The Monster takes a bite out of the Big Apple in CLOVERFIELD(2008).
© Paramount
CLOVERFIELD Monster Attacks January Records
By: Jarrod Sarafin, News EditorDate: Sunday, January 20, 2008
In the final thoughts of last weekend’s box office report, I put up the January-opening record holder as only being 35 million, which clearly seemed ripe for the taking. Seven days later, we have a new January-record holder, a new MLK holiday record holder and a new monster franchise…
After 8 months of countless television spots, teasers, interviews and viral marketing, Paramount has officially cashed in on its new monster franchise Cloverfield by taking 41.0 mil over the first 3 days of the 4-day weekend. The studio opened the film on 3,411 theaters so this points to an impressive average per showing rate of $12,019. When you consider its running time at only 84 minutes, meaning there’s most likely 6-7 showings per day, these kinds of numbers are impressive. The budget for the film sits at just 25 million so this is clearly a profitable venture for the studio. By the end of the 4 day holiday, the domestic gross alone will be at twice its listed price tag. When you consider the 20-25 million for marketing attached on top of it, Paramount will be dead even after only 4 days of release, which leaves the rest of its domestic release and its international run solely for the profit margins.
Previous record holder for the MLK holiday was Black Hawk Down, which grabbed only 33.6 mil over a 4-day span. Previous record holder for January opener was Star Wars: Special Edition taking in 35.9 mil.
The creature-feature wasn’t the only one with impressive numbers this weekend. Fox’s 27 Dresses may not have had a chance at capturing first but it clearly took advantage at being an alternative choice for audiences. The film grabbed 22.4 mil on 3,057 theaters across the nation, which has its average per showing at a respectable $7,336. Fox didn’t release a budget for the film but it’s not likely too high, which marks this as a successful debut.
Following in 3rd place is last week’s champion, The Bucket List from Warner Bros. The Freeman-Nicholson team pulled in another 15.1 mil in its second week, which has its total domestic run at 42.7 mil. When you consider that the budget is only 45 mil, this is yet another success for WB as well.
Juno continues to hold steady and pull in strong numbers even entering its seventh week of release. The film lands in 4th place this weekend by tallying another 10.2 mil in cash on its 2,534 theaters. It has only another 14 mil to go before it hits the 100 mil mark for Fox.
Meanwhile, Disney’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets will hit the 200 mil mark sometime tomorrow, a clear selling point that the franchise will continue. This week, it landed in 5th place, digging up another 8.1 mil in receipts. In its fifth week of release, the film only dropped 27.9% from its previous weekend totals. Internationally, it has another 127.0 mil in cash which has its worldwide gross at 325.0 mil.
The largest percent drop for this weekend is First Sunday, which had 56% less sales in its second week of release. The Sony Screen Gems film pulled in another 7.8 mil, landing in 6th place for this box office report. Large drop or not, it’s hard to say whether this film is a failure or a success since no budget is released for it. I’d say it’s about par because Screen Gems has a habit of keeping their budgets very low and the film has 28.4 mil in 10 days of release. It will end up as a profitable venture for the studio.
Time to talk about the last film to debut this weekend, Overture’s Mad Money. The crime-comedy opened up this weekend in 7th place by pulling in only 7.7 mil in change. That may seem a good set of numbers for a gambler (777) but it’s very hard to see anything positive worth saying from an analysis perspective.
Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks follows behind in 8th place, taking in another 7.0 million in receipts over the last three days. I mentioned above how NT2 will hit the 200 mil mark tomorrow? Well, Fox is doing the very same most likely with this film by Monday night or Tuesday afternoon. The studio only shelled out 65 mil to create this flick and totaled 196.3 mil here in the states. It also has another 81.7 in overseas sales. Yep, a worldwide gross 278.1 million and a budget of only 65. Fox executives are singing right along with their chipmunks.
Which brings us to yet another monster hit…WB’s I Am Legend. Like NT2 and Alvin, this was another blockbuster for the studio. Both Legend and Alvin have been on the market for 6 weeks and each week, they stay side-by-side in the box office report by pulling in steady-strong numbers. This weekend, it grabbed another 5.1 mil on its 2,525 theaters. It has 247.6 mil domestically and another 221.4 from overseas. Hard to say whether it will hit the 500 mil mark worldwide because WB has begun pulling its theaters but 469.2 million is what it is…
Atonement loves that 10th place. For weeks, it has stayed consistently in the final spot and this weekend is no different. Focus expanded it on 341 more theaters this week and it pulled in another 4.7 mil in its seventh week of release. It has a domestic gross of 31.8 mil.
| Rank | Movie | Weekend $ | Theaters | Average | Total $ | Budget | Week |
| 1 | Cloverfield | 41.0 mil | 3,411 | $12,019 | 41.0 mil | 25 | 1 |
| 2 | 27 Dresses | 22.4 mil | 3,057 | $7,336 | 22.4 mil | - | 1 |
| 3 | The Bucket List | 15.1 mil | 2,915 | $5,197 | 42.7 mil | 45 | 4 |
| 4 | Juno | 10.2 mil | 2,534 | $4,044 | 85.3 mil | - | 7 |
| 5 | National Treasure: Book of Secrets | 8.1 mil | 2,963 | $2,749 | 198.0 mil | - | 5 |
| 6 | First Sunday | 7.8 mil | 2,213 | $3,524 | 28.4 mil | - | 2 |
| 7 | Mad Money | 7.7 mil | 2,470 | $3,117 | 7.7 mil | - | 1 |
| 8 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | 7.0 mil | 2,962 | $2,363 | 196.3 mil | 60 | 6 |
| 9 | I Am Legend | 5.1 mil | 2,525 | $2,021 | 247.6 mil | - | 6 |
| 10 | Atonement | 4.7 mil | 1,291 | $3,686 | 31.8 mil | - | 7 |
Friday January 25, 2008 Releases:
Wide Releases
Rambo (2,800+ theaters)
Meet the Spartans (2,600 theaters)
Untraceable (2,300 theaters)
How She Move (1,500 theaters)
Limited Releases
The Air I Breathe
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days
U2 3D
Expanding Releases
Michael Clayton (1,000 theaters)
No Country for Old Men (1,500 theaters)
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Cloverfield Manga: Last Minute Hype
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HEROES & CLOVERFIELD Cross Over
(Wednesday, November 21, 2007)
New CLOVERFIELD Site Online
(Wednesday, July 4, 2007)
J.J Abram's CLOVERFIELD Update
(Friday, June 29, 2007)
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Why didn't you mention how it dropped on Sat? honestly, I do not see the profit! With SOOOOO much Viral and ads for this film, it had to a lot more than this. I do grant that they used cheapo cameras compared to Studio Cameras, but still. LOL. Yeah....no politics here!