Weekend Wrap-Up: Texas Messes With Holdovers

January 7, 2013

There was a pleasant surprise during the first weekend of 2013, as Texas Chainsaw 3D opened in first place with more than $20 million. Django Unchained also beat that milestone. The overall box office still fell from last weekend, down 18% to $147 million, but this is to be expected for a post-holiday weekend. It was 5.9% higher than the same weekend last year and 2013 is off to an early lead over 2012 at $253 million to $191 million. Hopefully I don't have to tell you it is way too early to pay serious attention to those numbers, but it is better to win early than fall behind.

It turns out the optimists were right and Texas Chainsaw 3D earned first place with $21.74 million. This is more than double its reported production budget, so the studio has already recouped enough to pay for that; however, they likely spent more than $20 million on advertising, so it will need to make more to break even. Its reviews won't help, nor will its internal multiplier. That said, it should earn a profit by the home market, even if it collapses next weekend.

Django Unchained remained in second place with $20.01 million over the weekend for a total of $106.28 million after two. This is only the third film by Quentin Tarantino to reach the century mark, and by this time next week, it will be the biggest hit in his career.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey fell from first to third with $17.55 million over the weekend for a running tally of $263.83 million. I think it will do well enough to reach $300 million, assuming the studio gives it a little help at the end. A couple of Oscar nominations / wins will make that happen.

Les Miserables cracked $100 million over the weekend after pulling in $16.02 million over the past three days. It now has $103.50 million after thirteen days of release and assuming it continues to pick up major nominations, and if it can add a few wins, it will reach $150 million with ease. It reportedly only cost $61 million to make, which is low for an epic film like this. If these reports are true, then the film has already covered its production budget and it should have no trouble breaking even before the home market. It might even break even just on its domestic numbers, but it will need a lot of Oscar glory to get there.

Parental Guidance was on the high end of expectations with $9.70 million over the weekend for a total of $52.34 million after two. At this pace, $75 million is a good goal, which should be enough to break even sooner rather than later.

Promised Land barely reached the top ten with $4.05 million during its first weekend in wide release. Adding in its limited release run and the film has a total of $4.40 million. This is (nearly) perfectly inline with predictions, but that's damning it with faint praise. Its reviews are weak, as is its per theater average, so I expect it to fade away soon.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Promised Land, Django Unchained, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Les Misérables, Parental Guidance, Quentin Tarantino