That Awkward Moment looks to be the winner of the slowest weekend of the year; the totals will be paltry given half the country will be glued to the television for The Super Bowl. Last year, when the Ravens played The 49ers, Warm Bodies pulled off the same feat, though it pulled down over $20 million. I’m less hopeful for this title, it just doesn’t look … good. I realize the money has to go somewhere, but I can’t go any higher than $15.1 million. Heck, even going that high hurt me.
Next up, an even more doomed title named Labor Day. This was a TIFF 2013 film that was looking for love, but it found only derision. 53 percent on RT for a Jason Reitman film means something went seriously wrong, there’s no critic in the world who wants to go after the guy who made Juno and Up in the Air. I’m going with a flat $5 million, and you guys will probably go over and win, but I just feel like there’s no bottom here. Being dumped on Super Bowl weekend is the final ignominy it must face.
Not much else to talk about, so we might as well consider the holdover number for I, Frankenstein. If you guessed it would drop in a big way, you’re right, only the percentage is limited because it started so low to begin with. How they spent so much money here is a mystery, they will need a huge international number to bail them out because this weekend the title will slip all the way down to $4.6 million.
Ride Along can’t three-peat, but there’s no shame in sitting at $80 million on a $25 million production budget. They’ve already won. I actually have it as the biggest dipper of the weekend, but that’s partly due to the male demographic staying away this weekend. The other part? First place generally falls hard over the Super Bowl Weekend. $10.7 million is my call, now you get out your abacus and make yours.
Good luck out there! My Super Bowl pick shouldn’t come as any surprise, I’m going with Seahawks 24, Broncos 20.
Current Record: 4-12 against the wisdom of the crowds
Major Theater Chain (MTC) Tracking
- That Awkward Moment: N/A
- Labor Day: N/A
SIDE NOTE: Some of the theater numbers below are estimates. We’ll have the actual counts in Sunday’s wrap-up article.
