Hide & Seek continues a one of those rare trends that actually might have an effect on the long run at the multiplex. Meet The Fockers, White Noise, Coach Carter, Are We There Yet? ,and now this… five (six, if you count Fockers three times) straight weekends of very specific genre movies topping the charts, the last three of which performed above expectations.
Yes, genre gets tired and the mediocrity of the films that come from these genres often lead to short legs. But the key in the film business these days is delivering an opening weekend. And two thrillers, one feel good urban cross-over drama, one urban cross-over comedy and one flat out comedy sequel.
How can you not be programming your line-up with the power of these films in mind?
On the Oscar front, Million Dollar Baby came out of the gate strong, with a reported $5800 per screen and a total over $10.5 million. The fight between The Aviator and M$B is now engaged, especially combining this start of wide release with Clint Eastwood’s DGA win on Saturday.
On the down side, Sideways looks like it may, sadly (for me, at least) be moving out of contention for the win after an expansion to 1694 screen led to only an estimated $6.3 million… which is not bad, but not a power move. The gross and the per-screen were not far ahead of In Good Company… not good company for a film that wants to win Best Picture.
More to come….
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