‘Brothers’ Step Over ‘X-Files’, ‘Mamma Mia!’ Holds Well

<< ‘Dark Knight’ Crowned Again

Step Brothers had a decent second place opening with an estimated $30 million from 3,094 theaters. The Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly starring comedy was their first collaboration since Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which opened to $47 million nearly two years ago. The start may have been somewhat lower than Talladega‘s, but that comedy was rated PG-13 and opened in a much less crowded field. Brothers debuted to nearly double the opening of Ferrell’s last R-rated comedy, Semi-Pro, which bombed earlier this year. If the film is able to post decent holds over the next few weeks, a $100 million final tally could be in order. However, direct competition is looming over the next weeks with Pineapple Express opening August 6 and Tropic Thunder launching August 13.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe debuted poorly, with an estimated fourth place $10.2 million debut from a probably too wide 3,185 theaters. That opening was a third of the $30.1 million that The X Files: Fight the Future debuted with a decade ago, and tickets were much cheaper back then to boot. The X-Files brand lost its cultural relevance several years ago when the show ended with less than spectacular viewership so only the die-hard fans showed up on its opening weekend.

Holdovers generally had much smaller declines than last weekend thanks to lower competition from openers.

Mamma Mia! posted a better hold than Hairspray had last year. Mamma Mia!‘s third place $17.9 million weekend represents just a 36% decline from last weekend’s already record breaking opening for a musical. It’s total stands at a potent $62.7 million. Hairspray descended 42% in its second weekend and finished up with an impressive 4.33 multiplier (total divided by opening weekend). Mamma Mia!‘s multiplier could be even larger meaning the film could finish north of $125 million.

Journey to the Center of the Earth continues to impress earning $9.4 million and dropping a small 24%. After three weekends, Journey has now carved out $60.2 million. Without much in the way of direct competition the rest of the summer, the film now stands a shot at finishing over $100 million. Regardless, the Brendan Fraser starrer has performed very well at its digital 3D locations, which should convince many more theater owners to adopt the technology.

In sixth place, Hancock dropped a decent 42% with $8.2 million in its fourth weekend. Total stands at $206.4 million. Wall-E finally showed some typical Pixar legs as the film dropped 37% with $6.3 million. After five weeks, the lovable robot has raked in $195.2 million.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army posted a much better hold than last weekend since it didn’t have another new superhero opening to contend with. HBII dropped 51% for a $4.9 million and a $65.9 million running tally. A $75 million total is likely. Space Chimps added $4.4 million more this weekend, and the computer animated film has only collected a weak $16 million after ten days of release. The film will be lucky to finish much over $25 million. Spending its final week in the top ten, Wanted grabbed $2.7 million and has shot up $128.6 million after five weeks. About $135 million is the final target.

Next weekend, Brenden Fraser returns in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which will try to dethrone The Dark Knight from the top spot. Kevin Costner leads the older skewing comedy Swing Vote, which is currently not tracking very well, but there’s still a week to go.

Related articles:

• ‘Dark Knight’ Crowned Again, ‘Brothers’ Step Over ‘X-Files’
• ‘Brothers’ a ‘Step’ Ahead of ‘X-Files’ on Opening Day
• ‘Step Bros.’, ‘X-Files’ Try to Take Down ‘The Dark Knight’
• ‘The Dark Knight’ Crusades into Record Books

Box Office Data Source: The Numbers