The god of thunder first graced us with his presence in 2011 and we offered up $65 million in tribute to his mightiness in just one weekend. Total honorifics amounted to $181 million, despite the fact that Asgardians have no use of human money. Apparently he enjoyed his time on Earth and is returning again this weekend. I have no doubt that humans around the world will be lining up to offer more sacrifices to the mighty Thor, though I fear we may risk bringing his wrath upon ourselves if our offerings don't exceed those from his last visit. At least $80 million should please him nicely, for now.
Along with topping most people's (including my own) Oscar prediction lists, Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave has grossed around $10 million so far in limited release. The film has ridden a wave of great word of mouth, helping it double its grosses each of its three weekends in release. Following that formula, the film should bring in another $10 million this weekend.
Richard Curtis' About Time opened last weekend to a decent $1 million. Its per theater average was about $6,000, which is lower than I expected. This weekend the time traveling romantic comedy expands nationwide and looks to improve its fortune, but the two films mentioned above may hurt its prospects. I do acknowledge that this will be the best option for anyone seeking a romantic comedy, however any hype for the film has been easily overpowered. A similar per theater average for this weekend should bring in around $7.5 million.
I think it's interesting that Fox decided to test the waters for The Book Thief in a limited opening this weekend rather than going all in and trying to compete with Thor. Hopefully the strategy will pay off and word of mouth will carry the film into a successful nationwide expansion. Fox hasn't yet scheduled that expansion though, which makes me think they're planning a more gradual roll out. That also shows that they expect a softer opening with the hope that the film will build good word of mouth up to its nationwide expansion. $200,000 from four theaters would make for a promising opening.
Saoirse Ronan stars in an action thriller directed by an esteemed director. That formula worked for Hanna and I expect it to work again for How I Live Now under the direction of Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (for his documentary One Day in September). He's probably best known for The Last King of Scotland, State of Play, and The Eagle, though none of those were big hits at the domestic box office. Scotland debuted in four theaters and earned $142,899, and I have similar expectations for How I Live Now.
Also opening this weekend:
The Armstrong Lie - five theaters;
At Berkeley;
Best Man Down;
A Case of You - one theater;
Finding Mr. Right - three theaters;
The Ghosts In Our Machine;
Go For Sisters - two theaters;
Great Expectations;
Paris Countdown;
People of a Feather;
Reaching for the Moon;
The Starving Games - ten theaters.
Tune in next weekend to see if The Best Man Holiday can flourish now that Leo's film isn't overshadowing it, plus Nebraska and holiday film The Christmas Candle opening in limited release.
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