Ok, ‘The Happening’ is a terrible movie, but taking the number one spot overseas is quite an accomplishment. M. Night Shyamalan’s movie made $32.1 million at 5,714 screens in 88 territories. That’s about $5,600 per screen. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ came in second, but managed to make almost $10,000 per screen at 38 markets.

The $32.1 million comes after Shyamalan’s awful box office result of ‘Lady in the Water’ in 2006. The fantasy only made $30 million overseas during its lifetime. It’s clear Fox’ aggressive marketing campaign paid off. The trailer with falling bodies gave people high hopes for his new thriller. It’s too bad this is one of those ‘the best is in the trailer’ movies and most will leave disappointed.

Europe was leading the ticket sales for ‘The Happening.’ France grossed a good $4.6 million, followed by Spain with $3.8 million. The U.K. brought in $3.4 million and several other countries ended the weekend with around $2 million.

Continue reading It’s Happening around the world, a look at the overseas box office

Would it be possible? ‘Sex and the City’ beats ‘Indiana Jones 4′ in second weekend. That would make some headlines. It probably won’t happen, but new tracking numbers indicate a better opening for ‘Sex and the City.’ The troops of women are now looking to bring in about $35 million, while ‘Indiana Jones’ would come in a little under $50 million for the weekend. It’s no secret I think ‘Sex and the City’ is going to do well. And the U.K.’s box office numbers confirmed this suspicion. Would it do exceptionally well, it could beat ‘Indiana Jones 4.’ Old man vs. old women. These are the new tracking numbers:

Continue reading Updated ‘Sex and the City’ box office tracking

It was Monday morning. Steven Spielberg just made himself a cup a coffee when the phone started to ring. He picked up and said nothing. The man on the other side was silent too, but then asked, “Steven…?” “Yes,” Spielberg answered. “311 million,” the voice said. I imagine Spielberg dancing around in his bathrobe after these words, but that’s just speculation on my part.

This is the actual ritual Steven Spielberg has during his opening weekends. “What I do on opening weekend is my ritual is a total blackout, like a sequestered jury. No radio, no telephone, no internet, no newspapers. I don’t want to hear anything until Monday morning. I just want to hear one number, which is the Monday morning number,” Spielberg said.

I wonder what he does in the meantime. You’ll need some discipline to go a whole Memorial Day weekend without telephone, internet or radio. I can imagine some teenage girls rather killing themselves than spending one weekend without it. But I guess Spielberg has enough toys to keep him happy.