Archive for office
‘Think Like a Man’ snags box office
Posted by: | Comments
The rom-com “Think Like A Man” features an ensemble cast.”Think Like A Man” debuted with $33 million at the box office this weekendThe film was produced for just $13 millionZac Efron’s “The Lucky One” came in second
(EW) — It had to happen. After four weeks of dominance, The Hunger Games finally didn’t finish first at the box office.
Instead, the relationship comedy Think Like a Man took the crown as it debuted to an impressive $33 million this weekend. Based on comedian Steve Harvey’s bestselling advice book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, the PG-13 film performed much better than expected. (Although I predicted the movie would win the weekend, I thought it would do so with a moderate $19 million.)“Think Like a Man” was produced for just $13 million by Sony-owned Screen Gems, which was also behind two other pictures that premiered at No. 1 this year: The Vow and Underworld Awakening. The studio’s marketing campaign targeted African American audiences via appearances on Harvey’s morning show, screenings at historically black universities, and special promotions on networks like BET.The effort clearly paid off. For instance, Think Like a Man, which was directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four), opened stronger than all of Tyler Perry’s movies except Madea Goes to Jail. And like Perry’s films, the movie skewed toward adult women, with 63 percent of the audience being female and 62 percent at least 30 years old. It received an excellent “A” rating from CinemaScore audiences.In second was the PG-13 romance The Lucky One with $22.8 million. That’s a return to form for star Zac Efron, as the movie performed more like 17 Again ($23.7 million) than Charlie St. Cloud ($12.4 million).It’s also a solid showing for author Nicholas Sparks — the only Sparks adaptation that opened stronger was 2010′s Dear John ($30.5 million). Despite unfavorable reviews, the $25 million movie earned a respectable “B+” grade from CinemaScore participants. Young women represented the majority of the film’s audience, with 76 percent of ticket buyers being female and 52 percent under the age of 25.Chimpanzee, Disney’s fourth annual Earth Day nature documentary, captured a solid $10.2 million — enough for fourth place. That’s the biggest opening weekend among the four Disneynature pictures, beating Earth, Oceans, and last year’s African Cats. (However, it’s not an entirely fair comparison since Earth opened on a Wednesday.) As was the case with Think Like a Man and The Lucky One, the movie drew a predominately female crowd — women made up 68 percent of the audience. And CinemaScore moviegoers gave Chimpanzee an overall “A” rating.On a curious note, 5 percent of CinemaScore participants said a main reason for attending the film was its “lead actor.” Were they referring to the film’s two lead apes? Or narrator Tim Allen? Even stranger, 1 percent listed “lead actress” as their reason for buying a ticket — and that 1 percent gave the movie a harsh “B-” grade. Clearly those individuals were upset by the documentary’s lack of actresses.Among holdovers, The Hunger Games slipped just 31 percent — its smallest decline yet — for $14.5 million, pushing its domestic tally to $356.9 million. The sci-fi thriller crossed $350 million on Saturday, reaching the milestone in 30 days. Only seven other movies have ever passed that mark in less time. And in fifth place, the PG-rated comedy The Three Stooges dropped 46 percent for $9.2 million.In limited release, the critically acclaimed music documentary Marley debuted to $260,000 at 42 locations for a sturdy per-theater average of $6,190. And the Lawrence Kasdan comedy Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline, picked up $46,300 at four locations.1. Think Like a Man — $33.0 mil2. The Lucky One — $22.8 mil3. The Hunger Games — $14.5 mil4. Chimpanzee — $10.2 mil5. The Three Stooges — $9.2 milSee full story at EW.com.CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly© 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.View the original article here
‘Think Like a Man’ replaces ‘Hunger Games’ atop box office
Posted by: | Comments Michael Ealy, left, and Taraji P. Henson are shown in a scene from “Think Like a Man.” (Alan Markfield / Sony Pictures-Screen Gems / April 22, 2012)
Moe, Larry and Curly couldn’t do it. Neither could Snow White, an army of Greek gods or a baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio.
After four weeks, the film finally able to dethrone “The Hunger Games” at the box office was “Think Like a Man,” an ensemble relationship comedy about five ethnically diverse couples.
The movie’s success surprised many in Hollywood over the weekend, because the picture came in more than $10 million ahead of industry projections with what distributor Sony Pictures estimated to be a $33-million debut.
Heading into the weekend, the PG-13 film was expected to be in a tight race for the top spot with the romantic tear-jerker “The Lucky One.” But that film, starring Zac Efron as a Marine on a mission to track down a woman he feels protected him during war, ended up grossing $22.8 million — a respectable figure and on par with what pre-release audience surveys had suggested.
Meanwhile, the nature documentary “Chimpanzee” also had a good weekend, scoring the highest debut for Walt Disney Studios’ Disneynature label, with $10.2 million.
Moviegoers who saw “Think Like a Man” — a largely female crowd, 62% of whom were 30 or older — loved the film, assigning it an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore. The film, which targeted an African American audience, performed well in cities such as Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia. However, it is unclear precisely how well the movie played with different races this weekend, because although Sony gathers that demographic information on audiences, it historically has not provided an ethnic breakdown to news media.
Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution president, would say only “There wasn’t a group that this didn’t play well to.”
“I think there were several elements as to why the film was successful,” Bruer said, “starting with the fact that it’s hysterically funny, and people loved a humorous look at the difference between men and women.”
The strong opening for “Think Like a Man,” based on a relationship advice book by Steve Harvey, is good news for Sony’s Screen Gems label, which spent only about $13 million to produce the film. Screen Gems — which makes mostly low-budget horror, action and teen comedies — has had a good year at the box office. “Think Like a Man” marks the studio’s third No. 1 film in 2012, following the romantic drama “The Vow” and the vampire action movie “Underworld: Awakening.”
“Think Like a Man” brought in nearly as much in its opening weekend as last year’s comedy “Jumping the Broom,” which featured an African American cast, collected overall — $37 million. Its opening was also higher than a number of Tyler Perry’s recent films, including the comedies “Madea’s Big Happy Family” and “Why Did I Get Married Too?” Both debuted with less than $30 million.
“The Lucky One’s” Efron, meanwhile, has been trying to shed his teen pinup image as he attempts to become a serious leading man. The weekend results for his latest film indicate he may be making progress with that endeavor, considering his last weepy drama “Charlie St. Cloud” opened with only $12.4 million in 2010.
Still, it was Efron’s female fan base that turned up to see the adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel; 76% of the audience was female. Roughly 56% of the crowd — which gave the movie a CinemaScore grade of B+ — said the biggest reason they went to see it was because of the 24-year-old heartthrob.
“This movie aged him up a little bit. He’s looking more like a young adult, and he’s believable in the role as a Marine,” said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., which released the film.
Warners and Village Roadshow made “The Lucky One” for about $25 million. The film’s debut was the second highest for Sparks, an adaptation of whose “Dear John” started with $30.5 million in 2010 and ended up becoming his biggest hit with a total of $80 million.
“Chimpanzee,” which shows four years in the life of a baby chimp and his family, was made by Disneynature, the division that generates inexpensive documentaries about wildlife and the environment. “Chimpanzee” was the first of the label’s four films to crack the $10-million mark in its opening weekend, beating the $8.8-million debut of “Earth” in 2009.
About 61% of those who saw the film over the weekend were families, and the audience loved the documentary, giving it an A CinemaScore. As it does with many of its nature films, Disney presold tickets to a number of groups and schools interested in seeing the film. On Friday alone, group sales receipts accounted for $365,000.
amy.kaufman@latimes.com
View the original article here
