"Bad Grandpa" Brings "Gravity" Down This Weekend

[JamesG]

Weekend Report: Good Grandpa, Bad Counselor
by Ray Subers
October 27, 2013


After dominating the box office for three-straight weeks, Gravity fell to second place behind Jackass spin-off Bad Grandpa. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott's The Counselor became the latest October release to disappoint with an opening below $10 million.







At 3,336 locations, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa opened to a very strong $32 million. That's the second-highest start in the Jackass franchise behind Jackass 3-D ($50.4 million); adjusted for ticket price inflation, Bad Grandpa's attendance was about on par with the original Jackass: The Movie.

Moviegoers have clearly shown an appetite for comedy this year. Bad Grandpa is the fifth live-action comedy to open over $30 million in 2013, and that list doesn't even include We're the Millers or This is the End (which burned off demand with Wednesday openings).



Bad Grandpa's success can be attributed to a number of factors. Even though it was a spin-off, the movie's painful pratfalls and documentary-style footage aligned nicely with the very strong Jackass brand. Also, the movie had an easily-explainable, universally-related premise—everyone has had an inappropriate older relative, and it's cathartic to get together and laugh about it.

Finally—and most importantly—the previews were laugh-out-loud funny, which is the very basic key ingredient for comedy success.



Bad Grandpa's audience was 56 percent male and 63 percent over the age of 25. In comparison, Jackass 3-D's crowd was 61 percent male and only 33 percent over 25.

The fact that Bad Grandpa skewed older and was more evenly split between genders suggests that it will play better long-term. While its "B" CinemaScore is nothing to write home about, it should still be on pace for a final total of at least $75 million.







In its fourth weekend, Gravity fell 32 percent to $20.3 million. That's the movie's steepest drop yet, though it's still a fantastic hold for the acclaimed space thriller. To date, Gravity has earned $199.8 million, which ranks ninth on the year.

While it's going to lose most of its IMAX screens to Ender's Game next weekend, Gravity is still on pace to earn at least $250 million by the end of its run.







It was smooth sailing for Captain Phillips in its third weekend. The movie eased 28 percent to $11.8 million, and has now grossed $70.1 million. It remains around $10 million ahead of Argo through the same point, and should get past $100 million eventually.

At 3,044 locations, star-studded thriller The Counselor opened to a very poor $8 million. That's generally in line with other recent disappointing R-rated crime movies like Broken City ($8.3 million), Runner Runner ($7.7 million) and Killing Them Softly ($6.8 million), which also starred Brad Pitt.



The Counselor is the latest example of the limitations of "star power" at the box office. The movie was absolutely stacked with top-tier talent in front of and behind the camera—Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Pitt, director Ridley Scott, and writer Cormac McCarthy.

Marquee names can only take a movie so far: for audiences to really invest, there needs to be an interesting story on display, and The Counselor's vague allusions to a crime plot didn't cut it. The nail in the coffin was the terrible reviews (35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), which likely kept some more discerning audiences away.



The Counselor's audience was 51 percent female and 85 percent over the age of 25. They awarded the movie a terrible "D" CinemaScore, which suggests it's going to have a very short run (a final total below $25 million is a guarantee).








Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 rounded out the Top Five with an estimated $6.1 million, which was off a light 37 percent from last weekend.

On Sunday, the movie passed $100 million; unfortunately, it's noticeably lagging behind the first Cloudy, and is going to take a hit next weekend when it faces off against Free Birds.







Carrie plummeted 63 percent to $5.9 million, which brought its total to an unimpressive $26 million.

Escape Plan fell 56 percent to $4.3 million for a new total of $17.4 million.

The Fifth Estate collapsed 66 percent to $562,000 for an atrocious 10-day total of $2.84 million.







With great reviews and a ton of awards buzz, 12 Years a Slave expanded to 123 locations and earned $2.15 million this weekend. That translates to a very good per-theater average of $17,480.

The Fox Searchlight slavery drama has now grossed $3.4 million, and is set to expand to over 400 theaters next weekend.







At four locations, Palme D'Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color opened to an estimated $101,000 ($25,250 per-theater average). That's a fine debut for the acclaimed French drama, though it doesn't give a clear indication of the movie's long-term potential.

With a three-hour runtime and a restrict NC-17 rating, it's hard to imagine the movie gains much traction outside of major arthouse locations.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3744&p=.htm









October 25-27, 2013 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa $32,000,000
2. Gravity $20,300,000 / $199,814,000
3. Captain Phillips $11,800,000 / $70,074,000
4. The Counselor $8,000,000
5. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 $6,100,000 / $100,611,000
6. Carrie $5,900,000 / $26,021,000
7. Escape Plan $4,340,000 / $17,424,000
8. 12 Years a Slave $2,150,000 / $3,410,000
9. Enough Said $1,555,000 / $13,021,000
10. Prisoners $1,063,000 / $59,122,000