Clayton Gives Clooney a Great Start on the Per Theater Chart

October 9, 2007

As has been the case for the past few weeks, we had a limited release with a monster start. This time it was Michael Clayton and its $700,000 opening in just 15 theaters for an average of $47,994; this bodes very well for the film's wide expansion this weekend. Second place went to the re-release of Blade Runner, which earned just under $90,000 in 2 theaters for an average of $44,575; this bodes very well for the sales of the Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, which comes out this December on DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD. Last week's winner, The Darjeeling Limited, showed strong resilience in the face of expansion, earning an average of $29,559 during its first full weekend. The same can be said of Lust, Caution as the film went from a single theater to 17 while averaging $21,342. Finally, Finishing the Game was a surprise entrant into the $10,000 club with $11,903 in its lone theater.

For The Bible Tells Me So came within a rounding error of $10,000 with $9,438 in one theater. The Good Night also opened well with an average of $6,189 in two. Kurt Cobain: About a Son earned an average of $5,375 over the weekend in two theaters while it managed $15,184 in total since Wednesday. My Kid Could Paint That opened with a disappointing $26,000 in 8 theaters for an average of $3,286. Weirdsville, which was supposed to open on the fifth till it was pushed back to the 12th in Canada and 19th in the United States, played in one theater over the weekend and earned $2,862. Perhaps a theater got a copy of the movie before it was pushed back and played it by accident? Lastly, Lake of Fire opened with an average of $2,559 in two theaters.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a couple of Per Theater Chart alumni:

  • Jane Austen's Book Club
  • On the other hand, Into the Wild opened in more than 100 theaters while nearly scoring $10,000 per theater. It also topped $1 million before the weekend and $2 million during the weekend.
  • 2 Days in Paris made it to $4 million over the weekend, but that's as far as it will go.
  • In the Valley of Ellah hit $5 million over the weekend, but it has peaked at the box office and will likely start shedding theaters shortly. $5 million is probably not enough for the film to be considered a major player during award season, after all, you can't vote for a film if you haven't seen it.

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Filed under: Michael Clayton, Into the Wild, The Darjeeling Limited, In the Valley of Elah, Se jie, Deux jours à Paris, The Jane Austen Book Club, For the Bible Tells Me So, My Kid Could Paint That, Kurt Cobain: About a Son, Finishing the Game, Lake of Fire, The Good Night, Weirdsville