Ghost Haunts the Top of the Per Theater Chart

February 24, 2010

Showing once again that there's no such thing as bad publicity, Ghost Writer topped the per theater chart with an average of $45,752 in four theaters during its opening weekend. It will be interesting to see if it can maintain this momentum going forward. Shutter Island was the only other film in the $10,000 club, earning an average of $13,729 in nearly 3,000 theaters on its way to the number one spot on the overall chart.

The best of the rest of the new limited releases was Lourdes, which opened with $7,416 in one theater. The Last New Yorker was well back with $4,172 (also in one theater) while The Good Guy was close behind with an average of $3,857 in nine theaters. The 2010 Oscar Shorts collection was next with an average of $3,067 in nearly 100 theaters. While its average was not spectacular, it was on par with past year's total and it helped the film earn the best opening for the franchise so far. Two limited releases, Blood Done Sign My Name and Happy Tears, missed the Mendoza Line with nearly identical averages of $871 and $867, respectively.

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

• The Last Station topped $2 million over the weekend and should have no trouble getting to $3 million sooner rather than later.
• My Name is Khan hit $3 million. While $4 million is likely, this could be the last milestone for the movie.
• Crazy Heart made it all the way to $20 million and should have no trouble getting to $25 million before too long, even if it has peaked at the box office.

Filed under: The Last Station, Shutter Island, The Ghost Writer, Crazy Heart, Happy Tears, The Good Guy, My Name is Khan, 2010 Oscar Shorts, Blood Done Sign My Name