Weekend Estimates: Devil Inside Scores Surprise Win
January 8, 2012
The Devil Inside came out of nowhere to win this weekend's race at the box office, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Its $34.5 million debut is well ahead of expectations and will likely place it second or third on the list of all-time January opening weekends when final numbers are released on Monday. (See full list of January record weekends.) This performance is a welcome boost to overall business, which is coming off a disappointing 2011. Total box office for the weekend should be about 30% up from this weekend last year.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol didn't manage a third weekend win, but will be down just 30% from New Year's weekend with $20.5 million and has now passed $170 million in receipts. $200 million should be a formality from here. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will be down just 23% in fourth place with $11.4 million, and has a good shot at topping $100 million domestically.
Expanding into 809 theater, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is predicted to earn about $5.8 million, which will be enough for 9th place. Its $7,120 per theater average suggests that it could expand wider yet. Three other limited releases also show the kind of business that would support an expansion: The Iron Lady will average about $34,420 in five theaters, A Separation and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are both headed for about $16,000 in six venues. All four films will be hoping to turn box office buzz into Awards Season momentum in the coming weeks.
Bruce Nash bruce.nash@the-numbers.com
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Iron Lady, Jodaeiye Nader az Simin, The Devil Inside