CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: Real Steel Keeps the Championship Belt!

Seth Paul

It was almost a no-decision, but Real Steel remained the favorite for the second week in a row with an estimated $16.3 million. But even losing 40% of its previous week’s revenue, it still managed (though barely) to top the critically well-received remake of Footloose (which, budgeted at $24 million, opened well with an estimated $16.1 million), and scored well above the poorly received prequel/remake The Thing. The Thing opened to nearly half the revenue of the top two, an estimated $8.7 million, and the lack of budget information suggests the CG-filled monster flick may have a short shelf life at the box office.

The Ides of March fell to fourth, earning an estimated $7.5 million. No word if Clooney’s salary is keeping the film profitable (no budget data is available), but the political thriller’s good reviews and $22.1 million in two weeks puts it in average territory for its release size and genre. Dolphin Tale and Moneyball, now four weeks out of the gate, are doing quite well with an estimated $6.3 and $5.5 million, both films making a domestic profit and settling in quite happily in the middle of the list. The low budget films 50/50 and Courageous are also doing very well, with an estimated $4.3 million and $3.4 million respectively, though Courageous has not done well with critics. Its relative success could mostly be attributed to its subject matter, as the studio, Sherwood Pictures, has earned a devoted following for its faith-based films like Fireproof (which made $33.5 million at the box office with a $500,000 budget, with only slightly better critical reception).

At the bottom, the new comedy The Big Year, starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson opened to an estimated $3.3 million, disappointing considering the star power involved. And hey, remember when Disney said “limited two-week engagement” for The Lion King 3D? Apparently, neither do they…now running for its 5th week, it brought in an estimated $2.7 million despite its October 4th release on DVD and Blu-ray. The re-release has proven to be quite successful, with the film adding $90.5 million to two previous theatrical runs (the very successful original in 1994 and a modest IMAX re-release in 2002).

Weekend Box-Office (October 14 – October 16)

  1. Real Steel…$16.3 million
  2. Footloose…$16.1 million
  3. The Thing…$8.7 million
  4. The Ides of March…$7.5 million
  5. Dolphin Tale…$6.3 million
  6. Moneyball…$5.5 million
  7. 50/50…$4.3 million
  8. Courageous…$3.4 million
  9. The Big Year…$3.3 million
  10. The Lion King 3D…$2.7 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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