Tyler Perry and Michael Jai White are successful in TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED? (2007)
© Lionsgate
TYLER PERRY Shows Strength in Debut
By: Jarrod Sarafin, News EditorDate: Sunday, October 14, 2007
A lot of predictions were set that this would be a slow weekend due to moderate new debuts and from what it looks like, we were right on every count except one. We did not factor in the growing clout of Tyler Perry inside and outside Hollywood. We know that his producing credits continue to grow inside television and studio projects. We saw how his first film, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion, opened up to an amazing debut Feb 24, 2006 grossing 30.0 million and shocking analysis around the industry. The film itself would be quite a success for the producer. It had a budget of only 6 mil and went onto gross 63.2 mil in the states. So, why wasn’t his this film predicted in the top spot? Well, his second film didn’t perform up to expectations this week, at least not in the same vein as his original “Family” film. Tyler’s Daddy’s Little Girls would only gross 36 mil in the box office from this last spring and while is this is moderately well on a low budget, it’s clear it wasn’t as good a b.o success as his original.
His latest debut was only opening in 2,011 theaters this weekend so insiders stuck to the bigger releases, Michael Clayton (2,511), We Own The Night (2,362), The Heartbreak Kid (3,233) & The Game Plan (3,128). All this competition in wider releases and Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married still came out on top for the weekend pulling in 21.5 million in just 2,011 theaters. These kinds of numbers show a very respectable average of $10,691 per showing, an average higher then some major tentpole releases during the summer season. As I say, Tyler Perry’s producing power just notched another success into his resume.
Landing in 2nd place is the former reigning champion, The Game Plan, the football-related family film which has successfully pushed over more serious fare like the above mentioned Clayton, Night and newcomer Elizabeth sequel. Dwayne Johnson’s latest film took another 11.5 million this weekend which has its total domestic reach at 59.4 million in three weeks of release, a very good number compared to the October expectations. This film has been a clear success while others around it have flopped miserably (see The Seeker).
Following in 3rd place is the expanding drama from George Clooney, Michael Clayton. The WB handled film was introduced into 2,496 more theaters this weekend but ended up grossing only 11.0 million in cash. With his previous limited release, it has a domestic gross of 12.0 million.
Hitting 4th place this weekend, the drama We Own The Night, starring Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, debuted with only 11.0 mil in 2,362 theaters across the states. Not a bad average for this kind of moderate theater release but all one has to do is look at the advertising for this film and look at the average which Tyler Perry just did with 350 less theaters to see it didn’t perform up to expectations for Sony.
Another unsuccessful October release for 2007 is the 5th place film, Ben Stiller’s The Heartbreak Kid. This movie has 3,233 theaters in its release, the widest of all the other Oct releases, yet it has only 26.0 mil to show for its prints. The film took in only 7.4 mil averaging only $2,296 per showing.
The last debut for the weekend is the sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, opening up for Universal with only 6.1 million in box office receipts. The second installment of a “planned” trilogy featuring the last Tudor , last living daughter of the head chopping Henry VIII, had an average of $3,089 but again…All one has to do is look at Tyler Perry’s WDIGM debut, a film opening in the exact same amount of theaters, 2,011 theaters. It seems clear that Elizabeth didn’t perform up to expectations. Unfortunately for Universal, this isn’t the only October film for them not performing up to par.
The other Universal film, The Kingdom, follows right behind in 7th place pulling in only 4.5 million this weekend in 2,836 theaters. The Saudi related thriller may have opened in limited release and had positive reviews but it has grossed only 39.9 million in three weeks of release, not a very good theater release for a 70 million budgeted film. Perhaps, it could have been better marketed from Universal but that plan didn’t fare so well with the latest drama, We Own the Night.
Sony Revolution’s Across the Universe continued a great theater run for a “limited” released film. This weekend, it took in another 4.0 million in 954 theaters across the nation averaging a respectable $4,192 per showing.
Following behind in 9th place is Resident Evil: Extinction which is now dropping like a stone as Screen Gems begins to pull it out of theaters. The studio pulled it out of 600 theaters this weekend while the film pulled in another 2.6 million. It dropped from 4th place (last week) to 9th while getting pulled from some theater houses across the country. It has a domestic gross of 48.0 million in 4 weeks of release and another 29.5 million from oversea numbers. This has its worldwide gross at 77.5 million.
Landing in last place this weekend is the clear Fox flop and Walden Media produced fantasy, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. It opened up, in fifth place, a debut with horrible numbers last weekend pulling in only 5 million in 3,173 theaters. This weekend, it dropped to 10th place pulling in only another 2.1 million. We can’t gauge how much a failure this is since no budget is given but grossing only 7.1 million before hitting the 10th place doesn’t look too good for Fox. It’s likely to be out of the top 10 altogether next week.
| Rank | Movie | Weekend $ | Theaters | Average | Total $ | Week # |
| 1 | Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married | 21.5 mil | 2,011 | $10,691 | 21.5 mil | 1 |
| 2 | The Game Plan | 11.5 mil | 3,128 | $3,678 | 59.4 mil | 3 |
| 3 | Michael Clayton | 11.0 mil | 2,511 | $4,384 | 12.0 mil | 2 |
| 4 | We Own the Night | 11.0 mil | 2,362 | $4,657 | 11.0 mil | 1 |
| 5 | The Heartbreak Kid | 7.4 mil | 3,233 | $2,296 | 26.0 mil | 2 |
| 6 | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | 6.1 mil | 2,001 | $3,089 | 6.1 mil | 1 |
| 7 | The Kingdom | 4.5 mil | 2,836 | $1,610 | 39.9 mil | 3 |
| 8 | Across the Universe | 4.0 mil | 954 | $4,192 | 12.9 mil | 5 |
| 9 | Resident Evil: Extinction | 2.6 mil | 2,249 | $1,178 | 48.0 mil | 4 |
| 10 | The Seeker: The Dark is Rising | 2.1 mil | 3,173 | $677 | 7.1 mil | 2 |
Overall, the month of October isn’t faring as well as September for studios. Two films, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married & The Game Plan, have performed very well while everything else around it either flopped or performed mediocre. The month is over now that Halloween is fast approaching.
Will the horror films gain speed over the coming weeks proving this to be a successful month in the end? Sony didn’t get what it wanted this weekend with We Own The Night? Will Sony fare any better with next weekend’s 30 Days of Night? That’s honestly hard to see with so many new wide releases next weekend as you will see in a second. If Saw IV does well over the holiday weekend, it’s clear that Lionsgate is the clear winner for October 2007. No doubt about it, they were successful with Tyler Perry’s WDIGM. Will their success hold with the next Saw release?
We shall see in a few more weeks…
Friday October 19, 2007 Releases:
Wide Releases
The Comebacks (2,800 Theaters)
30 Days of Night (2,700 Theaters)
Rendition (2,200 Theaters)
Gone Baby Gone (1,500 Theaters)
Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour (1,100 Theaters)
Things We Lost in the Fire (1,000 Theaters)
Limited Releases
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D (500 Theaters)
Reservation Road
Out of the Blue
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Weirdsville
There are many films out there that are trying to be considered for the Oscars. Many of these films, however, are very tough sells to the public. I heard many critics praising "Michael Clayton" but its cynical subject matter does not make me want to run out and see it. It may be a great movie but I'll catch it on video. That may be the problem with this year's possible Oscar nominees. Many of the films out there have been dark and not my idea of entertainment when going to a movie on a Friday night.