Box Office: Ben Stiller Terminates ‘Salvation’

Posted by John Cairns (jcairns@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 25, 2009

The Memorial Day weekend isn’t yet over but we already know who the big box office winners and losers were the holiday period. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian did exactly what people expected it to do as far as business was concerned: $53.5 million from over 4,000 screens. What was somewhat surprising was the fact that this was enough for a first place finish, beating Terminator Salvation which brought in $43 mil during the Friday to Sunday period.

The trouble for Salvation began Thursday when it only pulled in $13,372,491 for its debut, including some $3 million in midnight movie sales. Not exactly the most rip-roaring performance at the box office, if you ask me. Then on Friday night, Salvation was beaten by Museum $15.3 million to $14.9 million, and that was the beginning of the end because Museum cleaned up in the matinees. It looks as if Museum will win Memorial Day, too. So those predictions from a couple of weeks ago that Salvation would win the weekend and possibly flirt with a $100 million opening are down the tubes.

Why the poor showing? No question about it, bad buzz from the fans is the reason that Salvation stunk at the box office. People heard the bad news from their friends and relatives, and decided not to go to it. You have seen the decidedly mixed reaction from Film School Rejects and everywhere else. I was reading what the geeks over at Ain’t It Cool News had to say. Harry Knowles totally hated this film. Hated it absolutely.

All I have got to say is that a reaction like that from so many people is not the kind of thing that will put your movie in first place at the box office. Sure, we have had movies win at the box office before that everyone hated, and Night at the Museum II seems like no great shakes, either. But when a movie infuriates some of the fans the way this Terminator Salvation movie has, you just can’t expect it to make a fortune at the box office.

I’m not going to say any more about what I think happened because I feel completely uninformed to comment about. You folks out there probably have your own opinions about what went down at the box office. But I personally feel that what happened this weekend had less to do with people wanting to see a comedy, and more to do with word getting around that Salvation was not going to be a good way to spend your hard-earned money. End of story.

Anyway, here are the Friday to Sunday numbers:

1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – $53,500,000
2. Terminator Salvation – $43,010,000
3. Star Trek – $21,951,000
4. Angels & Demons – $21,400,000
5. Dance Flick – $11,113,000
6. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $7,800,00
7. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – $3,720,000
8. Obsessed – $2,000,000
9. Monsters Vs. Aliens – $1,345,000
10. 17 Again – $1,005,000

See you later with the Monday numbers when I get a chance to post them. To quote a certain governor of California, I’ll be back.

Read more articles by John Cairns