Of note this weekend, with respect to new films with people of Africa descent at the center of their narratives, the independently-released documentary, Detropia, which opened on just 1 screen in New York City (at IFC Center), grossed $18,400. Look for announcements of cities it'll expand to for next weekend.
Films that have already been in circulation, and still in theaters include Sparkle, which has been somewhat surprisingly disappointing, dropping another 55% this weekend, for a cummulative box office take so far of just over $23 million. Yes, its production budget is listed at $14 million; but add in its P&A budget, and that $14 million probably starts to creep closer to $20 million.
Also, given all the conversation leading up to it, especially in consideration of Whitney Houston's death, and all the social media marketing, we suspect studio expectations were that it would do a lot more business than it has so far; not necessarily blockbuster box office, but certainly not starting to settle around a cummulative figure that probably should've been its opening weekend take alone.
Maybe it'll perform stronger on home video.
Beasts of the Southern Wild has done well for Fox Searchlight, grossing $10.2 million to date. As we head into the fall movie season, now comes the awards push for the film.
Also of note, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection is still in theaters, with a total gross of $65.5 million, making it the second highest grossing Tyler Perry movie (unadjusted for inflation), behind 2009's Madea Goes To Jail. So expect more Madea movies.
And by the way, that anti-Obama documentary, 2016: Obama's America, expanded to another 270 screens, and has grossed over $26 million.
The top 10 weekend grossers below for September 7 – 9:
1. The Possession LGF $9,500,000 ($33,349,000)
2. Lawless Wein. $6,002,000 ($23,520,000)
3. The Words CBS $5,000,000 ($5,000,000)
4. The Expendables 2 LGF $4,750,000 ($75,417,000)
5. The Bourne Legacy Uni. $4,000,000 ($103,700,000)
6. ParaNorman Focus $3,830,000 ($45,098,000)
7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green BV $3,650,000 ($43,007,000)
8. The Campaign WB $3,530,000 ($79,473,000)
9. The Dark Knight Rises WB $3,285,000 ($437,849,000)
10. 2016 Obama's America RM $3,281,000 ($26,088,000)
