Weekend Estimates: Argo Takes Lead as Openers Fail to Impress

October 28, 2012

A terrible weekend for new releases will leave Argo the weekend winner by default, according to studio estimates released on Sunday morning. The biggest disappointment of the weekend is Cloud Atlas, a pricey ($102 million, according to reports) sci-fi epic from Lana and Andy Wachowski, and Tom Tykwer, that will open with $9.4 million or so, and won't be helped by a C+ CinemaScore. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D confirms that it won't be the new Halloween franchise by opening with a projected $8m, but that looks positively healthy compared to the openings of Fun Size and Chasing Mavericks. With those films projected to open with $4.06 million and $2.2 million respectively, this pre-Halloween weekend looks like a bloodbath.

On the bright side, Argo will be down just 25% in its third weekend and looks likely to top $100 million before its run is over, particularly if it can hold on to a reasonable number of theaters through Thanksgiving. Hotel Transylvania, meanwhile, continues to accumulate, and will pass $130 million this weekend with a decline of 27% in its fifth weekend. It should also get a bump this week from family Halloween traffic. Another film likely to get a bump (in the night?) this week is Paranormal Activity 4, although its performance this weekend is modest at best, down 70% to a project $8.675 million.

In limited release, The Sessions will pick up about $230,000 from 20 theaters, and is the only film to report so far that will break the $10,000 per theater average. The Loneliest Planet is the best of the rest, with an average of $8,500 in two venues projected. Holy Motors is also showing encouraging signs of a good art house run with $15,296 projected this weekend and Indomina reporting that it improved on its opening weekend performance in New York.

- Weekend Estimates

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Cloud Atlas, Fun Size , Argo, Paranormal Activity 4, The Loneliest Planet, Holy Motors, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski