Despite tough competition from Will Smith’s “Seven Pounds”, Carrey’s “Yes Man” was tops at the box office.
The weekend box office got iced by terrible weather, and the result was anything but a merry start for Jim Carrey laffer “Yes Man” and Will Smith drama “Seven Pounds.”
Warner Bros.’ “Yes Man” grossed $18.2 million from 3,434 runs to win the crown, while “Seven Pounds” took $16 million from 2,758, according to Rentrak. Both titles were expected to come in at least $5 million higher.
The opening for “Seven Pounds” is the lowest for a Smith pic since 2001’s “Ali.” Film, which reunited Smith with drama “Pursuit of Happyness” director Gabriele Muccino, also received generally bad reviews.
Universal toon “The Tale of Despereaux,” the frame’s other new entry, grossed an estimated $10.5 million from 3,104 runs on the strength of tots and their parents.
Friday’s crippling storm in the Northeast dragged down grosses dramatically in a menacing start to the Christmas holiday. Weekend was down by as much as 44% over last year. In Boston, Friday’s B.O. dropped a whopping 81% from the previous Friday, while it fell 45% in Gotham.
There were, however, some strong players at the specialty box office: “The Wrestler” saw a boffo opening, while “Slumdog Millionaire” continued to gain strength. (Both pics are from Fox Searchlight.)Question now is how much “Yes Man” and “Seven Pounds” can rebound over the two-week Christmas holiday stretch. There are also five wide releases opening on Christmas Day that may have to contend with more winter weather.
The good news for Hollywood is the domestic box office continues to run even with last year, which saw record-breaking revenues. And Warner Bros. is on the verge of grossing the most of any studio in a given year, unseating crown holder Sony ($1.705 billion). Through Friday, Warner’s box office revs clocked in at $1.68 billion.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Yes Man,” $18.2 million.
2. “Seven Pounds,” $16 million.
3. “The Tale of Despereaux,” $10.5 million.
4. “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” $10.2 million.
5. “Four Christmases,” $7.7 million.
6. “Twilight,” $5.2 million.
7. “Bolt,” $4.3 million.
8. “Slumdog Millionaire,” $3.2 million.
9. “Australia,” $2.3 million.
10. “Quantum of Solace,” $2.2 million.
[Credit: Variety / Media By Numbers]