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Weekend Report: ‘Up’ Hangs On, ‘Hangover’ Gets Down
by Brandon Gray --- June 7, 2009
The Hangover gave Up a run for its money after hitting the jackpot on Friday, but the Pixar adventure soared past the ribald comedy on Saturday and Sunday (based on projections) to lead the weekend. Both pictures were highly successful for their genres and wound up less than a million dollars apart. Less fortunate was Land of the Lost, which debuted at a distant third. The weekend as a whole came in at over $165 million, off six percent from the same weekend last year when Kung Fu Panda opened.
Deflating 35 percent, Up picked up an excellent estimated $44.2 million on approximately 6,700 screens at 3,818 sites, inflating its total to $137.3 million in ten days. Its drop was quite small for a movie performing at blockbuster levels, and it held nearly as well as Finding Nemo at the same point and much better than WALL-E and Cars among past Pixar summer releases.
The Hangover packed a much greater wallop than the norm for its genre, taking in an estimated $43.3 million on around 4,500 screens at 3,269 sites. It was hyped as the preordained raunchy comedy hit of the season and exceeded that expectation, opening higher than Wedding Crashers even when adjusted for ticket price inflation. In the spirit of Wedding Crashers, Old School, Harold and Kumar and Dude, Where's My Car?, the marketing portrayed a relatable yet over-the-top premise of three friends waking up in the bizarre aftermath of a Las Vegas bachelor party that they don't remember. Driving the comedy was the mystery of what happened to them and the whereabouts of the groom. Distributor Warner Bros.' research suggested that 52 percent of the audience was male and 53 percent was under 25 years old.
While The Hangover smashed, Land of the Lost crashed. Featuring Will Ferrell, the adventure comedy based on the 1970s television series of the same name stumbled out of the gate with an estimated $19.5 million on approximately 4,800 screens at 3,521 locations. The start was lower than the similar Journey to the Center of the Earth from last summer as well as Ferrell's last TV adaptation, Bewitched, though it was a bit higher than Speed Racer. Distributor Universal Pictures' exit polling indicated that 51 percent of Land's audience was 25 years and older, and, of that group, 40 percent were parents of a child under 13 and the "non-child" audience (13 plus) was evenly split between genders.
In its advertising campaign, Land of the Lost awkwardly straddled the line between comedy and adventure and between family and adult appeal. Ferrell has little cachet in the family genre, given his track record after Elf, and he seemed to simply offer his typical shtick. Since Land of the Lost is not well known today and science fiction-oriented comedy is a tough sell, the movie had questionable commercial potential from the outset, and it lacked a built-in audience or a context for its intentionally cheesy production values. Neither here nor there, the picture further paled compared to the Up juggernaut, which had both comedy and adventure clearly on tap for the entire family.
Among nationwide holdovers, Star Trek saw the smallest slide, down 33 percent to an estimated $8.4 million. Logging $222.8 million in 31 days, it flew past Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan to become the second-biggest movie of the Star Trek franchise adjusted for ticket price inflation, and it has set a course for the top spot currently held by the first movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian lagged behind its predecessor again, slipping 40 percent to an estimated $14.7 million for a $127.3 million tally in 17 days. Terminator Salvation held a tad better than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, retreating 50 percent to an estimated $8.2 million and hitting $105.5 million in 18 days, though it still trails its predecessor by a wide margin overall. Drag Me to Hell didn't reverse its curse and descended 54 percent to an estimated $7.3 million for $28.5 million in ten days, while Angels & Demons continued its mini-Da Vinci Code pattern, off 43 percent to an estimated $6.5 million for $116.1 million in 24 days.
Also opening nationwide, My Life in Ruins picked up a modest estimated $3.2 million at 1,164 sites. Featuring Nia Vardalos, creator of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the debut was slightly less attended than the start of her last picture, Connie and Carla.
Overseas, it was a different story as Terminator Salvation dominated in its major foreign rollout. Playing in 70 markets, the sci-fi action picture drew an estimated $67.5 million, lifting its total to $97.2 million and out-pacing Terminator 3 in comparable markets by around 20 percent through the same point. The Night at the Museum sequel was second with an estimated $26.7 million ($148.4 million total), followed by Angels & Demons, which mustered an estimated $22.3 million and stands as 2009's top-grossing picture internationally at $292.9 million.
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