'Megamind' Stays on Track, 'Unstoppable' Holds the Denzel Washington Line
by Brandon Gray --- November 14, 2010
Unstoppable didn't come on like a freight train, allowing Megamind to lead the weekend by default, while Skyline and Morning Glory had modest showings. Overall business was off 11 percent from the same weekend last year when 2012 arrived.
Megamind drew an estimated $30.1 million on approximately 7,300 screens at 3,949 locations, 64 percent of its business coming from its 3D illusion presentations. The animated comedy was down 35 percent, which, on the surface, sounds good, but the drop was average at best for the genre and time of year (note that it will likely nosedive when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 opens). For instance, The Incredibles dipped 29 percent on the same weekend in 2004, and it was performing at much higher levels. Megamind's tally stands at $89.8 million in ten days, trailing Despicable Me and Monsters Vs. Aliens through the same point as well as How to Train Your Dragon by a narrow margin.
Unstoppable mustered an estimated $23.5 million on approximately 4,300 screens at 3,207 locations. That was right in line with the opening weekend of the last train-oriented thriller from director Tony Scott and star Denzel Washington, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Unstoppable also marked Mr. Washington's eighth major starring role in a row to debut at over $20 million (the streak extends to 12 when adjusting for ticket price inflation). Distributor 20th Century Fox's exit polling indicated that the action thriller's audience was evenly split between genders and was 65 percent aged 25 years and older.
Skyline pulled in an estimated $11.7 million on close to 3,100 screens at 2,880 locations, which was a fraction of most recent alien invasion/disaster spectacles, but the picture was far more low-rent than the genre norm. Its start was shy of The Fourth Kind's $12.2 million from last November and Red Planet's attendance on the same weekend in 2000.
Few chatted up Morning Glory, which produced an estimated $9.6 million on over 2,800 screens at 2,518 locations (for a $12.2 million tally since opening Wednesday). Despite the star power of Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford, that was a bit lower than Definitely, Maybe but a smidge better than the attendance levels of Little Black Book and Life, or Something Like It among comparable titles. Distributor Paramount Pictures reported that 72 percent of Morning Glory's audience was female and 89 percent was aged 25 years and older.
Due Date veered off course by 52 percent in its second weekend, making an estimated $15.5 million for a $59 million sum in ten days. The road trip comedy lost momentum at faster rate than The Hangover (off 27 percent) as well as Role Models, which fell 42 percent on the same weekend in 2008. As consolation, Due Date will soon surpass the final grosses of Get Him to the Greek ($61 million) and Role Models ($67.3 million).
Meanwhile, For Colored Girls suffered the steepest second-weekend drop yet for a Tyler Perry movie, and the man's movies aren't known for their staying power. Down 65 percent, the ensemble drama earned an estimated $6.8 million, and its $30.9 million ten-day total was on the low end for Perry.
