Too Close To Call! "Date Night" & "Clash of the Titans" in A Virtual Tie! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 04-11-2010, 06:47 PM

LOS ANGELES — Steve Carell and Tina Fey are in a box-office clash with the gods of Mount Olympus.

No. 1 bragging rights for the weekend were too close to call Sunday, with 20th Century Fox estimating a $27.1 million debut for Carell and Fey's comedy "Date Night" and Warner Bros. reporting the action tale "Clash of the Titans" at $26.9 million.

Rankings will be sorted out Monday when studios release final numbers, which can vary by $1 million or more for some films compared with Sunday estimates.

Warner executives said they tracked "Clash of the Titans" as No. 1 for a second straight weekend, with "Date Night" trailing by about $1 million.

"I'm not complaining about it," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner. "They're certainly entitled to their own projection, and we'll see. Maybe they're right and we're wrong. Monday will tell."

Photo finishes are rare for the No. 1 spot at the box office, where one movie usually is the clear winner.

Weekend projections include fairly hard figures for Friday and Saturday but estimates for how much a movie will take in on Sunday. Studios base those estimates on such factors as how similar movies performed in past weekends.

Studios sometimes grumble that competitors inflate their Sunday numbers to make a debut look stronger.

"You can't do that," said Bert Livingston, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive. "What you do is you look up history, you come up with your best-guess scenario. The number is the number. Whatever it is, if it ends up being No. 1 or 5 or 6, we just estimate our numbers."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_533376.html

JamesG · 04-12-2010, 05:38 PM

Box office update: In the end, Clash of the Titans was the victor, beating Date Night by over $1 million
by Nicole Sperling
April 12, 2010

In the end, it wasn’t even that close.

Despite estimates all weekend that Clash of the Titans and Date Night were neck-and-neck for the top spot at the weekend box office, Clash claimed the top prize by a cool $1 million.

Turns out Fox predictors had over-estimated their Sunday number for the Tina Fey, Steve Carell two-hander by as much as 9 percent.

The film dropped off 49 percent Sunday, as opposed to 40 percent, as the studio predicted.

Thus, Date Night finished the weekend at $25.2 million, while Clash earned $26.6 million for the three-day frame. That number represents a 57 percent drop for the weekend, a much smaller drop than Warner Bros. was predicting.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/...ver-1-million/

04-11-2010, 06:47 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Too Close To Call! "Date Night" & "Clash of the Titans" in A Virtual Tie! LOS ANGELES — Steve Carell and Tina Fey are in a box-office clash with the gods of Mount Olympus. No. 1 bragging rights for the weekend were too close to call Sunday, with 20th Century Fox estimating a $27.1 million debut for Carell and Fey's comedy "Date Night" and Warner Bros. reporting the action tale "Clash of the Titans" at $26.9 million. Rankings will be sorted out Monday when studios release final numbers, which can vary by $1 million or more for some films compared with Sunday estimates. Warner executives said they tracked "Clash of the Titans" as No. 1 for a second straight weekend, with "Date Night" trailing by about $1 million. "I'm not complaining about it," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner. "They're certainly entitled to their own projection, and we'll see. Maybe they're right and we're wrong. Monday will tell." Photo finishes are rare for the No. 1 spot at the box office, where one movie usually is the clear winner. Weekend projections include fairly hard figures for Friday and Saturday but estimates for how much a movie will take in on Sunday. Studios base those estimates on such factors as how similar movies performed in past weekends. Studios sometimes grumble that competitors inflate their Sunday numbers to make a debut look stronger. "You can't do that," said Bert Livingston, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive. "What you do is you look up history, you come up with your best-guess scenario. The number is the number. Whatever it is, if it ends up being No. 1 or 5 or 6, we just estimate our numbers." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_533376.html Attached Images
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

04-12-2010, 05:38 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,136	*Box office update: In the end, Clash of the Titans* was the victor, beating Date Night by over $1 million** by Nicole Sperling April 12, 2010 In the end, it wasn’t even that close. Despite estimates all weekend that Clash of the Titans and Date Night were neck-and-neck for the top spot at the weekend box office, Clash claimed the top prize by a cool $1 million. Turns out Fox predictors had over-estimated their Sunday number for the Tina Fey, Steve Carell two-hander by as much as 9 percent. The film dropped off 49 percent Sunday, as opposed to 40 percent, as the studio predicted. Thus, Date Night finished the weekend at $25.2 million, while Clash earned $26.6 million for the three-day frame. That number represents a 57 percent drop for the weekend, a much smaller drop than Warner Bros. was predicting. http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/...ver-1-million/ Attached Images