Box Offce Sweet Escape To District 9
>> Aug 18, 2009
With the power of good word of mouth and hot Hollywood buzz, Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9” won over the Us box office this weekend, despite banning non-humans from screenings. Bested all of new releases and especially last weekend champion “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, the badass science fiction grossed an impressive $37,3 million from 3,049 theaters which means it earned its entire $30 million budget back and then some in one, single, weekend. The success of "District 9" was mostly helped by its clever marketing campaign which played the theme of prejudice against alien from posters instructing citizens to report non-humans to ads on bus benches stating that the seats are for humans only. "Everybody was like, 'What is this?' There was a big question mark in people's minds," Sony's head of distribution Rory Bruer shared. "It did really pique their interest and drove them to the Internet and elsewhere to discover what's going on." The film was buoyed by rave reviews and a promotional blitz at the recent Comic-Con comic book convention, which fueled strong pre-release interest among sci-fi fans. The studio also touted the fact the movie, shot in a faux documentary style, and was produced by Peter Jackson, the filmmaker behind the blockbuster, Oscar-winning "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Bruer added that the story line and setting of “District 9” obviously caught on with the mostly male, young moviegoers who made up its initial core audience. "It's so out-of-the-box different from most movies that you see from a major studio," Bruer said. "It's kind of a rogue, raw, visceral film that has a life of its own."
Last week's No. 1 film in the United States and Canada, Paramount Pictures' "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," fell to No. 2 this weekend with a Friday-through-Sunday gross of $22.3 million for a new total of $98.5 million. The overseas box-office tally for the Paramount film nonetheless dropped nearly 40 percent from its opening round, registering $26.2 million overall from 7,039 screens in 49 markets. The movie's foreign total stands at $91.5 million, and its worldwide gross, including North America, are $190.3 million.
The third place went to another newcomer, "The Time Traveler's Wife". The romantic drama which based on a highly regarded novel by Audrey Niffenegger and starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams opened to an estimation of $18.6 million worth of ticket sales. The romantic drama sold more tickets initially than McAdams’ “The Notebook” and “The Lake House”, but fewer than “City of Angels” and “Meet Joe Black” among similar pictures. The film also joined the previous weekend's "Julie & Julia" as a choice for women, with females accounting for 76 percent of its audience. Meanwhile, the Meryl Streep’s starred film slipped a notch to No. 4 with $12 million for a total so far is $43.3 million.
The new comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” appears at number six with $5.6 million. Produced by Will Ferrell and starring Jeremy Piven, the comedy follows the adventures of a skilled salesman who tries to save a car dealership from bankruptcy. The animated Miyazaki film “Ponyo”, featuring an ensemble voice-over cast starring Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Tina Fey, lands at number nine with only $3.5 million for its opening weekend despite hailed as the "next masterpiece" from Hayao Miyazaki in its advertising. Meanwhile, “Bandslam” which featured High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens in one of the lead roles became the latest rock 'n' roll-themed picture to flop, mustering a meager $2.2 million at 2,121 sites or even less than “The Rocker” from last August. The Summit Entertainment’s attempt to siphon its own tween audience with a trailer for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” was somewhat not working at all.
Below is the list of actual ticket sales for Friday through Sunday (8/14/09-8/16/09) at U.S. and Canadian theaters:
Rank – Film Title – Weekend Gross – Running Total
1 – District 9 – $37,354,308 – $37,354,308
2 – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – $22,324,341 – $98,577,529
3 – The Time Traveler’s Wife – $18,623,171 – $18,623,171
4 – Julie & Julia – $12,055,918 – $43,340,386
5 – G-Force – $6,915,642 – $99,056,616
6 – The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard – $5,642,137 – $5,642,137
7 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $5,141,072 – $283,879,025
8 – The Ugly Truth – $4,448,232 – $77,450,118
9 – Ponyo – $3,585,852 – $3,585,852
10 – (500) Days of Summer –$3,010,755– $47,910,620
Last week's No. 1 film in the United States and Canada, Paramount Pictures' "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," fell to No. 2 this weekend with a Friday-through-Sunday gross of $22.3 million for a new total of $98.5 million. The overseas box-office tally for the Paramount film nonetheless dropped nearly 40 percent from its opening round, registering $26.2 million overall from 7,039 screens in 49 markets. The movie's foreign total stands at $91.5 million, and its worldwide gross, including North America, are $190.3 million.
The third place went to another newcomer, "The Time Traveler's Wife". The romantic drama which based on a highly regarded novel by Audrey Niffenegger and starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams opened to an estimation of $18.6 million worth of ticket sales. The romantic drama sold more tickets initially than McAdams’ “The Notebook” and “The Lake House”, but fewer than “City of Angels” and “Meet Joe Black” among similar pictures. The film also joined the previous weekend's "Julie & Julia" as a choice for women, with females accounting for 76 percent of its audience. Meanwhile, the Meryl Streep’s starred film slipped a notch to No. 4 with $12 million for a total so far is $43.3 million.
The new comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” appears at number six with $5.6 million. Produced by Will Ferrell and starring Jeremy Piven, the comedy follows the adventures of a skilled salesman who tries to save a car dealership from bankruptcy. The animated Miyazaki film “Ponyo”, featuring an ensemble voice-over cast starring Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Tina Fey, lands at number nine with only $3.5 million for its opening weekend despite hailed as the "next masterpiece" from Hayao Miyazaki in its advertising. Meanwhile, “Bandslam” which featured High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens in one of the lead roles became the latest rock 'n' roll-themed picture to flop, mustering a meager $2.2 million at 2,121 sites or even less than “The Rocker” from last August. The Summit Entertainment’s attempt to siphon its own tween audience with a trailer for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” was somewhat not working at all.
Below is the list of actual ticket sales for Friday through Sunday (8/14/09-8/16/09) at U.S. and Canadian theaters:
Rank – Film Title – Weekend Gross – Running Total
1 – District 9 – $37,354,308 – $37,354,308
2 – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – $22,324,341 – $98,577,529
3 – The Time Traveler’s Wife – $18,623,171 – $18,623,171
4 – Julie & Julia – $12,055,918 – $43,340,386
5 – G-Force – $6,915,642 – $99,056,616
6 – The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard – $5,642,137 – $5,642,137
7 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $5,141,072 – $283,879,025
8 – The Ugly Truth – $4,448,232 – $77,450,118
9 – Ponyo – $3,585,852 – $3,585,852
10 – (500) Days of Summer –$3,010,755– $47,910,620
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