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Weekend 24th - 27th July 2003
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Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines surprised everyone last weekend with what was a truly powerful opening, however its performance
through weekend number two caught few unaware. The third in the futuristic series about mankind’s battle for survival over the machines
malfunctioned by 58%. Of course, being the sci-fi film that it is, Rise of The Machines was always going to have its huge fan base
greet the film through its opening frame, and with the absence of any holiday period, a large decline was always going to be expected.
While the decline is similar to other recent sci-fi films of the last year with X2 off 55% and The Two Towers down 56%,
Rise of The Machines' 28th best second weekend take holds the highest depreciation mark of any film
to still collect over $3 million in its second weekend, indicating fast burn from its 10th best debut last weekend. After 11 days of play,
Rise of The Machines has collected a handy $12.33 million.
Although last weekend Rise of The Machines opened with similar power to that of 1996's Independence Day, the film has since
lost ground, standing 13.5% behind after two weeks, down from the 5.1% weaker opening, although Rise of The Machines wasn't expected
to be able to match the Will Smith starers holding power. Perhaps the film Rise of The Machines' performance has the best chance of
matching is the 2000 bloated opener Mission: Impossible 2. The Tom Cruise film opened with a million less than Rise of The
Machines, but had a holiday weekend in its second meaning that Rise of The Machines' lead has been cut from 14.2% better last
weekend to a 5.6% deficit this weekend. M:I2 went on to collect $22.47 million in Australia, next weekend will tell us if T3
has a chance of reaching the $20 million mark in Australia. Rise of The Machines should be able to pass the $14.64 million final of
Terminator 2 by the close of this coming weekend.
Compared to the U.S. pace, Rise of The Machines is tracking 11.8% ahead* in Australia after the close of its second weekend.
Although last weekend the opening was 66% better*, the mid-week opening gave the U.S. pace an advantage, although Australia was still 1%
ahead*. The second weekend itself in Australia was 59.2% better* than the second weekend in the U.S., allowing for that overall increase.
Although T3 was off by a similar 56% in its second weekend in the U.S., it was the higher Australian opening weekend frame that
allowed a higher second weekend in Australia, despite the similar rate of depreciation.
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Although the depreciation was large, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle managed to again hold off an implosion in ticket sales, down
48% in its fourth weekend. Cameron, Lucy and Drew Netted another $0.91 million for Charlie through the weekend, raising their total to
a very honest $16.89 million. As far as sequel's without a script goes, it has done very well, along the lines of Men In Black II
and The Mummy Returns. Of the latter example, it was able to eventually outdo it's predecessor, something Full Throttle
still has a chance to do.
Last weekend Full Throttle was sitting 40% ahead of where Charlie's Angels was after three weeks, after four, Full
Throttle has lost some ground, although is still comfortably ahead by 28.5%. In 2000, Charlie's Angels collected $1.19 million
through its fourth weekend, in fourth place behind two new openers, although its decline was a much healthier 34%. Charlie's Angels
made another $5.5 million from here until close, thanks in part to the Christmas and New Years breaks. This is a boost that Full
Throttle will be lacking, although it only needs to make $2 million more to pass Charlie's Angels' $18.7 million final.
After four weeks, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is tracking 89.3% better* than the U.S. pace, pretty much on par with the 90% lead
it has last weekend. The film was off by a similar 47% in its fourth in the U.S., although the fourth weekend itself was 139.3% better*.
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From the six new openers to score a place in the top 20 this weekend, it was Bad Eggs who was able to make it into the top five.
The Australian comedy starring former D-Gen funny man Mick Molloy and Director Tony Martin follows two detectives from the zero-tolerance
unit who are demoted to beat cops after a series of accidents. The film had been promoted well, so awareness of the film wasn't a problem,
however it seems that people wanting to see the film were in short supply as it opened with a very soft $0.64 million. While most local
comedies do struggle to be break out hits in Australia, those starring well known identities usually find an opening of around $1 to $1.5
million and go on to see decant holding power. Bad Eggs' 172 screens meant that there was plenty of market access for the film,
but its poor $3,754 average reflects greatly on how audiences weren't exactly filling seats.
Why then did last year's Crackerjack, also starring Molloy, and films like The Wog Boy and The Man Who Sued God
become hits, but films like The Nugget and Bad Eggs fall short? You wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was the films title
at fault, but it does appear Wog Boy and The Man Who Sued God had some sort of concept behind them that made them interesting
to a large part of its audience, combined with a well-known comedian in the part. Perhaps the general public just smelled a bad film? That
certainly justifies why The Nugget didn't succeed. In the case of Bad Eggs, was it's lower than expected opening a reflection
of negative feelings left over from Crackerjack or have people had enough of Mr Molloy for now? Almost all of these films have one
basic thing in common, the underdog, usually all to common, rising up to overcome odds of some sort and stick it to the man. That is what
we like, isn't it? Perhaps a new concept would be welcome from the Australian public in Australian produced films, but we will probably
never find out.
The opening for Bad Eggs is a little lower than the $0.82 million of last years The Hard Word, which collected $2.92
million, but is a little higher than the $0.5 million opening of 2001's Bootmen, which collected a similar $2.71 million. Bad
Eggs is likely to go on to have a little better holding power and finish with something around the $3.3 million mark that The Sum
of Us collected in 1994.
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Bruce Almighty managed to jump back ahead of the hell bound Daddy Day Care in its sixth weekend after having to spend two
weeks caught in its slipstream. Collecting $0.53 million, the Jim Carrey comedy was off 49% for an almost heavenly $19.3 million.
Bruce Almighty should be able to skip across the $20 million mark this coming weekend and is set to pass the $20.08 million of
The Mask in the same amount of time. However, the $21.11 million of Liar Liar looks to be out of the good lord's reach.
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The aforementioned Daddy Day Care saw its takings get sliced by a massive 70% to $390K million, in reflection of a holiday period
that was kinder to the picture than should be allowed. The Eddie Murphy pic has collected a monumental $14 million and should see its
takings trickle up to $14.7 million or so.
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The top 20 films collected $7.76 million over the weekend, down a huge 47.2% from last weekend, but down only 7.4% from this weekend a year
ago when the end of the school holidays also saw the weekend take slump, by 36%. Back then the round was headed by a good $1.1 million
opening for the shocker The Sweetest Thing, ahead of the $0.87 million second try from Dirty Deeds. The weekend was down
by a larger 30.8% on this weekend from two years ago when Bridget Jones's Diary opened on top with a handy $3.92 million, ahead
of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within which collected a very good $2.18 million.
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Weekend Coming 31st July - 3rd August 2003
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Of the new films opening this weekend, the thriller Identity will be drawing the most interest. Starring John Cusack and Ray Liotta,
the film follows 10 travellers who turn up stranded at an old Nevada desert motel after a rainstorm cuts the roads and communication.
Directed by James Mangold, (Girl, Interrupted, Kate and Leopold), the travellers begin to realise they have a connection
to each other as they begin to die one by one. Released by Sony in the U.S., the film has done well both commercially and critically.
Opening in April with a very decent $US16.2 million, the modestly budgeted $US28 million film saw modest holding power, but for a film in
this category its 40% deline average is considered fine. Towards the end of its run it has collected close to $US52 million. As far as
John Cusack films go, its very similar to his 2001 mainstream effort Serendipity which collected $US50.3 million, but exceeds his
more alternative films such as the $US27.3 million of 2000's High Fidelity and the $US22.8 million of Being John Malkovich.
The film has been given a fair slice of promotion in Australia, even if by it some people were confused when it was indicated the film was
playing last weekend. Aside from that, these type of thriller almost always under-perform in Australia compared to what they achieve* in the
the U.S. John Cusack himself isn't known as a drawcard in Australia, and it takes a good film for people to get out and see it.
Serendipity opened in Australia in 2002 with a decent $1.2 million, on its way to a good $5.34 million, although its doubtful anyone
who saw it remembers it. Malkovich opened in December of 1999 with $291k, going to generate a great $3.15 million. Identity
is coming at a time when films like Road To Perdition, The Sweetest Thing and The Animal go on to be decent
successes after the end of a holiday period. Identity is the last true horror film since Kangaroo Jack, and before that
Dreamcatcher in early April. Identity should be able capitalise this weekend and open with $1.4 million.
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* Based on a US index of 10/1 with currency, ticket prices, population and cinema visits per head.
^ Based on a UK index of 2.1/1 with currency, ticket prices, population and cinema visits per head. |
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