Evil is Profitable on the Per Theater Chart

April 26, 2011

Evil Bong 3D earned $19,315 in its lone theater to lead the way on the per theater chart, and clearly I've slipped into an alternate dimension. Actually, I'm very happy with this film's success, as it's distributed by Full Moon Features, the same company that released Puppetmaster and countless other low-budget films I've been a fan of. Second place went to The Double Hour with $14,990, which is less than 1% lower than its opening weekend. Madea's Big Happy Family was the only wide release to reach the $10,000 mark, and it was close at $10,957. There is one confusing release, Incendies, which earned over $60,000 in 13 theaters, if you include Canada. However, if you just look at its U.S. opening, it earned $50,679 in 3 theaters for an average of $16,893, which is much more impressive.

It was a busy week for new limited releases with several doing quite well. Stake Land opened with $7,258 in one theater, which is better than most horror films earn. POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold earned an average of $6,572 in 18 theaters, which suggests some ability to expand. When Harry Tries to Marry should also expand after pulling in an average of $5,948 in 4 theaters. Dum Maaro Dum made more than $300,000, but it was also playing in more than 100 theaters for an average of $3,243. The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen struggled with an average of just $2,841 in 4 theaters, but at least it topped the Mendoza Line. On the other hand, Zhan Guo only managed an average of $1,538 in 23 theaters, while Zokkomon crashed and burned with an average of just $117 in 24.

This past week also saw milestones reached for several Per Theater Chart alumni:

• Kill the Irishman got to $1 million over the weekend, barely, and that's as far as it will go.
• Likewise, Certified Copy hit $1 million, but will go no further.
• It's Not You, It's Me also made it to $1 million and it too will likely not make it to $2 million.
• Of Gods and Men surpassed $3 million early last week, but $4 million is a long shot.
• Born to be Wild 3D has now earned $3 million in just three weeks of release. At this pace it should have no trouble getting to $4 million while $5 million is within reach.
• Atlas Shrugged: Part I also reached $3 million, but its chances of hitting $5 million are a lot slimmer, as its per theater average was down 66%. This is bad news for a film that cost $10 million to $20 million to make and had more advance buzz than most limited releases can dream of.
• The Conspirator got to $5 million early in the weekend and it might have enough left in the tank to get to $10 million. We will have a better idea by this time next week.

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Atlas Shrugged: Part 1, Madea’s Big Happy Family, The Conspirator, Kill the Irishman, Des Hommes et Des Dieux, Born to be Wild 3D, Incendies, Copie conforme, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, La doppia ora, Dum Maaro Dum, No Eres Tu, Soy Yo, Stake Land, Jing mo fung wan: Chen Zhen, When Harry Tries to Marry, Zokkomon, Evil Bong 3 The Wrath Of Bong!, Zhan Guo