62th Portuguese Box-Office Analysis

The clock is ticking. Still 3 more hours to “work”. In this special case, since there is nothing to do, today, at work, I’m doing the Box-Office report of the week. Of the many ones that I’ve been leaving behind since I started working in the petroleum industry. More a little bit about my life, but that not what brings each one of you here. You are here to read about movies and especially the box-office in Portugal. So it’s time to move to that area.

Not many things changed in this week’s first top ten. And in the top 2 we have exactly the same two and almost the same numbers. Hard to believe but it’s true.
We had a –11% drop comparing with last week’s top ten, and this means 222076 spectators.

Two new openers to the top ten, one directly to number 3. This marks the return of a great director to another great story. You really should see the number 3 movie. But for that prepare to something a little bit different from the usual biopic. Seeing Converse shoes, New Order songs in a period movie could really meddle with your head. If you don’t believe this is possible you haven’t seen the number 3 movie. No, I won’t tell just yet. Or you already know which one it is.

The other one is a little bit more faster than the previous. It mixes drugs, high adrenaline and a lot of fighting and running. The perfect movie to stay in shape. With Mr. Jason Statham to put your heart in a high race mode.

Not making the top ten, we find two other movies. One trying to invent a adolescent Bon, that failed miserably and one trying to mixture Royal people with common people. The result is hilarious. Not the best movie, but give a chance to this French movie.

Done with the letters. And the numbers are:

This report concerns the week between 19 and 25 of October.

Legend

Position/Movie
Number of Theaters
Number of Spectators/Week
Average per Theater/Week
Comparison with Last Week’s Number of Spectators
Number of Spectators/Total Run
Week of Release
1. Filme da Treta
39
65369
1676
-4%
133237
2nd Week
2. The Guardian
44
32251
733
-25%
74989
2nd Week
3. Marie Antoinette
17
25819
1518
-
25819
1st Week

4. Barnyard
41
25240
616
-37%
138041
3rd Week

5. Click
37
21358
577
-33%
112563
3rd Week

6. Crank
32
14915
466
-
14915
1st Week

7. The Black Dahlia
21
11720
558
-27%
57112
3rd Week

8. World Trade Center
34
9420
277
-49%
251378
5th Week

9. Little Miss Sunshine
12
8367
697
-11%
17813
2nd Week

10. Volver
14
7617
544
-10%
110424
7th Week

11. Alex Ryder: Operation Stormbreaker
20
7124
356
-
7124
1st Week
.
.
.
17. Palais Royal
7
2803
400
-
2803
1st Week

The Champion:

No news in the first place. No surprise this week. Still maintaining the first place is “Filme da Treta”. But what was not expected was this strong hold. A mere 4% drop, marks another record of one of the best hold of a number one film in it’s second week. Indeed, it’s career in Portuguese Box-Office is of glory and gold. Will it beat the numbers of “Crime do Padre Amaro” from last year. That is another, and much more difficult story. But who knows. With this holds it is possible to do it. It made 65369 spectators in it’s second week. The numbers speak for themselves. The fact that no big films opened also helped this result a lot.

The New Players:

We find the first opening at number 3, with, “Marie Antoinette”, the latest from acclaimed director Sofia Copolla, only the third woman to get a recognition for best director from the Academy. She didn’t get the prize but got another of best Screenplay. The usual prize for the best film of the year. The Best Film is just a prize for the best advertised film of the year or famous as you’d prefer.
Sofia maintains her style of adolescent women and their problems. It’s about becoming an adult, in this case for Princess Marie Antoinette, a 14 year old princess sent to marry the future King of France Luis XIV (if I’m not mistaken). A very loose adaptation of the story of Marie in the French court of XVIII century. A period of decadence, showed in a very particular way by the eye of this, already, big director of cinema.
Talking about numbers, they are strong with a 1518 average per week/theater and 25819 spectators. A strong opening indeed.

“Crank” is, on the other hand, a big disappointing moment for action movie. Could the action Hero be Dead. Jason Statham was now one of the biggest, but this film shows that the formula as worn out. The idea of this film is a good one but maybe people are starting to get tired. With 32 theaters only 14915 spectators went see it. That means a 466 average per theater/week. Not good news for Jason after his Transporter 2 that failed to go after it’s predecessor but with good results. It’s all downhill from here? We will see.

At 11th position is a pre-teen Bond “Alex Ryder: Operation Stormbreaker” with 7124 spectators and a 356 average. I guess people are waiting for the real deal that will open in theaters in 23 of November, here in Portugal. We will se in a few weeks. Oh, by the way. This film sucks big time. I don’t advise it to anyone, not even my enemies and especially if you are a Bond Fan. The only plus on this is seeing Ewan Mcgregor playing Bond type character at the beginning of the film. I guess he wanted to try the feeling without the responsibility and the burden of carrying the name of Bond to the end. Now he has to stick to Obi Wan Kenobi.

The final entry is found at number 17. A French film called “Palais Royal” with 2803 spectators for an average of 400. With some notable exceptions, like last year’s “The Beat My Heart Skipped” with Romain Duris, usually French cinema fails to connect to Portuguese audiences. Before that only Amelie, that was a massive success in just a few select theaters got to the Portuguese heart. But this is a good option to reconcile with French comedy. It is about a royal family, based loosely in the English Monarchy, that is completely not perfect. And with the addiction of the new wife of the future king things start to become even more strange. I recommend it. I will check it out. But don’t expect a perfect film, just a good comic with the French Touch.

The Winner of the Week:

Again it’s “Filme da Treta” for the second straight week. Why? The highest average, number 1, highest number of spectators, best hold for a champion in it’s second week. I rest my case. But Sofia Coppola’s came a very close second. But still not good enough.

The Looser of the Week:

For the third time we have “World Trade Center”. What begun with an amazing opening and the winner of the week, dropped very rapidly in the next week and is going downhill in each passing week. This week’s 49% drop to number 8, and also marking it’s disappearance from the top ten movies. But for final numbers it’s still pretty good, 251378 spectators. Very impressive.

And yes, it’s time to say goodbye.

See you next week.
Good Night and Good Films .