Weekend Report: 'No Strings' Ties Up Top Spot
Listlessness pervaded the box office again. The sole major new release, No Strings Attached, was on top with a decent showing, and it was business as usual for the holdovers. Overall weekend box office was down 29 percent from the same period last year, when Avatar led for the sixth straight weekend, and it was the least-attended post-Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend since 1992.
No Strings Attached attracted $19.7 million on approximately 3,500 screens at 3,018 locations. That was in the same league as Ashton Kutcher's What Happens in Vegas ($20.2 million) and higher than Just Married ($17.5 million), though both of those pictures had greater attendance. Top-billed Natalie Portman doesn't have directly comparable titles in her credits, though No Strings delivered her second-highest grossing opening in an above-the-title lead role, following V for Vendetta. Distributor Paramount Pictures' exit polling indicated that 70 percent of the audience was female and 60 percent was age 25 years and older.
In second, The Green Hornet pulled in $17.7 million, off a relatively solid 47 percent from last weekend. The Seth Rogen vehicle held better than Kick-Ass and, with a $63 million sum in ten days, surpassed Kick-Ass's final tally to become the top-grossing live-action superhero comedy on record. It also had a smaller decline and higher gross than Pineapple Express at the same point.
The Dilemma continued its mediocre run, dipping 49 percent to $9.1 million for a $32.7 million tally in ten days, but its percentage drop was in the same range as Couples Retreat and The Break-Up. The King's Speech, on the other hand, had the best hold among nationwide releases. It fell 14 percent from last weekend, earning $7.9 million, and its sum grew to $57.3 million in 59 days, surpassing the final gross of The Queen.
True Grit roped $7.3 million, slowing 33 percent, and its haul climbed to $138 million in 33 days. It gained further ground on Little Fockers, which slipped to $4.3 million for a $141.1 million total in 33 days.
Portman's other movie, Black Swan, was sixth with $5.9 million, off 30 percent. It's made $83.3 million in 52 days, more than what No Strings Attached is likely to do in its entire run. Another Oscar hopeful, The Fighter, eased 18 percent to $4.2 million, increasing its purse to $72.7 million in 45 days.
The weekend's other technically nationwide debut, The Way Back, was a bust with $1.2 million at 678 locations, ranking 15th and earning less than Rescue Dawn did in its expansion to 500 sites.
Last Weekend:
• 'Green Hornet' Kicks Into Top Gear Over MLK Weekend
This Timeframe in Past Years:
• 2010 - 'Avatar' Breaks 'Titanic's Foreign Record
• 2009 - 'Paul Blart' Clamps Down 'Rise of Lycans'
• 2008 - 'Spartans,' 'Rambo' Spar Off
• 2007 - 'Stomp' Stamps Out 'Hitcher'
• 2006 - 'Underworld' Lords Over 'New World'
• 2005 - 'Are We There Yet?' Rolls In at No. 1
Related Chart
• Weekend Box Office Results
No Strings Attached attracted $19.7 million on approximately 3,500 screens at 3,018 locations. That was in the same league as Ashton Kutcher's What Happens in Vegas ($20.2 million) and higher than Just Married ($17.5 million), though both of those pictures had greater attendance. Top-billed Natalie Portman doesn't have directly comparable titles in her credits, though No Strings delivered her second-highest grossing opening in an above-the-title lead role, following V for Vendetta. Distributor Paramount Pictures' exit polling indicated that 70 percent of the audience was female and 60 percent was age 25 years and older.
In second, The Green Hornet pulled in $17.7 million, off a relatively solid 47 percent from last weekend. The Seth Rogen vehicle held better than Kick-Ass and, with a $63 million sum in ten days, surpassed Kick-Ass's final tally to become the top-grossing live-action superhero comedy on record. It also had a smaller decline and higher gross than Pineapple Express at the same point.
The Dilemma continued its mediocre run, dipping 49 percent to $9.1 million for a $32.7 million tally in ten days, but its percentage drop was in the same range as Couples Retreat and The Break-Up. The King's Speech, on the other hand, had the best hold among nationwide releases. It fell 14 percent from last weekend, earning $7.9 million, and its sum grew to $57.3 million in 59 days, surpassing the final gross of The Queen.
True Grit roped $7.3 million, slowing 33 percent, and its haul climbed to $138 million in 33 days. It gained further ground on Little Fockers, which slipped to $4.3 million for a $141.1 million total in 33 days.
Portman's other movie, Black Swan, was sixth with $5.9 million, off 30 percent. It's made $83.3 million in 52 days, more than what No Strings Attached is likely to do in its entire run. Another Oscar hopeful, The Fighter, eased 18 percent to $4.2 million, increasing its purse to $72.7 million in 45 days.
The weekend's other technically nationwide debut, The Way Back, was a bust with $1.2 million at 678 locations, ranking 15th and earning less than Rescue Dawn did in its expansion to 500 sites.
Last Weekend:
• 'Green Hornet' Kicks Into Top Gear Over MLK Weekend
This Timeframe in Past Years:
• 2010 - 'Avatar' Breaks 'Titanic's Foreign Record
• 2009 - 'Paul Blart' Clamps Down 'Rise of Lycans'
• 2008 - 'Spartans,' 'Rambo' Spar Off
• 2007 - 'Stomp' Stamps Out 'Hitcher'
• 2006 - 'Underworld' Lords Over 'New World'
• 2005 - 'Are We There Yet?' Rolls In at No. 1
Related Chart
• Weekend Box Office Results
