Axiom’s Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Summer Blockbuster season is all but over as September eases in and the more “thoughtful” movies (that is, the ones that won’t make as much money) get a chance on the big screen. Theater owners are pretty happy with the final tally from the hot months, though, as the Summer movies brought in over $4 billion in revenue and increased receipts by 5% from the prior year. So now it’s time to take a look at how well Science Fiction and Fantasy movies performed at the Box Office this past season. (Full Article)

According to the receipts, theaters did brisk business over the Labor Day weekend, though no one single picture dominated the theaters for the weekend. Deathly sequel Final Destination 4 repeated at the Number 1 slot brining in a Friday through Sunday total of $12.3 million. Sci Fi action/adventure flick Gamer debuted with $9 million, only managing to make it as high as Number 4. Not very good numbers for an opening weekend and with the Box office starting to slack off with the end of Summer, this one will have a hard time making much more of an impression. District 9 came in just after Gamer and took the Number 5 slot, while Halloween II slipped from the Number 3 slot it had last week to Number 6. G.I. Joe slid to the Number 8 slot and The Time Traveler’s Wife ended up at the Number 10 spot. Up continued its return to the Top 20 for a second week, though just barely, as it held on to the Number 20 slot.

Following are the results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy oriented movies in the Top 20 for the weekend of September 4-6:

Title / Box Office Rank (Rank Prior Week) / Weekend (Total) Draw
1) The Final Destination – Prior Wk: 1, Draw (Total): $12.37 MM ($47.51 MM)
4) Gamer – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $9.16 MM ($9.16 MM)
5) District 9 – Prior Wk: 4, Draw (Total): $7.08 MM ($101.35 MM)
6) Halloween II (2009) – Prior Wk: 3, Draw (Total): $5.75 MM ($25.8 MM)
8) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Prior Wk: 5, Draw (Total): $5.18 MM ($139.49 MM)
10) The Time Traveler’s Wife – Prior Wk: 7, Draw (Total): $4.33 MM ($54.67 MM)
11) Shorts – Prior Wk: 8, Draw (Total): $2.73 MM ($17.16 MM)
12) G-Force – Prior Wk: 10, Draw (Total): $2. MM ($114.63 MM)
14) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Prior Wk: 11, Draw (Total): $1.83 MM ($296.94 MM)
19) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Prior Wk: 20, Draw (Total): $.8 MM ($400.43 MM)
20) Up – Prior Wk: 19, Draw (Total): $.73 MM ($290.63 MM)

Source: Box Office Mojo

Previous Results – Number 1 is the Final Destination

Check out our Preview of the Fall and Winter Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movies.

In a somewhat light weekend for the Box Office, Horror flick rehashes Final Destination 4 and Halloween II bowed at the Number 1 and 3 spots respectively. Final Destination took in $27.4 million, which might seem kind of low for an opening weekend, but considering its modest budget (by Hollywood standards) of $40 that puts it on target to end up in the red. Rob Zombie’s sequel to his Halloween remake took in only $16.3 million in its debut, but already topped its low budget of $15 million. In fact, this one did well enough to receive an order for another sequel (Halloween 3-D) which will bow next Summer.

District 9 showed that it has some staying power at the end of the Summer season as it pulled in another $10 million at the Number 4 slot. G.I. Joe raked in another $7.7 million at the Number 5 slot and date movie choice The Time Traveler’s Wife hung in at Number 7 with $6.4 million. Last week’s Box Office clunker Shorts eked out a few more receipts this past weekend with a $4.5 million tally. Up also returned to the Top 20 after a two week absence, probably the result of it hitting the Dollar Theaters.  And Transformers prepared for its exit after ten weeks in the Top 20 as it dropped to the Number 20 slot.

Following are the results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy oriented movies in the Top 20 for the weekend of August 28-20:

Title / Box Office Rank (Rank Prior Week) / Weekend (Total) Draw
1) The Final Destination – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $27.41 MM ($27.41 MM)
3) Halloween II (2009) – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $16.35 MM ($16.35 MM)
4) District 9 – Prior Wk: 2, Draw (Total): $10.27 MM ($90.38 MM)
5) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Prior Wk: 3, Draw (Total): $7.72 MM ($132.15 MM)
7) The Time Traveler’s Wife – Prior Wk: 4, Draw (Total): $6.45 MM ($47.9 MM)
8) Shorts – Prior Wk: 6, Draw (Total): $4.51 MM ($13.21 MM)
10) G-Force – Prior Wk: 7, Draw (Total): $2.82 MM ($111.78 MM)
11) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Prior Wk: 8, Draw (Total): $2.47 MM ($294.26 MM)
19) Up – Prior Wk: 25, Draw (Total): $.65 MM ($289.64 MM)
20) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Prior Wk: 16, Draw (Total): $.58 MM ($399.42 MM)

Source: Box Office Mojo

Previous Results: District 9 Drops to Number 2

In a relatively slow weekend for Science Fiction and Fantasy at the Box Office, District 9 ceded the Number 1 slot to Quentin Tarantino’s war movie Inglorious Basterds this past weekend. Still, the Peter Jackson produced Science Fiction film pulled in $18 million for the weekend and elevated its domestic gross to almost $73 million, more than twice the movie’s budget. G.I. Joe slipped to the Number 3 slot in its third week of release, and The Time Traveler’s Wife dropped to Number 4. The kid-oriented fantasy film Shorts had a pretty poor performance out of the starting gate as it only pulled in $6.4 million in its opening weekend. Expect to see that one move quickly to the dollar theaters.

Following are the results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy oriented movies in the Top 20 for the weekend of August 21-23:

Title / Box Office Rank (Rank Prior Week) / Weekend (Total) Draw
2) District 9 – Prior Wk: 1, Draw (Total): $18.21 MM ($72.8 MM)
3) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Prior Wk: 2, Draw (Total): $12.2 MM ($120.24 MM)
4) The Time Traveler’s Wife – Prior Wk: 3, Draw (Total): $9.74 MM ($37.17 MM)
6) Shorts – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $6.41 MM ($6.41 MM)
7) G-Force – Prior Wk: 5, Draw (Total): $4.11 MM ($107.22 MM)
8) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Prior Wk: 7, Draw (Total): $3.48 MM ($290.24 MM)
16) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Prior Wk: 15, Draw (Total): $.97 MM ($398.44 MM)
20) Orphan – Prior Wk: 16, Draw (Total): $.8 MM ($39.93 MM)

Source: Box Office Mojo

Previous Results: District 9 Takes Number 1, G.I. Joe Drops to Number 2

District 9’s opening weekend Box Office draw of $37 million may seem like a meager sum compared to the opening weekends of this Summer’s movies like Transformers ($109 million), Harry Potter ($78 million), or Star Trek ($73 million), but it still helped it take the top spot and cover its modest budget of $30 million. The Peter Jackson produced independent film opened in August because it was of a much different ilk than the typical Summer blockbuster film, but it can surely count itself as a winner after its first weekend. Meanwhile, G.I. Joe took a significant plummet from its somewhat disappointing opening weekend, pulling in only $22 million at the Number 2 slot. And date-movie choice The Time Traveler’s Wife had a rather unspectacular opening weekend with an $18.6 million draw at the Number 3 slot, but then that was right about in line with expectations for the film.

As Transformers heads down the charts after eight weeks of release (it is currently at Number 15), it is quickly approaching $400 million in domestic revenue. Meanwhile, both Up and Night at the Museum finally bowed out after twelve and thirteen weeks in the Top 20 respectively. And clunker Aliens in the Attic, currently at the Number 17 spot, will likely exit from the Top 20 as well by next week.

Following are the results for all of the Science Fiction and Fantasy oriented movies in the Top 20 for the weekend of August 14-16:

Title / Box Office Rank (Rank Prior Week) / Weekend (Total) Draw
1) District 9 – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $37.35 MM ($37.35 MM)
2) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Prior Wk: 1, Draw (Total): $22.32 MM ($98.58 MM)
3) The Time Traveler’s Wife – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $18.62 MM ($18.62 MM)
5) G-Force – Prior Wk: 3, Draw (Total): $6.92 MM ($99.06 MM)
7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Prior Wk: 4, Draw (Total): $5.14 MM ($283.88 MM)
15) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Prior Wk: 12, Draw (Total): $1.6 MM ($396.76 MM)
16) Orphan – Prior Wk: 10, Draw (Total): $1.58 MM ($38.35 MM)
17) Aliens in the Attic – Prior Wk: 8, Draw (Total): $1.45 MM ($20.57 MM)
19) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – Prior Wk: 14, Draw (Total): $1.27 MM ($190.86 MM)

Source: Box Office Mojo

Previous Results: G.I. Joe Wins the Battle, Takes Number 1 Spot

Paramount’s big screen reboot of the G.I. Joe franchise claimed victory in its first week of release as the film took the Number 1 spot at the Box Office over this past weekend, pulling in almost $55 million. Despite this being one of the bigger opening takes for an August weekend, though, the movie still has a lot of ground to make up to recover its $175 million budget. The fact that the studio passed on letting critics get a pre-release look at the film indicated that they knew it would get a drubbing from that crowd which could lead to a quick drop-off in ticket sales. And with only a few more weeks of Summer left, this movie has a lot of catching up to do.

The guinea pig spies in G-Force slipped to the Number 3 slot over the weekend and Harry Potter slipped to Number 4, though both continue to do brisk business. Aliens in the Attic pulled in only half of the take it had from its meager opening weekend and dropped to the Number 8 slot as that one heads toward a quick exit from the charts. Summer mainstays Night at the Museum 2 (12 weeks) and Up (11 weeks) both prepped for their departure from the Top 20 as they slipped to the Number 19 and 20 slots respectively.

Title / Box Office Rank (Rank Prior Week) / Weekend (Total) Draw
1) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra – Prior Wk: New, Draw (Total): $54.71 MM ($54.71 MM)
3) G-Force – Prior Wk: 3, Draw (Total): $9.87 MM ($86.18 MM)
4) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Prior Wk: 2, Draw (Total): $8.93 MM ($273.85 MM)
8) Aliens in the Attic – Prior Wk: 5, Draw (Total): $4.02 MM ($16.31 MM)
10) Orphan – Prior Wk: 6, Draw (Total): $3.67 MM ($34.77 MM)
12) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Prior Wk: 10, Draw (Total): $3.01 MM ($393.71 MM)
14) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – Prior Wk: 7, Draw (Total): $2.67 MM ($187.87 MM)
19) Up – Prior Wk: 16, Draw (Total): $.62 MM ($287.39 MM)
20) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – Prior Wk: 19, Draw (Total): $.47 MM ($174.86 MM)

Source: Box Office Mojo

Previous Results: G-Force and Harry Potter Battle for Number 2 Spot

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