U.S Box Office Report - 4th - 6th April 2008

1. 21 - $15.1M - $45.5M
2. Leatherheads - $13.4M - $13.4M
3. Nim's Island - $13.3M - $13.3M
4. Horton Hears a Who - $9.1M - $131M
5. The Ruins - $7.8M - $7.8M
6. Superhero Movie - $5.4M - $16.8M
7. Meet the Browns - $3.5M - $37.7M
8. Drillbit Taylor - $3.4M - $25.4M
9. Shutter - $2.8M - $23.1M
10. 10,000 B.C. - $2.7M - $89.3M

In something of an upset, 21 retains the top spot in its second weekend of release. It was widely expected that George Clooney's Leatherheads would take the top spot but it was pretty evident on Friday night that the public hadn't taken to the throwback 1920s slapstick comedy. 21 is well on the way to $50M and should see it during the coming week, making Sony happy as the budget was just $35M.


It wasn't well reviewed and certainly shocked a few analysts last weekend by performing so well. Some put it down to a lack of serious competition while others pointed to the older demographic making up a large part of the audience. There's been some criticism for the film as it apparently strays quite some way from its source material but really, when has a film adaptation ever not strayed in some way?

Leatherheads and Nim's Island could actually swop positions once final numbers are out on Monday. George Clooney's third directorial effort is quite removed from his previous work. Leatherheads stars Clooney alongside Renee Zellwegger as an American football player who helps his ailing team (and the ailing sport) by hiring a college player and war hero to bring in the public. The plan backfires when Clooney's Dodge has to compete with his new superstar for the affections of the scrappy journalist. Reviewers have been quick to point out how lightweight the film is, almost a step back for Clooney's directorial skills, but seemed to be impressed by the overall slapstick tone of the film - managing to evoke the spirit of Hepburn and Grant. The public felt otherwise and that take must be something of a disappointment. There's only two wide opening movies next weekend so the film does have another chance to pick up some sales from word of mouth but it may well be an uphill struggle. (curiously, while its box office take is relatively low, it more than doubles the opening take of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night & Good Luck, though both movies did open in a limited capacity)

Facing off against Horton, Nim's Island was going squarely for the family market. Like Leatherheads, it didn't quite make it but should again have another chance to make an impact next weekend. Nim's Island features Abigail Breslin as the daughter of scientist Gerard Butler, both living on an isolated island. Breslin's character is a huge fan of a reclusive writer played by Jodie Foster. When her father goes missing Breslin contacts the writer to help her find him, not knowing that the writer isn't quite cut out for the adventuring life she writes about. The trailers weren't anything to write home about but the film had three impressive leads and is based on a popular book. Horton probably did it the most damage as Nim struggled to make $13M, but with that film in its fourth weekend of release, its impact was probably more muted. Next weekend won't bring any further direct competition so it'll be interesting to see how it performs.

Horton Hears a Who goes from strength to strength, even as it begins to move down the charts. Friday saw the film cross $200M on the global market (including its US take) and Saturday saw it cross $125M in the US alone. It's still got a few good weeks in it yet and could still see $150M in the US.

Our third new release of the weekend is the horror movie The Ruins. Based on a best-selling book, The Ruins was advertised as a straight horror movie (drawing comparisons based on those trailers to the dire Turistas), which according to those who have seen it is quite misleading. It actually reviewed better than most horror movies, scoring 36% at Rotten Tomatoes (compare that to the 31% for 21) but it doesn't appear to have had as strong an opening as some recent horror movies (The Eye and One Missed Call did $12M) and it's almost certainly missed the boat now. Expect a swift exit for this one.

After failing to take the top spot last weekend, Superhero Movie is already falling fast and will only see another weekend in the top ten due to a lack of new releases in the coming weeks. Sadly this isn't the end of it as a Superbad spoof has already entered production.

Tyler Perry has come and practically gone in less than a month, as per usual with his films. And as per usual, it's made a fortune. Drillbit Taylor probably won't even see $30M before the end of its cinematic run and will have to depend on Foreign sales and DVD to recoup its production budget. Shutter isn't fairing any better and after opening higher than Drillbit just a few short weeks ago, now finds itself a couple of millions lower in takings. Given its genre, Shutter will probably go on to perform better on DVD than Drillbit.

Finally, 10,000BC continues to perform well in the international market and it just about recoups its budget from its US box office take.

The Rolling Stones concert documentary directed by Martin Scorcese, Shine A Light, opened at 276 locations, figures aren't available at the time of writing.