BOX OFFICE: WEEK 22 OF 2010 IN US

Week 22/2010

US BOX OFFICE WEEKEND 28-31 May 2010

This weekend, the US Box Office plummeted into one of the weakest Memorial Weekend in the history. Two new releases that set in the desert of the Middle East, failed to unseat the reigning and equally weak Shrek Forever After from the top spot. Sex and the City 2 was severely panned by the critics while Prince of Persia: The Sand Of Time received a mixed welcome. The two movies were previously hoped to lived up to its own expectation but apparently they did not.

The four days estimated gross for the weekend was US$ 181.58 m, paler than previous years' rake of US$ 213.76 m (2009; 15% lesser) and US$ 213.48 m (2008; 15% lesser)

NUMBER 1

Shrek Forever After continues to lead the weak frame on its sophmore, which came to much surprise with US$ 55.725 m on four-day weekend tally (21.3% drop from last week). It has raised US$ 145.475 m after 11 days. By comparison of the franchise, the previous three made US$ 111.75 m, US$ 212.13 m and US$ 217.35 m (Shrek, Shrek 2 and Shrek The Third, respectively) at the same point. In many of the expert's opinions, Shrek 4 is on its way to become the lowest grossed film on its franchise, although boosted by its over-priced 3D charges. The weekend's gross includes 55% from 3D.

NUMBER 2

A close fight till the end. Prince of Persia debuted with a not-too-bad US$ 37.8 m but the number was far lower than any other Jerry Bruckheimer-produced action film's opening. In fact, this marked the producer's lowest opening take since 2004's King Arthur. Prince of Persia has been hoped to be another summer tent-pole for Walt Disney and Bruckheimer but the low figures could be a concern. The US$ 200 m budgeted action film could still have a chance for sequel, depending how much it can leg in domestic take and figures from overseas. Prince Of Persia raked almost US$ 59 m from 47 foreign market and now has more than US$ 133 m grand total on its chest. [Review of Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time is here]

NUMBER 3
Sex and the City 2 performed bitter than its predecessor. The four-day figure of US$ 37.15 m and a total of US$ 51.35 m since its Thursday opening was significantly lower than its predecessor's three days opening take. The movie was also severely panned, garnered only 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. It did not performed that well and it looks set to gross even lower than Prince Of Persia in the coming days. It opened to US$ 27.6 m on foreign markets this weekend.

NUMBER 4
Iron Man 2 was the fourth biggest of the week. It took in US$ 20.6 m (21.9% drop from last week) to accumulate US$ 279.18 m after 4 weekends. The first Iron Man made US$ 252.61 m at the same period back in 2008. Will it beats the final gross of Iron Man?

NUMBER 5
Robin Hood slipped two notch down from last week. This week, it made US$ 13.6 m for a total of US$ 86.32 m after 18 days. So far, it has made US$ 154.6 m on foreign markets to give it a 2:1 ratio of foreign/domestic grosses.

Here is the Top 10 Box Office in United States for the Memorial Weekend

Rank	Movie Title	Weekend Gross ($)	Total Gross ($)
1	Shrek Forever After	55,725,000	145,475,000
2	Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time	37,800,000	37,800,000
3	Sex and the City 2	37,145,000	51,353,000
4	Iron Man 2	20,600,000	279,176,000
5	Robin Hood	13,600,000	86,319,000
6	Letters to Juliet	7,250,000	37,950,000
7	Just Wright	2,700,000	18,697,000
8	Date Night	2,250,000	93,947,000
9	MacGruber	1,900,000	7,550,000
10	How to Train Your Dragon	1,465,000	213,069,000

*Note: All figures are estimated only. Courtesy of BOX OFFICE MOJO.