Saturday Box Office Update: National Treasure Flat, Alvin And The Chipmunks Unstoppable

By Steve Mason/Dec. 30, 2007 12:17 am EST

There is something for everyone at America's multiplexes and arthouses this weekend, and a fair share of the wide release and specialty fare is performing well.

By end of business on Wednesday, Will Smith's I Am Legend (Warner Bros) will likely be the 8th-best grossing 2007 release at $207.3M, Alvin & the Chipmunks (Fox) will be #12 with $161.92M and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) will be the 14th top performer of the year's releases with $142.21M. With numbers like that 2007 is going out with a bang.

Treasure was basically flat Friday-to-Saturday and the latest adventure for treasure hunter Ben Gates should manage a $35.77M 3-day and a 5-day of $53.81M. Surprise hit Alvin continues to amaze at #2 and Legend is running 3rd.

Oscar caliber films like Charlie Wilson's War, Juno, Atonement and others are performing in more limited release. For Oscar followers here's a breakdown of how potential Best Picture nominees are projected to perform over the 5-day New Years Holiday.

PROJECTED 5-DAY NEW YEARS BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE OF BEST PICTURE CONTENDERS

1. Charlie Wilson's War – $19.24M [$41.98M cume]

2. Juno – $15.8M [$31.18M cume]

3. Sweeney Todd – $12.47M [$31.19M cume]

4. The Great Debaters – $9.67M [$16.91M cume]

5. Atonement – $4.82M [$12.93M cume]

6. The Kite Runner – $2.39M [$5.88M cume]

7. No Country For Old Men – $2.33M [$41.15M cume]

8. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly – $390,720 [$1M cume]

9. There Will Be Blood – $311,000 [$434,000 cume]

PROJECTED 5-DAY NEW YEARS PER THEATRE AVERAGE OF BEST PICTURE CONTENDERS

1. There Will Be Blood – 2 locations – $155,000 PTA

2. Juno – 998 locations – $15,833 PTA

3. Atonement – 310 locations – $15,552 PTA

4. Sweeney Todd – 1,249 locations – $9,989 PTA

5. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly – 42 locations – $9,303 PTA

6. The Great Debaters – 1,164 locations – $8,312 PTA

7. Charlie Wilson's War – 2,575 locations – $7,474 PTA

8. The Kite Runner – 377 locations – $6,345 PTA

9. No Country For Old Men – 960 locations – $2,434 PTA

Here are my early Saturday, Revised 3-day and Revised 5-day estimates.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY SATURDAYÂ ESTIMATES

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $12.46M, $3,253 PTA [$113.08M cume]

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $10.79M, $3,099 PTA [$133.55M cume]

3. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $9.98M, $2,747 PTA [$186.2M cume]

4. Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) – $4.29M, $1,666 PTA [$30.92M cume]

5. NEW – Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $3.46M, $1,350 PTA [$23.65M cume]

6. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $3.44M, $3,451 PTA [$22.1M cume]

7. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $3.18M, $1,291 PTA [$20.47M cume]

8. NEW – The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $3.07M, $1,111 PTA [$13.87M cume]

9. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $2.9M, $2,322 PTA [$24.26M cume]

10. Enchanted (Disney) – $2.37M, $1,052 PTA [$108.83M cume]

11. NEW – The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $2.3M, $1,976 PTA [$11.54M cume]

12. The Golden Compass (New Line) – $1.56M, $807 PTA [$57.53M cume]

13. NEW – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Sony) – $1.22M, $461 PTA [$11.05M cume]

14. Atonement (Focus) – $1.07M, $3,480 PTA [$10.12MÂ cume]

15. No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $655,000, $682 PTA [$40M cume]

16. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $575,000, $1,525 PTA [$4.5M cume]

*The Savages (Fox Searchlight) – $160,000, $1,441 PTA [$1.4M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $95,000, $2,262 PTA [$779,000 cume]

*NEW – There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $66,000, $33,000 PTA [$249,500 cume]

*NEW – The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $65,000, $3,611 PTA [$125,000 cume]

*NEW – The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $64,000, $4,000 PTA [$394,000 cume]

*NEW – Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$23,000, $3,833 [$117,000 cume]

*NEW – Honeydripper (Emerging Pictures) – $1,930, $643 PTA [$5,146 cume]

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS REVISED 3-DAYÂ ESTIMATES

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $35.77M, $9,337 PTA [$124.18M cume]

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $30.99M, $8,897 PTA [$143.37M cume]

3. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $27.64M, $7,603 PTA [$194.72M cume]

4. Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) – $12.05M, $4,680 PTA [$34.78M cume]

5. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $9.92M, $9,947 PTA [$25.3M cume]

6. NEW – Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $9.69M, $3,782 PTA [$26.52M cume]

7. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $9.01M, $3,657 PTA [$23.3M cume]

8. NEW – The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $8.96M, $3,234 PTA [$16.58M cume]

9. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $8.09M, $6,483 PTA [$26.81M cume]

10. Enchanted (Disney) – $6.83M, $3,020 PTA [$110.9M cume]

11. NEW – The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $6.3M, $5,413 PTA [$13,54M cume]

12. The Golden Compass (New Line) – $4.41M, $2,280 PTA [$58.92M cume]

13. NEW Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Sony) – $3.56M, $1,346 PTA [$12.11M cume]

14. Atonement (Focus) – $3.01M $9,716 PTA [$11.12MÂ cume]

15. No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $1.75M, $1,827 PTA [$40.5 cume]

17. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $1.54M, $4,101 PTA [$5M cume]

*The Savages (Fox Searchlight) – $422,600, $3,807 PTA [$1.5M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $251,150, $5,980 PTA [$867,000 cume]

*NEW – There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $190,331, $95,166 PTA [$313,000 cume]

*NEW – The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $184,288, $10,238 PTA [$184,000 cume]

*NEW – The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $169,960, $10,623 PTA [$451,000 cume]

*NEW – Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$61,042, $10,174 PTA [$137,000 cume]

*NEW – Honeydripper (Emerging Pictures) – $6,689, $2,230 PTA [$6,689 cume]

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS REVISED 5-DAYÂ ESTIMATES

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Disney) – $53.81M, $14,043 PTA [$142.1M cume]

2. Alvin and the Chipmunks (Fox) – $49.54M, $14,222 PTA [$161.92M cume]

3. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.) – $40.22M, $11,063 PTA [$207.3M cume]

4. Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) – $19.24M, $7,474 PTA [$41.98M cume]

5. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $15.8M, $15,833 PTA [$31.18M cume]

6. NEW – The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (Sony) – $14.19M, $5,122 PTA [$21.81M cume]

7. P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros.) – $13.9M, $5,643 PTA [$28.2M cume]

8. NEW – Alien vs. Predator: Requiem – $13.57M, $5,296 PTA [$30.4M cume]

9. Sweeney Todd (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $12.47M, $9.989 PTA [$31.42 cume]

10. Enchanted (Disney) – $10.64M, $4,706 PTA [$114.7M cume]

11. NEW – The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM) – $9.67M, $8,312 PTA [$16.9M cume]

12. The Golden Compass (New Line) – $6.79M, $3,514 PTA [$61.3M cume]

13. NEW Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Sony) – $4.98M, $1,882 PTA [$13.53M cume]

14. Atonement (Focus) – $4.82M $15,552 PTA [$12.9MÂ cume]

15. The Kite Runner (Paramount Vantage) – $2.39M, $6,345 PTA [$5.88M cume]

16. No Country for Old Men (Miramax) – $2.33M, $2,434 PTA [$41.1 cume]

*The Savages (Fox Searchlight) – $650,950, $5,864 PTA [$1.7M cume]

*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Miramax) – $390,720, $9,303 PTA [$1M cume]

*NEW – There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $311,080, $155,540 PTA [$433,609 cume]

*NEW – The Orphanage (Picturehouse) – $287,817, $15,990 PTA [$287,817 cume]

*NEW – The Bucket List (Warner Bros) – $248,600, $15,538 PTA [$530,000 cume]

*NEW – Persepolis (Sony Classics) -$91,805, $15,301 PTA [$168,000 cume]

*NEW – Honeydripper (Emerging Pictures) – $10,188, $3,396 PTA [$10,188 cume]