FRIDAY JULY 8 BOX OFFICE RESULTS

Two comedies open above $20 million this weekend (one at forecast and one slightly below), while Transformers 3 stays at #1 and its ShowBuzzDaily Domestic Final has been upgraded.  However, the weekend as a whole is down significantly from this weekend last year. 

Horrible Bosses opened almost exactly at forecast ($9.9 million Friday for an expected $26.4 million this weekend versus a $26.5 million forecast).  In case you missed them, click here to see this week's Weekend Prediction.  Horrible Bosses film is headed for $92 million in North America when it crosses the finish line, according to the ShowBuzzDaily Domestic Final estimate. See Mitch Salem's review of Horrible Bosses.   

Zookeeper will miss its forecast.  With $7.3 million Friday, the Kevin James movie is expected to reach $20.1 million this weekend, behind the $24 million prediction.  The film is headed for a just-OK $63 million total in North America.  See Mitch Salem's review of Zookeeper.

Click "Read more" to see the complete box office chart.



Transformers 3 should drop 52%, and the film has been upgraded to $382 million, putting it closer to Revenge of the Fallen ($402 million/ 53.9 million tickets sold) than the first Transformers ($319 million/ 46.4 million tickets sold).   

Cars 2 should fall 43% from last weekend, and its domestic gross has been upgraded to $189 million, thanks mostly to decent weekday business.  


July 8-10, 2011         Pre-Wknd    Wknd            Showbuzz
(millions)              Showbuzz    Early   Friday  Domestic
                        Forecast    Proj.   Actual   Final*
Transformers 3  (Par/DW) [$46.5]    $46.8   $14.9     $382+
Horrible Bosses (WB)     [$26.5]    $26.4   $ 9.9     $ 92
Zookeeper (Sony)         [$24  ]    $20.1   $ 7.3     $ 63
Cars 2 (Dis)             [$14  ]    $14.9   $ 4.8     $189+
Bad Teacher (Sony)       [$ 8  ]    $ 8.9   $ 3.0     $104+
Larry Crowne (Uni)       [$ 8  ]    $ 6.4   $ 2.0     $ 40
Super 8 (Par)            [$ 5  ]    $ 4.7   $ 1.5     $136
Monte Carlo (Fox)        [$ 3.5]    $ 4.1   $ 1.5     $ 25
Green Lantern (WB)       [$ 3  ]    $ 3.0   $ 1.0     $116
Mr Popper's Penguins Fox [$ 3  ]    $ 2.9   $ 1.0     $ 69
 
Note: The table above summarizes an early look at the weekend.  The first column is reminder of each film's ShowbuzzDaily Forecast for the weekend (in brackets).  The second column, on which the films are sorted, displays the new weekend projection for each film, based on the Friday numbers (the third column).  The final column is a preliminary estimate of the ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Total number for the film's total run in North America.  A "++" indicates the Domestic number has been upgraded; a "--" indicates a downgrade. 

Limited Releases

The Sony Classics documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life will average a great $40,060 this weekend at 4 theaters. 

Total Box Office Volume

The Top 12 Films this weekend are looking like $144 million total, down a severe 22% from the same calendar weekend last year when Despicable Me and Predators opened.  

Top 12 Films: Weekend #27

     Volume
     (millions)
2011  $144  (-10% vs 2007-10 average; -22% vs 2010) 

2007-10
Avg   $159 
            Movies Opening That Weekend
2010  $184  Despicable Me $56, Predators $25    
2009  $135  Bruno $31, I Love You Beth Cooper $5
2008  $144  Hellboy II $34, Journey Center Earth $21
2007  $172  Harry Potter Order Phoenix $77
 
Next Weekend

Opening next week are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 from Warner Brothers and Winnie the Pooh from Disney.  Those movies will be compared to Inception ($63 million opening weekend) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice ($18 million), making next weekend easily an up weekend versus 2010 (the first in four weeks). 

Look for updates of the weekend box office on Sunday, based on the Saturday actual numbers.