In what has to be considered a box office lull before the storm of holiday movies hits full force next weekend, Hollywood still managed a modest win as the total of the top 12 films was up 7.6% versus the same frame last year.  However it should be noted that this is a very fallow time for moviegoing--this weekend’s top 12 total of $73 million was the third lowest such total of 2012 so far.  In a rare box office feat Sam Mendes’ Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond movie, took over the top spot during its fifth weekend of release thanks to a modest estimated tally of $11 million. 
 
Skyfall is obliterating all previous box office records for the Bond franchise.  With a current worldwide total in the neighborhood of $918 million, it appears a sure thing that Skyfall will become the first billion dollar Bond film. Domestically it should end up with nearly $300 million compared with the previous franchise high of $168.4 million.
 

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): December 7-9, 2012

 

Film

Weekend Gross

Screens

Avg./

Screen

Total Gross

Wk#

1

Skyfall

$11,000,000

3,401

$3,234

$261,620,000

5

2

Rise of the Guardians

$10,540,000

3,639

$2,896

$61,914,000

3

3

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

$9,200,000

3,646

$2,523

$268,735,000

4

4

Lincoln

$9,115,000

2,014

$4,526

$97,335,000

5

5

Life of Pi

$8,300,000

2,946

$2,817

$60,918,000

3

6

Playing for Keeps

$6,000,000

2,837

$2,115

$6,000,000

1

7

Wreck-It Ralph

$4,904,000

2,746

$1,786

$164,448,000

6

8

Red Dawn

$4,261,000

2,754

$1,547

$37,265,000

3

9

Flight

$3,130,000

2,431

$1,288

$86,202,000

6

10

Killing Them Softly

$2,748,000

2,424

$1,134

$11,772,000

2

 
Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians was a very close second with an estimated $10.4 million, which represents a miniscule drop of just over 21% in its third weekend.  The holiday-themed animated feature should continue to do well as the holidays approach, but its slow start means that it is unlikely to make more than $100 million domestically, and will probably have to recoup part of its $145 million cost on DVD during the next holiday season.
 
Rise of the Guardians was followed closely by The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, with an estimated $9.2 million, which was just a nose ahead of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, which continues to attract older viewers.  Lincoln has now amassed $97.4 million and should easily surpass Ben Affleck’s Argo for domestic box office supremacy among the top Oscar contenders.
 
Ang Lee’s Life of Pi stayed in fifth place for the third consecutive weekend.  It dropped just 32%, and while its domestic total of $60.1 million trails Lincoln by a lot, Life of Pi has done very well overseas.  With a worldwide total of $166 million, Life of Pi would appear to be the best bet to become the global box office champ among the films with the most Oscar prospects.
 
Only one film had the temerity to open a week before the first Hobbit movie.  The Gerard Butler soccer stud rom com Playing for Keeps bombed.  It debuted in sixth place with a pitiful per theater average of just $2,115.  With a ridiculously bad critical rating of just 2% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, Playing for Keeps would appear to have slim prospects, but the movie did manage to earn a "not bad" "B+" CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences, which were 58% female and older, with 74% over 25.
 
The Brad Pitt art noir film Killing Them Softly, which bombed in its debut last weekend fell 60% and ended up in tenth place with an estimated total of just $2.7 million.  It looks like this adaptation of a George V. Higgins novel will have to find its audience on DVD, if at all (though it has definite “cult hit” potential).
 
Check back next week to find out the box office fate of Peter Jackson’s first Hobbit film, one of the key releases of 2012.