U.S. Box Office Numbers Down

May 19. 2008

Speed Racer

The U.S. movie box office is suffering from sluggish sales. Thus far, the $185 million dollar movie Speed Racer catastrophically flopped and The Chronicles of Narnia sequel underperformed.

Where they hoped to open with $80 million in ticket sales, the costly Narnia film instead grossed $56 million in its opening weekend, down $10 million from its predecessor.

The only film this year to cross the $200 million mark is Iron Man and it's dominance at the box office only lasted two weeks. A glut of other indistinct films have been released to poor sales.

New 'Narnia' film falls short at box office

Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the second film in a series based on the "Narnia" books by C.S. Lewis, opened at No. 1 with estimated three-day sales of $56.6 million, the company said.

Industry analysts had expected an opening in the $80 million range, and certainly a figure above the $65.6 million start for the film's 2005 predecessor, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe."

http://www.reuters.com

In its second weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Speed Racer,” a disappointment, declined a steep 59% in its second frame to an estimated $7.6 million from 3,606 runs. Cume is $29.8 million in its first 10 days, according to Rentrak.

Paramount’s “Iron Man” continued to wow, becoming the first film of the year to cross the $200 million mark at the domestic box office and coming in No. 2 for the frame. Film declined just 39% in its third sesh to an estimated $31.2 million from 4,154. Cume is $222.5 million.

http://www.variety.com/VR1117986019.html