Estimates Come in, Grindhouse has tanked…

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 8, 2007

Very early this morning I reported on how everyone has been up in arms about the low box office figures being delivered by Grindhouse, the highly touted exploitation double feature from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. And I proceeded to argue that if “Grindhouse” only brought in $25 million this weekend, then it could still be considered a success. As it turns out, as Box Office Mojo reports this afternoon, “Grindhouse” is not going to come close to $25 million — and that is certainly not a good thing.

As for the actual figures, we will have to wait for until tomorrow. But for now we do have these neat estimates for the top 5, and they don’t look too good…

“Blades of Glory” continued to skate all over the competition, bringing its total box office take to around $65 million in 2 weeks. “Meet the Robinsons” also continued its strong performance, holding down the family demographic even with some competition from Firehouse Dog. It just goes to show, though, that families are more likely to bite on a 3D Disney adventure than a dog who rides a skateboard. Ice Cube’s “Are We Done Yet?” was the surprise this weekend, though it did have a jump start on everyone with a Wednesday release. Overall it has made about $19 million since Wednesday, which puts it in line with the $18.5 million that “Are We There Yet?” brought in back in 2005.

But of course the film that everyone will be talking about is “Grindhouse” with it’s $11.5 million opening. As I discussed in both my review and the article this morning, I can understand why this film has not yet caught with the American mainstream audience. Results like this are very disappointing, but I cannot say that they are especially surprising. A long run time (3 hrs. and 5 min.) means less showings, a smaller theater count (2,600) means less opportunities and the exploitation theme won’t draw in vast crowds. Hardcore film-geeks and fanboys of the genre have all probably seen it and some people may see it in the next few weeks due to the critical acclaim, but that is about it. If I were Harvey and Bob Weinstein, I would be looking toward the DVD release at this point.

The other question that arises is whether this performance will stifle further films along these lines. There have been rumors of Tarantino releasing a full version of “Death Proof” on its own with more character exposition (please, no more dialog!) And then today Rotten Tomatoes reported that Edgar Wright’s fake trailer “Don’t” could be sought as a spin-off. Studios may think twice after seeing how “Grindhouse” is performing, and that may be the most disappointing thing of all…

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