'Journey 2' Still Strong Overseas

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is quickly turning in to an early year hit at the overseas box office. The sequel once again topped the charts this weekend with $27.5 million from 43 markets for a total of $130 million. It added $9.5 million in China and $4.1 million in Russia, and opened in second in France with $3.1 million. Journey 2 is now only a few days away from passing the original Journey to the Center of the Earth's $140.3 million foreign total, and a $200 million finish seems we......

Posted on 21 February 2012 | 6:45 pm | Read more...

'Safe House' Secures Presidents Day Lead

After finishing in third on Friday, Safe House played well on Saturday and Sunday and edged past The Vow and the disappointing Ghost Rider sequel to claim first place over Presidents Day Weekend. Journey 2 held extremely well and took first place by a wide margin on Monday, while This Means War opened decently in fifth. For the four-day weekend, the Top 12 earned $171.5 million, which is a 10 percent improvement from the same weekend last year.Safe House was off 31 percent to $27.5 mil......

Posted on 19 February 2012 | 12:58 pm | Read more...

Weekend Report (cont.): Decent Debuts for 'This Means War,' 'Arrietty'

<< continued from "Weekend Report: 'Safe House' Secures President's Day Lead"This Means War took fifth place with just over $20 million for the four-day weekend. Its three-day gross was $17.4 million, which is an okay start given the mediocre track record of rom-com/action hybrids like Knight & Day ($20.1 million), The Tourist ($16.5 million) and Killers ($15.8 million). Of course, it was no Mr. & Mrs. Smith ($50.3 million), but realistically what cha......

Posted on 19 February 2012 | 12:55 pm | Read more...

Friday Report: 'The Vow' Leads, 'Ghost Rider' Crashes

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance sputtered out of the gate on Friday, allowing The Vow to once again claim first place at the box office. Safe House is also in the mix, and should pass Ghost Rider by the end of President's Day Weekend. This Means War had a surprisingly solid debut in fourth place, while The Secret World of Arrietty looks to be right in line with low expectations.On its second Friday, The Vow fell 52 percent to an estimated $7.4 million. That's a fairly steep drop, though it......

Posted on 18 February 2012 | 11:30 am | Read more...

Forecast: 'Ghost Rider 2' Aims to Set Fire to President's Day Weekend

With three new nationwide releases, along with a handful of strong holdovers, President's Day Weekend seems poised to be a busy time at movie theaters. Five years after the first Ghost Rider earned over $115 million, Nicolas Cage is back in the title role in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which opens at 3,174 locations (2,352 of which are in 3D). This Means War reaches 3,189 venues following mildly successful Valentine's Day previews, and Disney unveils the latest Studio Ghibli import Th......

Posted on 16 February 2012 | 6:34 pm | Read more...