Friday Box Office: Bucket List #1, First Sunday #2, Juno #3

By Steve Mason/Jan. 12, 2008 3:38 am EST

The star power of Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman has lifted The Bucket List (Warner Bros) to a solid $6M Friday in its expansion to 2,911 locations, and the oldster road comedy will give director Rob Reiner the best opening of his career. After opening to $10,000+ per location on 16 screens on Christmas Day, the movie delivered solid numbers for 17 days, and, although there are no Oscar nominations in the offing, The Bucket List will grab $18.6M over the 3-day weekend, bringing its new cume to just over $20M.

After winning 2 Emmys for his role as Meathead on All in the Family in the 1970's, Reiner established himself as one of the most original directors of the 80's and 90's with seminal films like This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally. Then, he was an Oscar nominee for A Few Good Men, which went on to gross $141.3M domestic. He has not, however, had a major box office or critical success since 1995's The American President.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 ROB REINER WIDE OPENINGS

1. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

2. A Few Good Men – $15.5M

3. Misery – $10.07M

4. The American President – $10.01M

5. The Story of Us – $9.6M

6. When Harry Met Sally – $8.8M

7. Alex & Emma – $6.1M

8. Rumor Has It – $3.4M

9. The Sure Thing – $3.1M

10. North – $3M

Warner Bros gave Bucket List a limited holiday release with the hopes of winning the attention of Academy Awards voters, but the film has met with lukewarm-to-negative reviews (only 40% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), and not even the star-craved Hollywood Foreign Press Association could figure out a way to nominate Jack Nicholson. Still, for Jack, this movie will mark the 4th-best wide opening of his career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 JACK NICHOLSON WIDE OPENINGS

1. Anger Management – $42.2M

2. Batman – $40.4M

3. The Departed – $26.8M

4. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

5. Wolf – $17.9M

6. Something's Gotta Give – $16M

7. A Few Good Men – $15.5M

8. As Good As It Gets – $12.6M

9. The Witches of Eastwick – $9.4M

10. Mars Attacks! – $9.3M

Meanwhile, The Bucket List becomes the #7 opening of the venerable Morgan Freeman's career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 MORGAN FREEMAN WIDE OPENINGS

1. Bruce Almighty – $67.9M

2. Batman Begins – $48.7M

3. Deep Impact – $41.1M

4. Evan Almighty – $31.19M

5. The Sum of All Fears – $31.17M

6. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – $25.6M

7. The Bucket List – $18.6M (estimate)

8. Along Came a Spider – $16.7M

9. Dreamcatcher – $15.02M

10. Unforgiven – $15.01M

It appears that the broad comedy First Sunday (Sony) is #2 both for Friday and the weekend with a better-than-expected performance. With a cast that includes Ice Cube, Tracey Morgan and Katt Williams, the movie has opened with downright horrible reviews (17% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), but it's bulletproof at the box office. First Sunday grabbed $5.75M on opening day, and it will finish the weekend with an estimated $17.25M.

Ice Cube, a founding member of the gangsta rap group N.W.A., continues to build an impressive box office resume with First Sunday likely becoming the 4th-best opening of his career.

ALL-TIME TOP 10 ICE CUBE OPENINGS

1. Barbershop 2: Back in Business – $24.2M

2. Barbershop – $20.6M

3. Are We There Yet? – $18.5M

4. First Sunday – $17.25M (estimate)

5. Anaconda – $16.6M

6. Three Kings – $15.8M

7. Next Friday – $14.4M

8. Are We Done Yet? – $14.2M

9. Higher Learning – $13.2M

10. Friday After Next – $13M

This also marks another successful opening for a film with a predominantly black cast. Looking at the last 12 months, there are 2 double digit openings for Tyler Perry, now an established African American star, but First Sunday is the 6th 3-day opening of $10M+.

TOP 10 OPENINGS FOR MOVIES WITH

PREDOMINANTLY BLACK CASTS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS

1. Stomp the Yard – $21.8M

2. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? – $21.3M

3. This Christmas – $17.9M

4. First Sunday – $17.25M (estimate)

5. Are We Done Yet? – $14.2M

6. Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls – $11.2M

7. The Great Debaters – $6M

8. I Think I Love My Wife – $5.6M

9. Pride – $3.5M

10. Who's Your Caddy? – $2.7M

Juno (Fox Searchlight) expanded to almost 2,500 locations, but still dipped by 20% Friday-to-Friday. The buzzed-about indie sensation, soon-to-be an Oscar nominee (Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay noms are sure things and a Best Picture nod is a definite possibility), generated $4.25M on Friday for a new domestic box office total of $61.5M. It will finish the weekend with $13.17M and, by Monday morning, Juno will nudge past the $70M mark.

National Treasure 2 (Disney) added $3.5M to start the 3-day, and the Nicolas Cage sequel is headed for an $11.2M weekend a new cume of just under $180M. Will Smith's I Am Legend (Warner Bros) rounds out the top 5 with an estimated $2.6M Friday and a likely weekend take of $8.3M or so.

There are 2 other new wide releases that have met with disappointing results. Universal's The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie managed only $1.2M on Friday. The Christian-themed animated film will likely finish the weekend at #9 with an estimated $4.56M. Meanwhile, video game adaptation In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (Freestyle Releasing), another Uwe Boll schlockfest, only sold $950K worth on opening day, and it's headed for a meager $2.8M weekend.

Counting down to the anti-climactic Golden Globes press conference on Sunday, There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) has expanded with wildly successful results. The Paul Thomas Anderson-directed adaptation of Upton Sinclair's novel Oil is now at 127 locations, and it registered over $600,000 for the day for a per screen average of over $4,600. With a searing performance from Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who will almost certainly claim the Golden Globe for Best Actor â€" Drama on Sunday night, Blood will register an estimated $2.16M weekend and a 3-day PTA of $16,787.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES

1. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $6M, $2,061 PTA [$7.4M cume]

2. NEW – First Sunday (Sony) – $5.75M, $2,598 PTA [$5.75M cume]

3. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $4.25M, $1,736 PTA [$61.5M cume]

4. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $3.5M, $1,046 PTA [$179.3M cume]

5. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $2.6M, $775 PTA [$234.7M cume]

6. One Missed Call (Warner Bros) – $2.03M, $2,321 PTA [$5.2M cume]

7. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $1.8M, $522 PTA [$180.4M cume]

8. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $1.64M, $709 PTA [$43.6M cume]

9. Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) – $1.36M, $565 PTA [$56.5M cume]

10. NEW â€" Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Universal) – $1.2M, $895 PTA [$1.2M cume]

11. Atonement (Focus) – $1.17M, $1,236 PTA [$22M cume]

12. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $1.01M, $766 PTA [$41.6M cume]

13. NEW – In the Name of the King (Freestyle Releasing) – $950,000, $475 PTA [$950,000 cume]

14. The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $728,164, $564 PTA [$24M cume]

15. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $687,818, $274 PTA [$32.5M cume]

16. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $601,521 $4,663 PTA [$3M cume]

17. The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $595,574, $842 PTA [$1.7M cume]

18. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $449,966, $629 PTA [$2.5M cume]

20. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $423.038, $307 PTA [$39M cume]

*Enchanted (Disney) – $416,276, $347 PTA [$120.9M cume]

*No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $385,000, $586 PTA [$45.9M cume]

*The Golden Compass (New Line) – $244,200, $299 PTA [$66.6M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $86,448, $1,153 PTA [$1.6M cume]

*The Savages (Fox Searchlight) – $79,679, $866 PTA [$2.7M cume]

*Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$39,723, $3,611 [$393,000 cume]

*Heartbeat Detector (Independent) – $1,978, $1,978 PTA [$1,978 cume]

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES

1. The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $18.6M, $6,390 PTA [$20M cume]

2. NEW – First Sunday (Sony) – $17.25M, $7,795 PTA [$17.25M cume]

3. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $13.17M, $5,382 PTA [$70.4M cume]

4. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $11.2M, $3,317 PTA [$187M cume]

5. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $8.32M, $2,481 PTA [$240.4M cume]

6. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $6.14M, $1,776 PTA [$184.7M cume]

7. One Missed Call (Warner Bros) – $6.1M, $2,724 PTA [$20.6M cume]

8. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $5.1M, $2,197 PTA [$47.1M cume]

9. NEW â€" Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Universal) – $4.56M, $3,411 PTA [$4.56M cume]

10. Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) – $4.35M, $1,809 PTA [$59.5M cume]

11. Atonement (Focus) – $3.99M, $4,202 PTA [$24.9M cume]

12. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $3.24M, $2,450 PTA [$43.9M cume]

13. NEW – In the Name of the King (Freestyle Releasing) – $2.8M, $1,746 PTA [$2.8M cume]

14. The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $2.36M, $1,835 PTA [$25.6M cume]

15. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $2.3M, $919 PTA [$34.1M cume]

16. There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $2.16M, $16,787 PTA [$4.5M cume]

17. The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $2.02M, $2,864 PTA [$3.1M cume]

18. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $1.55M, $2,171 PTA [$3.6M cume]

19. Enchanted (Disney) – $1.35M, $1,126 PTA [$121.9M cume]

20. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $1.33M, $967 PTA [$39.9M cume]

*No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $1.27M, $1,934 PTA [$46.8M cume]

*The Golden Compass (New Line) – $854,700, $1,047 PTA [$67.2M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $337,145, $4,495 PTA [$1.8M cume]

*The Savages (Fox Searchlight) – $298,797, $3,248 PTA [$3M cume]

*Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$144,987, $13,191 [$500,000 cume]

*Heartbeat Detector (Independent) – $6,626, $6,626 PTA [$6,626 cume]