Weekend Box Office Report: April 17-19: King Takes Queen

Sure, there is a slight age difference but if the Teen
Choice Awards were to hold a prom and announce a king and queen of this prom,
I’m pretty sure the masses would vote for Zac Efron as king and Miley Cyrus as
queen.  (Sorry, Vanessa
Hudgens.)  And this week, in one
swift move, the king has taken the queen down a few notches to be crowned.

A $24 million opening weekend for the Efron vehicle, 17 Again, is a far cry from the $34 million opening of Cyrus’s Hannah Montana The Movie but it does still outpace any other title playing this week by $10
million.  Hannah Montana actually
suffered a steep drop in its second week, falling 60% over its fan heavy
opening weekend.  If the declining
trend continues, it would show that Cyrus perhaps appeals only to her fan base
and not much further past that.  17 Again has a much more broad appeal and stands a stronger change of showing
sturdier legs in the weeks to come.  Any way you look at it though, Efron, after opening his last picture, High School Musical 3, at number one as well, is proving to be a pretty
bankable face.

Opening solidly in second place is the political journalist
thriller, State of Play, starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.  Given the amount of teenagers that must
have been running around the multiplex this weekend, I’m sure this adult fare
could have fared better if parents weren’t being dragged what were likely mind
numbing experiences.  Speaking of
which, Crank: High Voltage opening poorly in sixth place this weekend.  The Jason Statham now failed franchise
pulled in about half as much as the first film did in its opening weekend.  It seems to me like the film could have
used some extra voltage of its own.  Statham isn’t the only semi-bankable star suffering this weekend.  Seth Rogen’s Observe and Report suffered the steepest decline in this week’s Top 10, dropping off more than
63%.  At this rate, it will be his
lowest grossing picture since he rose to fame. 

Below the Top 10, the best per screen average of any film
playing belongs to Every Little Step, taking in $73K on 8 screens.  This documentary follows the rise of
one of Broadway’s most successful and most influential shows, “A Chorus
Line”.  Something tells me though
that this film will only play well in that same market.  And the Michael Caine starring, Is Anybody There?, also pulled in a solid per screen average, $45K on 6
screens.  The film has the
potential to become something of a sleeper hit as it expands to over 50 screens
next week, so the next few weeks will be crucial. 

NEXT WEEK: Walt Disney celebrates Earth Day on the 22^nd with their appropriated footage from the BBC series, “Planet Earth” compiled
together for a feature called simply Earth (1800 screens).  The Joe Wright directed, The Solist,
finally hits theatres after being delayed from last fall (1800 screens). And
Channing Tatum in Fighting (2100 screens) will take on Beyonce Knowles in Obsessed (2400 screens) for what will inevitably be a disappointing frame.

Weekend Top 10