Weekend Estimates: Killing Has Soft Opening

December 2, 2012

The weekend after Thanksgiving is not known for its box office prowess, and this year is proving no different. Most films in the top 10 are down around 50% from last weekend, and the new wide releases are both falling short of their respective distributor's hopes. Killing Them Softly is headed for a $7 million debut, according to Weinstein, which is Brad Pitt's worst wide opening since Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas back in 2003, and worst live action wide release since 1994's The Favor. Meanwhile, LD Distribution is projecting $3.4 million for The Collection in 1,403 theaters, which is less of a surprise, but still a disappointment. With those two misfires, the top of the chart is once more populated by Breaking Dawn, Part 2 and Skyfall, which are essentially neck and neck at this point, with Twilight topping $250 million domestically this weekend and Bond set to reach that landmark in the next few days.

A little lower on the chart, Talaash is set for an excellent opening weekend for Reliance Big Pictures with closer to $2 million from 172 theaters. Anna Karenina and Hitchcock are both looking in good shape as they expand, with the former posting $2.2 million from 384 theaters this weekend and the latter on track for $405,000 or so from 50 venues. Karenina's $5,800 per theater average suggests that it will probably not expand considerably going forwards, however. On the other hand, Silver Linings Playbook continues to show promise as it platforms, with an average of $9,000 or so this weekend and $3.34 million from 371 theaters.

The best new limited release to report so far is documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, which is set to post about $12,500 from a single New York theater. Rust & Bone has had a excellent second weekend with $25,800 expected from two theaters, down just 5% from its opening last weekend.

- Weekend Estimates

Bruce Nash bruce.nash@the-numbers.com

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, Hitchcock, Skyfall, Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook, De rouille et d’os, The Collection, Killing Them Softly, Beware of Mr. Baker, Talaash, Brad Pitt