Weekend Box Office (February 26 - 28, 2010)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Unlike the Oscar-winning hit The Departed, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's new crime thriller Shutter Island enjoyed back-to-back weekends at number one fending off competition from a pair of new releases with respectable debuts. The police comedy Cop Out bowed in second while the horror remake The Crazies premiered in third as the overall box office remained strong showing healthy gains over last year.

Paramount once again claimed the top spot with Shutter Island which dropped only 45% in its second weekend to $22.7M, according to final studio figures. The R-rated mystery still boasted the best per-theater average of any film in wide release with $7,548 from 3,003 sites. The total after ten days is a solid $75.5M. Budgeted at $75M, Shutter could find its way to roughly $125M from North America alone. The Departed, the previous collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, opened at number one in October 2006 but fell to second in its sophomore frame losing the weekend to The Grudge 2. But it did have a smaller drop declining by just 29% on its way to a $132.4M final.

Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan took second place with their new action-comedy Cop Out which opened to $18.2M over the weekend. The Warner Bros. title played in 3,150 theaters averaging a good $5,781 per site from audiences that ignored the poor reviews. The buddy cop flick marked the first film that director Kevin Smith did not also write, and represented his career best opening. Though not a stellar launch, Cop Out did give Willis one of his best debuts for a lead role in recent years following disappointments like Perfect Strangers, 16 Blocks, and Hostage which all opened in the $10-12M range.

Finishing with the bronze was the new fright flick The Crazies which debuted impressively with $16.1M. The Overture release averaged a strong $6,487 from 2,477 theaters and played to a young male audience. According to exit polls, the R-rated pic about a small town in which residents mysteriously become homicidal maniacs skewed 56% male and 65% under 25. Reviews were quite positive for the $19M production.

Audiences were still flocking to see nine-time Oscar nominee Avatar which eased by a mere 16% to $13.7M. The James Cameron smash became the first film in history to crack the $700M mark on Saturday, its 72nd day of release. The mammoth domestic cume is now $706.6M. Overseas markets witnessed a 25% drop to $36.1M boosting the international haul to $1.844 billion which is now more than the entire $1.843 billion global gross for Titanic. Ticket prices, of course, have changed a lot since 12 years ago. Worldwide, Avatar has now banked $2.55 billion with more to come. This Friday, the Pandora pic will lose a significant number of its 3D screens around the world when Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland starring Johnny Depp makes a colorful splash.

Dropping only 37% in its third round was Percy Jackson & The Olympians which took in $9.6M boosting the cume to $71M for Fox. Valentine's Day will become the first new release of the new decade to break the $100M mark on Monday. The Warner Bros. release grossed $9.1M, off 46%, for a $99.9M sum.

Sony's Dear John followed with $4.8M, down 33%, with a $72.4M total. The Wolfman suffered the worst decline in the top ten falling 57% to $4.3M. Cume to date is $57.4M for Universal.

Fox's kidpic The Tooth Fairy still had good legs dipping only 21% in its sixth weekend to $3.4M. The Jeff Bridges drama Crazy Heart rounded out the top ten with $2.5M, off a slim 17%. Total grosses stand at $53.8M and $25M, respectively.

The top ten films grossed $104.2M which was up 29% from last year when Madea Goes To Jail remained in the top spot with $16.2M; and up 41% from 2008 when Semi-Pro debuted at number one with $15.1M.


Compared to projections, Shutter Island was on target with my $22M forecast. Cop Out debuted below my $21M prediction while The Crazies came in above my $14M projection.

Get earlier box office updates and analysis by following BoxOfficeGuru.com on Twitter.

Check the NEW box office chart for Kevin Smith Films. For a review of The Wolfman visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Alice in Wonderland and Brooklyn's Finest both open.

Marketplace - Shop for DVDs, electronics, books, and posters at discounted prices:

# Title Feb 26 - 28 Feb 19 - 21 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 Shutter Island $ 22,665,205 $ 41,062,440 -44.8 3,003 2 $ 7,548 $ 75,541,271 Paramount
2 Cop Out 18,211,126 3,150 1 5,781 18,211,126 Warner Bros.
3 The Crazies 16,067,552 2,477 1 6,487 16,067,552 Overture
4 Avatar 13,655,274 16,240,857 -15.9 2,456 11 5,560 706,560,068 Fox
5 Percy Jackson & The Olympians 9,583,421 15,254,421 -37.2 3,302 3 2,902 70,998,280 Fox
6 Valentine's Day 9,063,036 16,665,299 -45.6 3,578 3 2,533 99,916,240 Warner Bros.
7 Dear John 4,808,498 7,130,552 -32.6 3,006 4 1,600 72,432,096 Sony
8 The Wolfman 4,259,865 9,895,105 -56.9 3,043 3 1,400 57,380,125 Universal
9 The Tooth Fairy 3,425,333 4,354,280 -21.3 2,249 6 1,523 53,841,454 Fox
10 Crazy Heart 2,462,384 2,964,586 -16.9 1,148 11 2,145 25,009,496 Fox Searchlight
11 The Blind Side 1,238,477 1,451,100 -14.7 945 14 1,311 248,755,981 Warner Bros.
12 The Book of Eli 1,112,493 1,888,305 -41.1 975 7 1,141 92,506,955 Warner Bros.
13 From Paris With Love 1,055,240 2,661,829 -60.4 1,278 4 826 23,324,666 Lionsgate
14 Edge of Darkness 1,017,209 2,243,311 -54.7 1,255 5 811 42,170,286 Warner Bros.
15 When in Rome 1,003,452 1,737,917 -42.3 930 5 1,079 30,861,655 Buena Vista
16 The Last Station 970,048 558,214 73.8 352 7 2,756 3,340,876 Sony Classics
17 Up in the Air 802,081 1,052,036 -23.8 586 12 1,369 82,078,918 Paramount
18 The Ghost Writer 789,064 183,009 331.2 43 2 18,350 1,048,233 Summit
19 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel 771,365 935,085 -17.5 707 9 1,091 216,556,981 Fox
20 Sherlock Holmes 608,032 846,490 -28.2 462 10 1,316 206,419,248 Warner Bros.
Top 5 $ 80,182,578 $ 99,118,122 -19.1
Top 10 104,201,694 118,472,680 -12.0
Top 20 113,569,155 128,967,630 -11.9
Top 20 vs. 2009 113,569,155 102,950,485 10.3

Last Updated: March 2, 2010 at 10:55AM ET