Box Office: American Gangster Robs Jerry Seinfeld
Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 5, 2007
Well, we had a really big weekend at the box office, even bigger than what we saw for Saw IV. And we have a big upset. American Gangster, that flick about that heroin drug lord that starred Denzel Washington, has beaten Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie and it wasn’t very close. $46 mil for American Gangster to $39 for Jerry. And they did it even though they were in fewer theaters and had fewer showtimes!
3,054 theaters for American Gangster . Meanwhile Bee Movie plays in 3,928, and Bee Movie still ends up losing. Wow. This shapes up as a big defeat for Paramount/DreamWorks. All I gotta say is I’m very surprised. I thought the kids would carry the day again, given the track record this year for serious, adult-oriented movies. It seemed the serious movies were cursed up until now. But there was a real pent-up dremand for this flick, and the tracking was through the roof.
Maybe people are just cartooned-out. Too many of them this year. Although $39 mil is still nothing to sneeze at.
It was a long drop to Saw IV and Dan in Real Life. The Game Plan just nosed out Martian Child, the other new wide release this week, for sixth place. By the way, the total take for The Game Plan is now up to $81,957,000.
Here are the totals, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
|
Release
|
Studio
|
Predicted Gross
|
| American Gangster | Universal |
$46,344,000
|
| Bee Movie | Dreamworks |
$39,100,000
|
| Saw IV | Lionsgate |
$11,010,000
|
| Dan in Real Life | Buena Vista |
$8,125,000
|
| 30 Days of Night | Sony |
$4,000,000
|
| The Game Plan | Buena Vista |
$3,853,000
|
| Martian Child | New Line |
$3,650,000
|
| Michael Clayton | Warner Bros. |
$2,900,000
|
| Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married | Lionsgate |
$2,730,000
|
| Gone Baby Gone | Miramax |
$2,400,000
|
So I was wrong in my prognostications again. I ought to just give up already. And in another instance of me being wrong, the strike hasn’t started yet. The big Writers Guild of America walkout is set for Monday as I write this, but it might not even happen after all. There are apparently last-ditch negotiations going on as I speak, trying to convince the screenwriters to make a deal and not go on strike. Well, I sure hope this gets settled, because it would really mess up things in Tinseltown if they do walk. I know they have plenty of movies in the can already, but it sure would be nice to see some new ones next year. Or the year after.
We’ll see you later this week for another Reject Report.
Read more articles by John Cairns
