A Manhattan-based online correspondent** has pointed out that There Will Be Blood‘s $100k per theatre average this weekend in two theatres “puts it up there with some of the Disney animated movies, Dreamgirls and Brokeback Mountain, all which ended up making over $70 million.
“It looks like there’s far more initial demand to see the movie than either Magnolia or Punch Drunk Love, although they also opened in more theatres.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean Blood might get a Best Picture nom but it certainly seems that the buzz created by the early praisings has generated exceptional interest and that other movies aren’t proving to have the same strength. (Like Sweeney Todd… one of the few movies to drop from its opening weekend…I wonder if DreamWorks will even be able to expand it as planned.)
“I think at the end of the season, everyone’s going to look at Paramount Vantage as the company that did everything right with Blood from holding it until the last weekend of the year to keeping screenings somewhat sparse right up until the week before critics’ awards… not releasing screeners too far before the movie’s release to avoid it leaking online. (Universal tried the same with Charlie Wilson’s War, but it just wasn’t strong enough a movie).
“I think that the early buzz has created a huge demand to see Anderson’s latest that will continue well into January and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up grossing more than No Country. (I personally like No Country better, although Blood is very good.)”
** I don’t want to identify said corespondent until he says it’s okay.