"The Lion King" has been Dethroned by "Dolphin Tale" - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 10-02-2011, 11:46 PM

Weekend Report: Dolphin Tale Leaps Into Lead
by Ray Subers
October 2, 2011

On strong word-of-mouth, Dolphin Tale managed to leap over Moneyball and The Lion King (in 3D) to take first place on its second weekend in theaters.

50/50 faltered but was tops among newcomers, though faith-based movie Courageous had the most impressive showing at far fewer locations. Dream House disappointed in its debut, while What's Your Number? tallied one of the worst numbers for a super-saturated (3,000+ theaters) release ever.

Dolphin Tale eased just 26 percent to an estimated $14.3 million, which brought its 10-day total to a solid $37.5 million. It had a better hold than Soul Surfer and was about even with last Fall's Secretariat, albeit with a much higher total than either of those movies at the same point.

Still, it couldn't hold a candle to The Blind Side (which actually improved in its second frame), though that was a holiday weekend so it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison.

Moneyball dipped 36 percent to an estimated $12.5 million. That's a bit steeper than The Social Network's 31 percent decline, though it's still very solid in its own right.

The Brad Pitt baseball drama has scored $38.5 million through 10 days in theaters.

After ruling the charts for the past two weeks, The Lion King's 3D re-release fell nearly 50 percent to an estimated $11.1 million and had to settle for third place. That week-over-week decline is a bit steep, though it's not entirely unexpected considering the Blu-ray hits stores on Tuesday and most advertisements pegged the re-release as a two-weeks-only affair.

The movie's total has now reached $79.7 million, which brings The Lion King's overall total to $408.2 million.

On Saturday, it passed Spider-Man to move in to the Top 10 all-time, and it should be able to climb a few more spots before the end of its run.

Thanks in part to The Lion King's impressive performance, Walt Disney Pictures passed the $1 billion mark on Saturday, making it the sixth straight year that the studio reached this milestone.

50/50 opened to an estimated $8.86 million from 2,458 theaters, which is the lowest debut ever for a Seth Rogen movie.

Considering the grim subject matter, though, that's not an entirely awful start, and an "A-" CinemaScore should translate in to decent word-of-mouth in coming weeks. The audience was 54 percent female and 57 percent under 30 years old.

50/50 had a hot young cast, and strong reviews and word-of-mouth, but all of that only goes so far. The marketing was ultimately too lukewarm: by attempting to off-set the cancer plotline and dreary gray palette with random jokes and the uplifting tagline "Beat the Odds," the movie's story and characters were diluted and instead it came off as a somewhat sad buddy comedy.

It could hang on well moving foward, though it will be tough to match star Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 2009 hit (500) Days of Summer ($32.4 million).

Sherwood Pictures' Courageous scored $8.8 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,580. That's up from the studio's last movie Fireproof ($6.8 million), though the average was off just a bit.

The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails The Passion of the Christ and the three Narnia movies. Courageous scored a rare "A+" CinemaScore, and the audience was 53 percent female and 77 percent over the age of 25.

Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, Courageous managed to fly under most radars (including my own) until very recently. It's unfair to ignore the vast majority of church-going Americans for whom typical Hollywood fare isn't of great interest, though, and Sherwood Pictures has impressively found a way to mobilize this subset of the population.

It will be interesting to see if Courageous can hold as well as Fireproof did when it went on to earn $33.46 million, or nearly five times its opening weekend, in 2008.

Dream House scared up a meek estimated $8.2 million. That's just a fraction of haunted house movies like The Skeleton Key ($16.1 million) and The Amityville Horror ($23.5 million), and it's even off a bit from Dark Water ($9.9 million).

The movie received a "B" CinemaScore and the audience was 54 percent female and 62 percent under the age of 25. Hispanics were the largest ethnic group in attendance at 38 percent, which tends to be the case with supernatural thrillers.

The combined star wattage of Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts couldn't save Dream House from a vague marketing effort that failed to firmly place the movie in a genre (it seemed to fluctuate between supernatural and psychological thriller) or generate any kind of scares.

It doesn't help that it wasn't screened for critics and ultimately wound up with a terrible 5 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Between this and July's Cowboys & Aliens, it's starting to appear like Craig isn't much of a draw outside of the James Bond franchise.

Abduction fell 48 percent to an estimated $5.65 million for a total of $19.1 million.

Killer Elite also dipped 48 percent, though it's weekend take was $4.86 million and it's total reached $17.4 million.

What's Your Number? wound up in eighth place with a terrible $5.6 million. That's the fifth-worst debut ever for a movie in more than 3,000 theaters, and is just over one-third of the opening of star Anna Faris's The House Bunny ($14.5 million).

The movie received a decent "B" CinemaScore, and the audience was 63 percent female and 63 percent over the age of 25.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3282&p=.htm

September 30 - October 2, 2011 Weekend Report:

1. Dolphin Tale $14,245,000 / $37,516,000
2. Moneyball $12,500,000 / $38,469,000
3. The Lion King (3D) $11,057,000 / $79,652,000
4. 50/50 $8,858,000
5. Courageous $8,800,000
6. Dream House $8,209,000
7. Abduction $5,650,000 / $19,139,000
8. What's Your Number? $5,600,000
9. Contagion $5,040,000 / $64,702,000
10. Killer Elite $4,855,000 / $17,439,000

AKA · 10-03-2011, 12:25 AM

I thought The Lion King was only a two-week engagement. They must have extended it because it was much, much more successful than they could have ever imagined.

It's coming out on Blu-ray on Tuesday. That might have contributed to the decline in ticket sales.

Schmoopie · 10-03-2011, 06:06 AM

Yea! I absolutely LOVE Harry Connick Jr and I'm dying to see this movie! I'm happy to see that it's doing well! He deserves it and it looks like an amazing movie!

JamesG · 10-03-2011, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKA

I thought The Lion King was only a two-week engagement. They must have extended it because it was much, much more successful than they could have ever imagined.

It's coming out on Blu-ray on Tuesday. That might have contributed to the decline in ticket sales.

Yes, The Lion King got a 3rd week extension due to the strong ticket sales.

10-02-2011, 11:46 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,121	"The Lion King" has been Dethroned by "Dolphin Tale" *Weekend Report: Dolphin Tale* Leaps Into Lead** by Ray Subers October 2, 2011 On strong word-of-mouth, Dolphin Tale managed to leap over Moneyball and The Lion King (in 3D) to take first place on its second weekend in theaters. 50/50 faltered but was tops among newcomers, though faith-based movie Courageous had the most impressive showing at far fewer locations. Dream House disappointed in its debut, while What's Your Number? tallied one of the worst numbers for a super-saturated (3,000+ theaters) release ever. Dolphin Tale eased just 26 percent to an estimated $14.3 million, which brought its 10-day total to a solid $37.5 million. It had a better hold than Soul Surfer and was about even with last Fall's Secretariat, albeit with a much higher total than either of those movies at the same point. Still, it couldn't hold a candle to The Blind Side (which actually improved in its second frame), though that was a holiday weekend so it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. Moneyball dipped 36 percent to an estimated $12.5 million. That's a bit steeper than The Social Network's 31 percent decline, though it's still very solid in its own right. The Brad Pitt baseball drama has scored $38.5 million through 10 days in theaters. After ruling the charts for the past two weeks, The Lion King's 3D re-release fell nearly 50 percent to an estimated $11.1 million and had to settle for third place. That week-over-week decline is a bit steep, though it's not entirely unexpected considering the Blu-ray hits stores on Tuesday and most advertisements pegged the re-release as a two-weeks-only affair. The movie's total has now reached $79.7 million, which brings The Lion King's overall total to $408.2 million. On Saturday, it passed Spider-Man to move in to the Top 10 all-time, and it should be able to climb a few more spots before the end of its run. Thanks in part to The Lion King's impressive performance, Walt Disney Pictures passed the $1 billion mark on Saturday, making it the sixth straight year that the studio reached this milestone. 50/50 opened to an estimated $8.86 million from 2,458 theaters, which is the lowest debut ever for a Seth Rogen movie. Considering the grim subject matter, though, that's not an entirely awful start, and an "A-" CinemaScore should translate in to decent word-of-mouth in coming weeks. The audience was 54 percent female and 57 percent under 30 years old. 50/50 had a hot young cast, and strong reviews and word-of-mouth, but all of that only goes so far. The marketing was ultimately too lukewarm: by attempting to off-set the cancer plotline and dreary gray palette with random jokes and the uplifting tagline "Beat the Odds," the movie's story and characters were diluted and instead it came off as a somewhat sad buddy comedy. It could hang on well moving foward, though it will be tough to match star Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 2009 hit (500) Days of Summer ($32.4 million). Sherwood Pictures' Courageous scored $8.8 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,580. That's up from the studio's last movie Fireproof ($6.8 million), though the average was off just a bit. The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails The Passion of the Christ and the three Narnia movies. Courageous scored a rare "A+" CinemaScore, and the audience was 53 percent female and 77 percent over the age of 25. Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, Courageous managed to fly under most radars (including my own) until very recently. It's unfair to ignore the vast majority of church-going Americans for whom typical Hollywood fare isn't of great interest, though, and Sherwood Pictures has impressively found a way to mobilize this subset of the population. It will be interesting to see if Courageous can hold as well as Fireproof did when it went on to earn $33.46 million, or nearly five times its opening weekend, in 2008. Dream House scared up a meek estimated $8.2 million. That's just a fraction of haunted house movies like The Skeleton Key ($16.1 million) and The Amityville Horror ($23.5 million), and it's even off a bit from Dark Water ($9.9 million). The movie received a "B" CinemaScore and the audience was 54 percent female and 62 percent under the age of 25. Hispanics were the largest ethnic group in attendance at 38 percent, which tends to be the case with supernatural thrillers. The combined star wattage of Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts couldn't save Dream House from a vague marketing effort that failed to firmly place the movie in a genre (it seemed to fluctuate between supernatural and psychological thriller) or generate any kind of scares. It doesn't help that it wasn't screened for critics and ultimately wound up with a terrible 5 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Between this and July's Cowboys & Aliens, it's starting to appear like Craig isn't much of a draw outside of the James Bond franchise. Abduction fell 48 percent to an estimated $5.65 million for a total of $19.1 million. Killer Elite also dipped 48 percent, though it's weekend take was $4.86 million and it's total reached $17.4 million. What's Your Number? wound up in eighth place with a terrible $5.6 million. That's the fifth-worst debut ever for a movie in more than 3,000 theaters, and is just over one-third of the opening of star Anna Faris's The House Bunny ($14.5 million). The movie received a decent "B" CinemaScore, and the audience was 63 percent female and 63 percent over the age of 25. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3282&p=.htm September 30 - October 2, 2011 Weekend Report: 1. Dolphin Tale $14,245,000 / $37,516,000 2. Moneyball $12,500,000 / $38,469,000 3. The Lion King (3D) $11,057,000 / $79,652,000 4. 50/50 $8,858,000 5. Courageous $8,800,000 6. Dream House $8,209,000 7. Abduction $5,650,000 / $19,139,000 8. What's Your Number? $5,600,000 9. Contagion $5,040,000 / $64,702,000 10. Killer Elite $4,855,000 / $17,439,000

10-03-2011, 06:06 AM	#3
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	Yea! I absolutely LOVE Harry Connick Jr and I'm dying to see this movie! I'm happy to see that it's doing well! He deserves it and it looks like an amazing movie!
	__________________ In memory of my wonderful husband. I love and miss you more than words can say, but I will always and forever keep you in my heart. September 23, 1961-January 14, 2019

10-03-2011, 12:25 AM	#2
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	I thought The Lion King was only a two-week engagement. They must have extended it because it was much, much more successful than they could have ever imagined. It's coming out on Blu-ray on Tuesday. That might have contributed to the decline in ticket sales.