Weekend Estimates: Green Lantern Lights the Way

June 19, 2011

As expected, Green Lantern led the way at the box office this weekend, based on studio estimates released on Sunday, but a weak performance on Saturday and an expected further decline on Sunday will leave it with a fairly modest $52.69 million weekend, according to Warner Bros.' estimate. That puts it behind X-Men: First Class ($55 million) and Thor ($66 million) so far as opening weekends for superhero movies are concerned, and its reviews suggest it won't have the legs of the other two. Mr. Popper's Penguins also under-performed compared to original expectations, although its $18.2 million debut is in line with the numbers Fox was expecting going in to the weekend.

Among returning films, Super 8 was down only 40% to $21.25 million in its second weekend and Midnight in Paris and Bridesmaids both showed continued good form, down 10% to $5.2 million and 26% to $7.5 million respectively. Still outside the top ten, but gaining ground, was The Tree of Life, which grew another 35% week-on-week to earn $1.1 million for 12th place. Now playing in 114 theaters, this will be the first weekend it doesn't earn a per theater average over $10,000.

In limited release, The Art of Getting By struggled with just $700,000 in 610 theaters. Its generally poor reviews won't help it recover next weekend, and a short shelf-life in theaters will leave it struggling to earn much more than $1 million in total.

A trio of documentaries fared better. JIG looks set to top the per theater chart this weekend after opening with $38,600 in just two theaters. Buck picked up a similarly robust $67,500 in four movie-houses, and Page One: Inside the New York Times also impressed with $30,100 in two theaters. None of the three films are likely to attract many viewers outside of their core audiences, but steady art-house runs through the Summer should give them all a decent return.

- 3-Day Weekend Estimates
- Friday Daily Estimates
- Saturday Daily Estimates
- Sunday Daily Projections

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Green Lantern, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, X-Men: First Class, The Art of Getting By, Super 8, Mr. Poppers's Penguins, The Tree of Life, Buck, Page One: Inside the New York Times, JIG