comment #1

gradystiles says ...

Last week's tracking did not suggest a $20 million opening for the movie. If whoever gives you your tracking info told you that, they're confused.

comment #2

Andrew says ...

That's too bad for Jodie Foster. Saw it last night at the Grove and it was almost full, and people were genuinely into it.

I guess this is a good lesson for actresses tempted to work with Joel Silver - DON'T!
Ex. - Halle in Gothika
- Hillary Swank in The Reaping
- Nicole K in The Invasion
and now Jodie who really should've known better than to get in bed with him...

comment #3

adorian says ...

In my part of the country, Friday night high school football takes precedence over a movie this time of the year. The football stadiums will be packed, not the cineplexes.

The movie-going is reserved for Saturday night...unless there is an important college game. Some people actually stop going to movies during football season...in my part of the country.

comment #4

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Grady Stiles: A 74 general awareness, 39 definite interest and 17 first choice does NOT indicate $13,761,000 for the weekend. There was no reason to doubt it would at least nudge $20 million. What information did you have and what were you projecting?

comment #5

houmas says ...

So even Jodie is having trouble opening movies. People were claiming she was the last bullet-proof female star at the box office.

I agree, Joel Silver does seem to be a curse for female leading ladies. Nicole Kidman had a streak of 3 wide release studio movies open over 20 million (Stepford Wives, Bewitched, Interpreter) before teaming up with Silver and The Invasion. Now Jodie is going to have her streak of 3 consecutive 20 million + opening wide studio releases (Panic Room, Flightplan, Inside Man) tarnished by the Silver curse.

Learn your lesson, female A-listers. Stay away from Joel Silver.

comment #6

Andrew says ...

BTW - Doesn't Friday movie attendance usually belong to the under 25 crowd? Don't older people tend to go to the movies on Saturdays? Maybe this can make it to $15m if the older audience shows up today and tomorrow?

comment #7

MovieBob says ...

The trailer for this got some of the biggest are-you-kidding-me laughs of the year every time I saw it play. "I WANT MY DOG BACK!!!" Give me a break.

The plain facts are that Jodie Foster hasn't had a big movie open since Panic Room, and David Fincher (or, rather, "the director of Seven and Fight Club") was the star there, not her. A certain audience, surely, likes the idea of "silly" revenge movies being "deconstructed" by re-casting Charles Bronson as an itty-bitty butched-out Manhattan grrl; but this has looked like a loser since Trailer #1.

Foster is a great talent, but her "tough gal" schtick is tired. Slapping on unisex attire and spitting out dialogue used to be this cool, fresh thing that set her apart, but now? "tuff chix" are the STANDARD of action movies today, and this stuff is all very "so what" next to Uma, Jovovich, etc. hacking and blasting guys away all over the place. She needs new material.

comment #8

Zimmergirl says ...

The money demo, PUKE. They're ruining Hollywood.

comment #9

Andrew says ...

Yeah David Fincher is such a huge draw that Zodiac broke all kinds of records...

comment #10

jesse says ...

MovieBob, Flightplan opened fine post-Panic Room and I'm pretty sure it made more in the end (maybe the same amount with inflation). The general populace doesn't know director's names except Spielberg or maybe Scorsese.

I dunno, I think $15 mil or so for a classier version of a movie that bombed just a couple of weeks ago (Death Sentence) isn't too bad. This doesn't make Foster "over" at the box-office anymore than Invasion's flop ends Kidman's career.

comment #11

George Prager says ...

I think we should all listen to MovieBob. After all he is heterosexual, a pisces, and a severely lapsed Catholic

comment #12

BurmaShave says ...

Saw it last night, theater was packed. Seemed to have pulled in all the demos available in my area. Very surprised to hear this. Then again, it did about as well as 3:10 TO YUMA. Things are just slowing down. As for the movie, it was much better than it had any right to be. Just a tight piece of entertainment, and I don't see how Foster doesn't get a nomination.

comment #13

BurmaShave says ...

Prager, as a Catholic I can inform you that we actually excommunicated MovieBob for thinking that Carie-Anne Moss was the first tough movie chick. We're considering Ripley for canonization. Our first fictional Saint since Joan of Arc.

comment #14

thatrader says ...

Jeff,

Why are you still posting tracking numbers? Seriously. I feel like every other weekend, you post numbers that mean jack shit. And you whine about it opening day, "How could they be wrong?"

Ever since you started using tracking numbers last year, you post them every week as if they mean something and they're gospel.

And every other week, they're 100% wrong and you have to backpedal.

Why can't you just let it go and stop mentioning them?

comment #15

christian says ...

because the tracking says next week's tracking will be accurate.

comment #16

Chicago48 says ...

To the Thatrader: i don't know why you're jumping on Jeff and tracking numbers - what's wrong with it? It fills space on his blog. The country is obsessed with numbers haven't you learned that? The stock market - numbers. Football - numbers. Baseball -- numbers. Gambling -- numbers. We're the only country where numbers matter!

As for Jodie Foster - she and Nicole Kidman would never get me in the movie and I'm a female. They're very cold and lack sexuality on screen. I would much rather prefer AJ, but I miss the old-time actresses whose presence on screen screamed "personality" "sex" "danger" and none of these actresses do that. It's like they got their acting lessons by speaking to a sack of potatoes.
Jodie Foster is at best a good supporting actress ("The Inside Man") and does she ever kiss a man on screen? get naked? get sexy? I don't care to see her in the Brave One (but I would go for Terrence Howard). I didn't like the Panic Room, it was so very phoney.

comment #17

Andrew says ...

Chicago48

Jeez, what are you a lesbian? Not that there's anything wrong w/that. But who the F cares if you don't think Nic and Jodie lack sexuality. Sheesh. Not every role demands that they exude sexuality, Jodie's hardly ever do.

No one can claim to know why any of these actresses are movie stars. AJ may make you all hot and bothered but she's hardly a huge box office draw.

As for the actresses of the old days, get over it, it's a new century and this is what we have to work with.

BTW, personally, I think you're way off on JF being cold.

comment #18

Andrew says ...

Crap. I meant

But who the F cares if you THINK Nic and Jodie lack sexuality.