The Cabin in the Woods in 3rd place with estimated $14.85 million opening weekend. - The Cabin in the Woods

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April 15 2012

The Cabin in the Woods in 3rd place with estimated $14.85 million opening weekend. Box Office Mojo reports an estimated 3rd place finish behind Hunger Games and The Three Stooges. The site offers a more detailed comparison here.

For a non-sequel, non-remake, this is a pretty good first weekend result. I think it could be good counter programming next week against a Zac Efron Rom Com.

BryGuy | The Cabin in the Woods | 18:59 CET | 45 comments total | tags: the cabin in the woods

A tad bit under what they estimated at first, lets hope word of mouth pushes it through next weekend.

active | April 15, 19:21 CET

If it has two weekends like this in the US and similar in the rest of the world, it will at least make its money back.

Mitholas | April 15, 19:32 CET

The Three Stooges. Honestly?

Egghead | April 15, 19:47 CET

I don't begrudge HUNGER GAMES leading again. It is an excellent movie and I suspect it is getting a lot of repeat viewers. I am a fan of the books and thought the film one of the best adaptations of a book ever. But THE THREE STOOGES? Have people seen the trailer? Why on God's green earth would anyone go to that? I couldn't stand the trailer, let alone an hour and a half of it. Bleh.

I really thought CABIN would do better. The numbers aren't bad, just not that great. It should easily make back its money. I think the film was hurt a bit by not having a big name star. Hemsworth should be a major star by end of summer, when SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTER comes out (in THE AVENGERS he is part of a strong ensemble, but still an ensemble, though that will help build his name). I think CABIN should do pretty well on DVD and Blu-ray.

So, not a box office hit, but it will be a solid money maker.

Njal | April 15, 19:53 CET

Remember the studio only gets (on average) 50% of the box office. In order for Lionsgate to make a profit on the theatrical release alone worldwide box office needs to be at least around $40m.

Of course they will also have money from DVD, Pay cable, basic cable, netflix/amazon, and other sources.

Still, the goal is the pay for the movie through their 50% of the box and let the rest be gravy.

IrrationaliTV | April 15, 19:54 CET

A $15m opening domestically should more than lead to a break even.

The trades predicted between $10-13m.

gossi | April 15, 19:59 CET

Also keep in mind that Lionsgate bought the film from the bankrupt MGM. Probably for much less than $30 million. Who knows how much, perhaps $10 million?

BryGuy | April 15, 19:59 CET

$20m. Like I say, they will easily break even. They already made a bunch of it back by selling it internationally (eg to a company in Australia).

gossi | April 15, 20:00 CET

Right, gossi. It will totally make money. I wasn't trying to imply it wouldn't. It just hurts when people are doing the math wrong and equating box office to studio revenue. It's nasty compulsion I have to correct them. :)

IrrationaliTV | April 15, 20:05 CET

Don't worry about it, I know what you're saying.

I'll get the DVD just to listen to the commentary. I don't normally bother with commentaries (or DVDs) any more, but this one might actually be interesting.

[ edited by gossi on 2012-04-15 20:08 ]

gossi | April 15, 20:08 CET

I found out that The Cabin in the Woods probably isn't coming out in Swedish cinema. Which was the distributor's decision. So...yeah. I'm a bit disappointed.

GreatMuppetyOdin | April 15, 20:44 CET

It looks like Stooges played in significantly more theatres than Cabin.

It is no great surprise that it is bringing in more money, Cabin is not available to as many viewers.

gray | April 15, 20:55 CET

Boo, GreatMuppetyOdin. I thought they were waiting until May?

gossi | April 15, 21:16 CET

GreatMuppetyOdin:
WHAT?! It was on SF:s site just the other week, and now it's gone! I'm more than a bit disappointed!

This is awful news :(

edit: To add insult to injury, it looks like it's been replaced by Piranha 3DD.

[ edited by gaspode on 2012-04-15 22:48 ]

gaspode | April 15, 21:21 CET

I think this looks pretty good. And a lot of people who are looking for action were split between CitW and Hunger Games, and Hunger Games has had HUGE hype for a while now. Some folks who saw HG this weekend will be checking on the buzz around CitW next weekend.

And meeting projections ain't bad. Anything beats the disappointment I felt when the initial returns came back for Serenity, to be honest. *sniff*

Ronald_SF | April 15, 21:23 CET

I don't think they're bad numbers at all, given that it wasn't showing in as many cinemas as the other movies.

And Insidious opened @ #3 too, and grossed $13,271,464 (lower than Cabin) but went on to gross $97,009,150 WW, I can honestly see word of mouth and critical appraisal taking this movie higher, it'll definitely gather a cult following regardless.

Winchester | April 15, 21:29 CET

Cabin should've been at first place. Word of mouth have been exploding for a month now, and 14 million is all there is? People are crazy...

AnonymousAnimus | April 15, 21:44 CET

Internet hype means very little in the grand scheme of things, Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim were both HUGELY hyped online and ended up being minor (Kick Ass) or major (Scott Pilgrim) B.O. failures.

losthero47 | April 15, 22:11 CET

I think having the highest per-theater average is pretty awesome. Nothin' to be ashamed about at all. We'll see what happens next weekend, but I take this to be pretty great news.

sumogrip | April 15, 22:13 CET

It over performed against the trade magazine predictions. It was never going to be number one, I don't think they had enough screens to be for one thing.

gossi | April 15, 22:24 CET

Jobo, Hunger Games has the highest per-theater average according to that chart. But CitW is 2nd.

baxter | April 15, 22:38 CET

Not to mention Cabin had an "R" rating, while the ones that beat it didn't. Usually, an R rated film has a harder time competing with PG-13 films due to the pool of people eligible to watch it.

bloomyself | April 15, 22:39 CET

Indeed, the 15 rating in the UK will definitely affect the box office. Same with 18a in parts of Europe.

gossi | April 15, 22:40 CET

Did anybody stay through the credits? I left and was worried there was something there at the end.

Anybody seen it more than once yet. Over the weekend, as I been thinking about the movie, I've been thinking about seeing it again.

Anonymous1 | April 15, 22:45 CET

Will the Three Stooges be released outside the US?

Anonymous1 | April 15, 22:46 CET

Actually, strictly speaking, CitW has the 5th best per theater average on that chart. Just saying.

Kaan | April 15, 22:55 CET

Anonymous1, I did stay through the credits and there wasn't any kind of tag (not even a grrr argh).

And Jobo, yesterday the Box Office Mojo said that Hunger Games was on more than 6,000 screens (which had meant that CitW was actually earning more per screen), but it turns out that that was wrong. Box Office Mojo is now showing that Hunger Games did reduce their number of screens so that their earnings per screen are a lot more than I had posted.

embers | April 15, 23:02 CET

gossi/gasplode:
I asked SF on Facebook, and they said the distribution company decided not to give it to them, and that most likely it'd go straight to disc here. So unless a smaller cinema chain gets it, us Swedes ain't gettin' none of that cabin.

GreatMuppetyOdin | April 15, 23:07 CET

Yeah, I found the distributors on facebook (Noble Entertainment) where they said the same.
Bluray/dvd "this summer" (their website says AUGUST 22nd. That's an eternity.)

Sorry for wandering off topic here!

Hoping against hope that these numbers are good enough for Noble Entertainment to rethink their decision.

gaspode | April 15, 23:41 CET

Hey, it's the weekend and I am going right now, did they count my $10?

hann23 | April 15, 23:47 CET

Thanks embers!

Anonymous1 | April 15, 23:48 CET

I've heard that Three Stooges isn't actually bad. In spite of appearances. (Although said appearances are legitimate cause to question why anyone actually went to see it.)

I wonder what the release of The Avengers will do to Cabin box office. Will there be a second round of "from the director of The Avengers" marketing?

[ edited by daylight on 2012-04-15 23:49 ]

daylight | April 15, 23:48 CET

Some numbers

Cabin Box Office Mojo daily

Cabin
Fri estimates $5,510,000
Theater count/Daily Aveage
2,811 / $1,960

Sat $5,660,000
2,811 / $2,014

Sun $3,680,000
2,811 / $1,309

3 Stooges Box Office Mojo daily

3 Stooges
$5,625,000
3,477 / $1,618

$6,795,000
3,477 / $1,954

$4,500,000
3,477 / $1,294

Hunger Box Office Mojo daily

The Hunger Games
$6,450,000
3,916 / $1,647

$9,400,000
3,916 / $2,400 Theater average higher than Cabin by 386

$5,650,000
3,916 / $1,443 Theater average higher than Cabin by 134

Anonymous1 | April 15, 23:54 CET

hann23, the numbers all the sites are reporting include estimates for Sunday. Final numbers will be reported Monday afternoon.

IrrationaliTV | April 15, 23:56 CET

According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Cabin in the Woods made $2.5 million in the UK and it was the 3rd highest grossing film.

Derf | April 16, 00:05 CET

Derf,

What were the 2 highest?

Anonymous1 | April 16, 00:22 CET

Battleship then Titanic then Cabin.

IrrationaliTV | April 16, 00:41 CET

Thanks Derf!

Anonymous1 | April 16, 00:54 CET

hann23, based off of Friday's and Saturday's numbers, the studios have managed to become really good at estimating the results of Sunday to give a full weekend gross. As IrrationaliTV points out Monday afternoon they announce the real numbers, but generally it's pretty close to their estimates, a small bump up or down.

Matt_Fabb | April 16, 01:27 CET

Third place is certainly respectable for a film that goes against convention.

Here's something William Goldman wrote twelve years ago:

Most people want to be told nice things. That we really are decent human beings, that God will smile on us, that there is true love and it is waiting for you, just around the next corner. That the meek really will inherit the earth.

Most people want to be told nice things. I cannot repeat that too often to anyone who wants to screenwrite for a living. You can be Bergman if you have the talent, you can tell sad human stories--but do not expect Mr. Time Warner to give you $100 million to make your movie.

The Cabin in the Woods was number three at the box office because a lot of the people in the audience were like this guy:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq4068_the-cabin-in-the-woods-review_shortfilms

Danielm80 | April 16, 04:29 CET

OK, did that guy actually go on and expectorate gibberish for three minutes without using the word tone once?

I mean the tone criticism is valid. It's one of those things audiences will pick up on even if they can't describe just what the heck they're talking about. Much like that guy... Please tell me he's not getting paid.

To some extent, this film has a required viewing list. And if you haven't viewed enough of it to GET what the writers are doing deliberately... well you're not getting a lot of the joy that smooths over the cracks.

[ edited by azzers on 2012-04-16 05:06 ]

azzers | April 16, 05:02 CET

Well I have not actually watched most of the movies referenced, but I've certainly seen ads for them, or seen clips from them so that I felt I knew the tropes that were being referenced. I certainly felt that I was getting the jokes (just saying I don't think only horror fans can enjoy it).

embers | April 16, 05:47 CET

Truthfully, I wasn't referencing horror films. Recognizing tropes predisposes someone to an amount of viewing sufficient to recognize them. And that's my point... a lot of the chocolatey-goodness of this film has a bit of a minimum viewing threshold for it to be enjoyed fully.

azzers | April 16, 06:22 CET

@losthero47

I don't think Kick-Ass was a failure in any way. 96 million international on a 30 million budget is pretty decent for an independent film.

roomonfire_9 | April 16, 13:39 CET

Kick-Ass had a $28m budget (around same as Cabin) and aside from making over $96m at the box office, it took $23m in DVD sales in a short amount of time in America. It also sold over 1 million Blu-Rays within two months of release. It also has worldwide DVD, VOD, other platform sales, licensed goods etc. I kinda hate the fact people use Kick-Ass as an example of a movie failure - it took 8 figures!

Also, the writer is a huge Cabin in the Woods fan, and described herself to me as a "rabid Dollhouse fan". Her and Jonathan Ross kicked around the idea of going to a Dollhouse convention as they love Joss' work so much.

[ edited by gossi on 2012-04-16 14:31 ]

[ edited by gossi on 2012-04-16 14:34 ]

[ edited by gossi on 2012-04-16 14:34 ]

gossi | April 16, 14:31 CET

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