Weekend Estimates: Chihuahua Still Champ as Openers Falter

October 12, 2008



Beverly Hills Chihuahua came out on top on another weekend where new releases failed to gain significant traction. Disney's family movie earned an estimated $17.5 million, a fall of 40% from its opening, and passed $50 million after two weekends in theaters. The big surprise of the weekend was Quarantine, which won the day on Friday and finished with an estimated $14.2 million. Body of Lies was a big disappointment, earning just $13.1 million to finish 3rd. That, however, was good compared to the weekend's other openers.

Overall, the weekend looks like it will beat last year by about 6%. Given the current state of the economy, that's an encouraging sign (as is impressive opening sales numbers for Iron Man on DVD and Blu-ray). Growth is being driven more by the number of new releases than the strong performance of any individual movie -- whether that's good or bad probably depends on one's perspective. Certainly, executives at Universal and Fox won't be feeling happy today. U's inspirational sports movie, The Express mustered only $4.7 million over its opening weekend, while Fox's City of Ember turned in just $3.2 million, and may find itself outside the top ten once full figures are published.

This week's wide expansion, The Duchess fared a little better, earning an estimated $3.3 million. A per theater average of $2,750 suggests that it won't expand much further, however.

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Body of Lies, Quarantine, The Duchess, The Express, City of Ember