TERMINATOR - IS THE BOX-OFFICE HOT STREAK OVER?

IS THE BOX-OFFICE HOT STREAK OVER?

Box office analysts are starting to ask whether the movie business has run out of steam after the four-day Memorial Day holiday performed no better than a year ago -- despite numerous high-budget films highlighting theater marquees. The top film, Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian won the weekend battle with a take of $70.1 million, beating Terminator Salvation, which delivered $51.9 million. Their total take, however, was slightly below what Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earned during the same weekend a year ago. The difference is that each of the two cost as much as the Indian Jones movie to produce -- just under $200 million, according to most estimates. The IMAX factor was at play in the weekend results. Star Trek lost its IMAX screens and its take dropped 47 percent. Night at the Museum II picked them up, where they generated $5.4 million in ticket sales -- or 8 percent of the total from fewer than 2 percent of the screens.

The top ten films over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date) 1. Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian , Fox, $70,052,004, (New); 2. Terminator Salvation, Warner Bros., $51,943,726, 1 Wks. ($65,316,217 -- from Thursday); 3. Star Trek, Paramount, $29,380,384, 3 Wks. ($191,014,403); 4. Angels & Demons , Sony/Columbia, $27,413,992, 2 Wks. ($87,524,618); 5. Dance Flick , Paramount, $12,622,450, (New); 6. X-Men Origins Wolverine , Fox, $9,910,686, 4 Wks. ($165,164,423); 7. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past , Warner Bros., $4,767,809, 4 Wks. ($46,906,154); 8. Obsessed , Sony/Screen Gems, $2,424,470, 5 Wks. ($66,332,824); 9. Monsters vs. Aliens , Paramount, $2,060,680, 9 Wks. ($193,706,544); 10. 17 Again , Warner Bros., $1,292,506, 6 Wks. ($60,601,427).

27/05/2009