Box Office: Spartans wins Friday; Rambo should win weekend; Cloverfield tanks!
Posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 by Steve Mason

I’m getting ready to jet off to Phoenix for Super Bowl 42, where I will be covering the game for ESPN, so I’m doing a “bare bones” version of my normal weekend estimates.
Meet the Spartans (Fox) has apparently won the day Friday with an estimated $6.5M compared to Rambo’s opening day of $6M, but my projection is that the Lionsgate Stallone sequel will play a bit stronger with Males 25 Plus on this football-free Saturday and Sunday. My projection is that the poorly reviewed Rambo will manage to win the 3-day with about $17.4M compared to $17.1M or so for Spartans.
Cloverfield (Paramount) has absolutely “fallen apart” in its 2nd weekend. It managed only $4.5M on Friday, and it’ll lumber to a disappointing $13.1M for the weekend. That would be a horrifying 68% drop, and it’ll be in a 3-day photo finish with 27 Dresses (Fox), which appears to be headed for $13M after a $4M Friday.
Sony’s Untraceable has performed slightly above industry expectations with an estimated $3.5M on its opening day. While skewing strongly toward older females, this techno-thriller should capture $10.5M by Monday morning. Meanwhile, How She Move (Paramount Vantage) is a disaster with a meager $1M on Friday, and a likely $2.85M on opening weekend.
On the PTA front, IFC Films’ 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, which failed to grab a foreign language Oscar nomination, debuted strongly at 2 locations on Friday with a $7,000 PTA. Cristian Mungiu’s Romanian abortion drama, jilted by the Academy Awards’ faulty foreign language film methodology, has a chance to score an impressive $25,000+ weekend PTA.
EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES
1. Meet the Spartans (Fox) - $6.5M - $2,495 PTA - $6.5M cume
2. Rambo (Lionsgate) - $6M - $2,181 PTA - $6M cume
3. Cloverfield (Paramount) - $4.5M - $1,560 - $55.8M cume
4. 27 Dresses (Fox) - $4M - $1,071 PTA - $35.4M cume
5. Untraceable (Sony) - $3.5M - $1,478 PTA - $3.5M cume
6. Juno (Fox Searchlight) - $2.85M - $1,204 PTA - $92.7M cume
7. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) - $2.53M - $1,043 PTA - $50M cume
8. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) - $1.25M - $429 PTA - $202M cume
9. Mad Money (Overture) - $1.2M - $557 PTA - $11.8M cume
10. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) - $1.15M - $466 PTA - $11M cume
11. How She Move (Paramount Vantage) - $1M - $653 PTA - $1M cume
12. Atonement (Focus) - $975,000 - $637 PTA - $34.9M cume
13. Alvin & the Chipmunks (Fox) - $820,000 - $586 PTA - $200.4M cume
14. First Sunday (Sony) - $775,000 - $319 PTA - $31.9M cume
15. No Country for Old Men (Miramax) - $590,000 - $393 PTA - $50.1M cume
16. I Am Legend (Warner Bros) - $530,000 - $479 PTA - $249.9M cume
*4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (IFC Films) - $14,000 - $7,000 PTA - $14,000 cume
EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. Rambo (Lionsgate) - $17.4M - $6,325 PTA - $17.4M cume
2. Meet the Spartans (Fox) - $17.1M - $6,564 PTA - $17.1M cume
3. Cloverfield (Paramount) - $13.1M - $3,841 PTA - $64.6M cume
4. 27 Dresses (Fox) - $13M - $4,229 PTA - $44.7M cume
5. Untraceable (Sony) - $10.5M - $4,434 PTA - $10.5M cume
6. Juno (Fox Searchlight) - $9.4M - $3,877 PTA - $99.2M cume
7. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) - $8.85M - $3,038 PTA - $56.3M cume
8. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) - $4.68M - $2,176 PTA - $205.4M cume
9. Mad Money (Overture) - $4.14M - $1,676 PTA - $14.8M cume
10. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) - $4.08M - $4,613 PTA - $13.9M cume
11. Alvin & the Chipmunks (Fox) - $3.77M - $1,552 PTA - $203.3M cume
12. Atonement (Focus) - $3.55M - $2,542 PTA - $37.5M cume
13. How She Move (Paramount Vantage) - $2.85M - $1,862 PTA - $2.85M cume
14. First Sunday (Sony) - $2.75M - $1,831 PTA - $33.9M cume
15. No Country for Old Men (Miramax) - $2M - $1,812 PTA - $51.5M cume
16. I Am Legend (Warner Bros) - $1.9M - $1,358 PTA - $251.3M cume
*4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (IFC Films) - $51,100 - $25,550 PTA - $51,100 cume
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