Movie Box Review

Early numbers for Friday and Saturday suggest that the first day, at least, of Hurricane Irene didn't do enormous damage to the boxoffice.  Deadline reports that THE HELP had a healthy Friday-to-Saturday bump of 38%, on its way to a $14.5M weekend which would be only $1M below Mitch Metcalf's pre-storm weekend prediction.  Similarly, holdovers RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and SPY KIDS look to be within around $500K of their weekend projections.  

Of the newcomers, COLOMBIANA held steady from Friday to Saturday, and seems to be headed for just about its $10M projection.  DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and OUR IDIOT BROTHER, though, are underperforming significantly, with respectively around $9M compared to its $11.5M projection, and $6M compared to a projected $9.5M--however, those pictures also got dreadful C- and C+ scores in exit polls, so their dismal returns may have as much to do with bad word of mouth as with wind and rain.  

As of this writing, the worst of the storm is still several hours away from the NY area, so Irene's effect on Sunday grosses may be more serious.  Stay with SHOWBUZZDAILY for all the weekend numbers, and look for Mitch Metcalf's boxoffice analysis on Sunday morning.

UPDATE:  The Reporter has some early Friday numbers, and the storm's effect can already be seen at the boxoffice.  THE HELP seems likely to win the weekend as expected, but with a lower-than anticipated $12-13M.  COLOMBIANA was in second on Friday, heading for a weekend of perhaps $10M.  DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK and RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES could follow with around $8M each, slightly ahead of OUR IDIOT BROTHER with about $7M.  Of course, extrapolations of Friday numbers to the weekend are more difficult than usual because of the uncertainty surrounding Hurricane Irene, so those numbers may well shift as the weekend continues.



The effect of Hurricane Irene on movie boxoffice this weekend is, of course, the least of the devastation the storm could cause.  Nevertheless, several Hollywood studios seem likely to be part of the collateral damage over the next few days.  The Hollywood Reporter says that Clearview Cinemas is shutting all its theatres (which cover the Philadelphia to NY area, including Manhattan's flagship Ziegfeld Theatre) for the weekend, while AMC will be closed in the Virginia, Baltimore and DC areas on Saturday, and additional closings on Sunday may well follow the storm as it moves north.  Regal Cinemas, the largest chain in the country, is also considering closings.  

One estimate has the boxoffice declining 10-20% for the weekend due to the storm.  Hardest hit will be Sony, The Weinstein Company and FilmDistrict, with their openings of Colombiana, Our Idiot Brother and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, respectively (those numbers were expected to be weak anyway--see Mitch Metcalf's weekend boxoffice predictions); the holdover business for Dreamworks/Disney's The Help, which was expected to win the weekend, will also likely be affected.

Stay with SHOWBUZZDAILY all weekend for updates about the weekend boxoffice and how it's being affected by Irene.