln: first in war, first in peace, and third at the box office.

Posted at 02:09 PM on Sunday November 25, 2012 in category Movies - Box Office