Box Office Blah Blah

I THOUGHT I WAS BEING GENEROUS, but it turns out I was being timid with my prediction. The Dark Knight destroyed the box office in its opening weekend, setting records nearly every day. As of Wednesday, the flick had brought in $222 million, making it the third highest grossing film of the year -- already. But even though I underestimated its awesome power, I was still in the mid-80s in accuracy, which is totally acceptable for me. I was a lot closer with Mamma Mia! and Space Chimps. Take a look.

The Dark Knight
My prediction: $135 million
Actual opening weekend: $158.4 million
Accuracy: 85.2%

Mamma Mia!
My prediction: $25 million
Actual opening weekend: $27.7 million
Accuracy: 90.2%

Space Chimps
My prediction: $8 million
Actual opening weekend: $7.1 million
Accuracy: 88.7%


The X-Files: I Want to Believe
This weekend, like the week and weekend preceding it, belongs to The Dark Knight. That juggernaut of a movie is still not done dominating the box office and it will be the highest grossing film of the weekend by a long shot. And everything a movie-goer might hope to get from The X-Files, The Dark Knight already has in spades. Without even seeing The X-Files, I can tell you that The Dark Knight is more tense, darker, more exciting and a has more bang for the buck. So I predict a tough go at the box office for Mulder and Scully. Also, um, is there anyone but hard-core fans of the show who want to see this flick? The early word is that if you're not a fan of the show you may not even understand what's going on. If that's true...this thing could flop hard. And that's exactly what I think it will do: flop.

Opening weekend: $22 million
Total take: $50 million

Step Brothers
The script for this film was hilarious. And, in general, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly make me laugh. But it is time to wonder if they've sort of worn out their welcome with the movie-going public. Do people really want to see what amounts to Elf x 2? It's hard to say. The movie does benefit by being the only comedy out there right now. And the trailers do generate laughs. So I think it'll do all right. It's not going to crack the $100 million barrier overall, but it will make some money.

Opening weekend: $24 million
Total take: $61 million