SATURDAY AM: Here are Friday’s official North American numbers from the studios for the biggest romantic comedy debut – No. 1 Sex And The City truly shocked Hollywood pros by opening with a hanging-from-the-chandeliers $26.9 million from 3,285 theaters. The big question now is whether this staggering wanna-see among women for the HBO Films/New Line/Warner Bros female froth sustains through Saturday and Sunday showings so the weekend total can soar past $70M and maybe even $75M. I’m already hearing that studio moguls are looking through their film and TV libraries to see what else they can produce for the fortysomething-and-older female — a demographic that the entertainment industry generally ignores. Not any more — or is SATC a once-in-a-generation phenomenon? But younger women are also seeing the pic. As one tipster told me, “I saw the throngs of women waiting in line — starting at 9ish and still there at midnight when we got out of the movie. The thing I noticed: the women were all early 20s, not in their 30s or 40s at all. They were 18 to 25. So I’m not sure where people are getting this over-40 demo but I am pretty sure it’s the young girls who are the most excited for this flick.”
Paramount’s megahit Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull fell a slightly more than expected 59% for $12.2 million from 4,264 venues for No. 2. Then again, when it opened a week ago, most people had the Friday off, or half-day off, before the Memorial Weekend. The Spielberg/Lucas actioner should finish the weekend with another $40M-$42M for a new cume of $212M. A real surprise was the No. 3 finish of The Strangers with $7.5M. The horror pic, distributed by Universal, is the highest grossing Rogue Picture to date from 3,285 plays. It cost only $9 million and it should gross around $20 million for the weekend — a successful bit of SATC counter-programming. (Photo of SATC filmgoers by Jim Stevenson.)
- ‘Sex’ Sell-Out & Blow-Out! Could Go As High As $28M Friday, $75M Weekend
- IS ‘SEX’ THE ULTIMATE CHICK FLICK? Sold-Out In Cities For Gals Night Out
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“I’m already hearing that studio moguls are looking through their film and TV libraries to see what else they can produce for the fortysomething-and-older female– a demographic that the entertainment industry generally ignores.”
This is the next mogul mistake: That the only properties suited for this demo is from old TV shows and remakes.
Sigh….
How about developing some good new movies for this demo instead of trying to do as little work as possible?
All we can say to studio chiefs frantically looking for female 40-something scripts is:
1. Duh.
2. Don’t make them SATC copycats because they’ll fail and that would miss the point entirely.
The point is: females of all ages are grossly
under served in movies.
When one of these movies fail, don’t dismiss it wholly as a failed ‘genre.’
Apply the same failure allowance to female driven movies as you so generously apply to male driven movies (which fail more often than not.)
Applying more restrictive standards to female driven films is irrational bad business. The female demographic is huge and the dollars in their pockets have the same value – actually more value because females make 80% of household economic decisions, and they are 51% of the population.
With hits like SAC and Desperate Housewives I hope studios finally wake up to the fact that there really is a huge audience wanting to see leading ladies “of a certain age” being sexy, compelling and funny on television and the big screen.
Make it and we will come.
Being as I’m a 40ish female screenwriter I say this with all sincerity, “It’s about fucking time.” – as I begin scribbling on my legal pad…
Moguls are idiots…I attended a Producers Guild Seminar on new media a few months ago. One presenter emphatically stated that the hot market for them is “males 13 to 35″. Wow..that means they aren’t even looking at my money, aren’t interested in marketing to me. Funny thing, both my son and law and grandson have computers and IPOD’s and I bought them all. I think I will go see SATC again today just to give them bigger badder numbers to mess with the moguls heads and show them that women are a force that should reckon with. Who do they really think is the major decision maker in the “males 13-35″ demo. Mostly women.
I went with a few friends to a Friday 10AM show and the theatre was almost filled to capacity!! The audience was a wide mix of people, but there were a lot of older women in their 50′s there in groups of 4 or 5. That seems to be be the time for them to go. Now, the big question will be whether or not the studios can find the right projects to appeal to this crowd. But I hope they realize that this audience is pre-sold, so to develop something for the over 40 crowd really has to speak to them the way this series did.
Iron Man – First Weekend ~$99 million
RottonTomatoes Rating – 93% Still Fresh!
=====
SatC – First Weekend ~$65 – ~$70 million
RottonTomatoes Rating – 55% Do You Smell Something?
All kidding aside, I just want to see good movies, PERIOD.
But, which genre can get away with dismissing the other gender and still prove to be a stronger and longer moneymaker? Which moviegoer is more consistent in moviegoing? Which genre is consistent, PERIOD.
Film may be art but the studios are a business and are going to aim for the bottom line though the current cycle of ‘woman-oriented films’ (WoOFs) is promising there is only one true solution:
“Stop your bitchin and start your pitchin!”
SatC has given you an opportunity, take it!
=====
More stats to ponder:
27 Dresses ~$77 million
P.S. I Love You ~$54 million
Music & Lyrics ~$51 million
Catch and Release ~$16 million
The Jane Austen Book Club ~ $4 million
SOURCES:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/movies/09roma.html
http://www.boxofficemojo.com
BTW, Speed Racer aside (sigh) Dark Knight hasn’t even opened yet and I hear a rumbling from the Tropics.
I don’t think the moguls are that stupid. Young men/boys have disposable income. Women may make 80% of household purchasing decisions but go to movies rarely compared to young men.
Like it or not, the blockbuster finances most of the rest of the movies, and requires young men. I think it’s an appalling risk to base profitability on hitting with young men but that’s how it’s done.
Guys will show up for Iron Man, will women show up in equal numbers for say, “Dynasty the Movie?”
I don’t think so because if women are under-served (they are) in the movie market they are over-served in the TV market. I think it would be healthier and less risky to move away from hits to making money on each film, and serving all quadrants: males young/old, female young/old but I don’t see it happening because of disparate spending habits and reaction to marketing.
I would love it if there were more (quality) female driven films.