The robot-fighting action film Real Steel, which stars Hugh Jackman, topped the Columbus Day weekend box office with an estimated total of $27.3 million. The $110 million film didn’t have a huge opening, though it posted the third best Columbus Day bow ever and scored well with its audience earning an “A” CinemaScore, which should translate to some additional success over the coming weeks.
The prospects of the political thriller The Ides of March, which earned an estimated $10.4 million, are considerably murkier. Though it scored with the critics, earning an 82% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the George Clooney/Ryan Gosling starring film could only manage a “B” CinemaScore from its opening weekend audience. Thanks to fairly strong performances from the top holdovers, the overall box office of the top ten films was up 3% from the same weekend last year when The Social Network remained in the top spot for its second week.
The prospects of the political thriller The Ides of March, which earned an estimated $10.4 million, are considerably murkier. Though it scored with the critics, earning an 82% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the George Clooney/Ryan Gosling starring film could only manage a “B” CinemaScore from its opening weekend audience. Thanks to fairly strong performances from the top holdovers, the overall box office of the top ten films was up 3% from the same weekend last year when The Social Network remained in the top spot for its second week.
| Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): October 7 - 9, 2011 | ||||||
|
| Film | Weekend Gross | Screens | Avg./ Screen | Total Gross | Wk# |
| 1 | Real Steel | $27,300,000 | 3,440 | $7,936 | $27,300,000 | 1 |
| 2 | The Ides of March | $10,400,000 | 2,199 | $4,729 | $10,400,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Dolphin Tale | $9,160,000 | 3,478 | $2,634 | $49,070,000 | 3 |
| 4 | Moneyball | $7,500,000 | 3,018 | $2,485 | $49,253,000 | 3 |
| 5 | 50/50 | $5,500,000 | 2,479 | $2,219 | $17,300,000 | 2 |
| 6 | Courageous | $4,600,000 | 1,161 | $3,962 | $15,892,000 | 2 |
| 7 | The Lion King (in 3D) | $4,552,000 | 2,267 | $2,008 | $85,962,000 | 4 |
| 8 | Dream House | $4,500,000 | 2,664 | $1,689 | $14,500,000 | 2 |
| 9 | What's Your Number? | $3,050,000 | 3,011 | $1,013 | $10,306,000 | 2 |
| 10 | Abduction | $2,900,000 | 2,591 | $1,119 | $23,369,000 | 3 |
Real Steel attracted a crowd that was, predictably for an action film, 66% male and 70% under the age 35. Viewers under the age of 25 gave Real Steel an sterling “A+” CinemaScore, but a number of films targeting that youthful demographic such as The Thing, The Three Musketeers, and Paranormal Activity 3 are slated to open in the coming weeks, which could dampen Real Steel’s chances to earn over $80 million domestically.
The Ides of March is the latest in a string of films with “Oscar” pretensions that play better with the critics than they do with audiences. The audience for the political thriller was 58% female and tending to the geriatric with 60% over 35. Sony is hoping that The Ides of March will mirror Clooney’s Michael Clayton, which had a nearly identical opening, but it with the competition over the coming weeks, it will have a hard time matching Michael Clayton’s $49 million domestic total.
Among the holdovers Dolphin Tale, which finished third with $9.1 million, fared the best with just a 34.2% decline. Moneyball, which dropped just 37.7% in its third weekend, and 50/50, which fell just 36.4% in its second, also demonstrated solid “legs.” With a 57.7% dropoff, The Lion King in 3-D was the only one of the 8 holdovers in the top ten with a drop of over 50%, and considering the fact that the film made its Blu-ray debut this week and has earned a surprising $86 million domestically, its decline was totally understandable.
Next week remakes of Footloose and The Thing will take center stage at the box office
