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Box Office
by Peter Knegt
Sat Nov 17 10:48:04 EST 2012
7 Comments
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Friday Box Office: 'Silver Linings' Strong But Unspectacular First Night Out

The potential downside to having an extraordinary amount of buzz surrounding a film is the mammoth expectations that come with it. They are definitely imposed upon "Silver Linings Playbook," which opened this weekend -- after a last minute move by The Weinstein Company to push it up a week earlier -- in 16 theaters.

Friday estimates gave the David O. Russell-directed film a strong $120,416 gross from its first day out, averaging $7,526. That should give it a weekend gross in the $350,000-$450,000 range, and an average in somewhere between $21,000 and $28,000. Not bad numbers, and the film is clearly the type that could benefit and grow from word of mouth as it expands. But it's nowhere near the numbers of some its Oscar hopeful predecessors.

READ MORE: Critical Consensus: Eric Kohn and Peter Knegt On the Oscar Prospects of 'Anna Karenina,' 'Silver Linings Playbook' and More

The Weinstein Company have released two major Oscar hopefuls (and eventual best picture winners) in November the past two years, "The King's Speech" and "The Artist," both of which -- like "Silver Linings" -- were coming off hugely successful film festival runs. "Speech" averaged $24,630 on its first night, while "The Artist" averaged $18,864. Notably, each were just in 4 theaters, which surely boosted them relative to the 16 houses "Silver Linings" in screening in.

Perhaps a better comparison is a film that could be facing off with "Silver Linings" at the Oscars: "Lincoln." Last weekend, that film opened on 11 screens and averaged $24,376 on its first day, more than triple what "Silver Linings" averaged. It -- like "The Artist" and "The King's Speech" -- are extraordinarily high set bars for success, and its clearly way to early to judge the box office prospects of "Silver Linings" overall anyway. But so far it's off to a strong, but not quite spectacular, start.

Check back Sunday for a full box office report.

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7 Comments

  • Z. | Sun Nov 18 07:54:12 EST 2012Reply

    Btw, it's also possible for a film to score major noms even though the Box Office was small...The Hurt Locker, anyone?.

  • Z. | Sun Nov 18 07:52:27 EST 2012Reply

    Oh, for christ sakes the buzz is as strong as ever and it's early...give it a week or so to gain awareness. TWC know what they are doing and it's more than a safe bet that Jennifer Lawrence will not only be nominated but win the Best Actress Oscar.

  • AbuNazir | Sat Nov 17 22:39:58 EST 2012Reply

    I think a big problem could have been that the early release has not been heavily advertised, aside from articles on film websites and promotion on their Facebook page. All the TV spots I saw this week solely advertised the Nov. 21 release date, but it'll no doubt see a bump in sales over the next couple days. I, for one, was pretty disappointed in the film when I saw it a few weeks ago, but look forward to giving it another shot and definitely wish it well.

  • thetruemeshow | Sat Nov 17 13:15:13 EST 2012Reply

    I think the problem is the old audience wont reach this movie with "Lincoln" / "Flight". The young will be going to either "Twilight" (female 4 JLAW) or "Skyfall" (male 4 BCOOPER).

  • axtab | Sat Nov 17 12:25:38 EST 2012Reply

    perhaps part of the problem -- at least in Philadelphia -- could be TWC's decision to book the movie in the godawful United Artists Riverview rather than the more upscale Ritz Theaters in Society Hill (where other Russell movies opened in the past). I can only imagine a strong contingent of potential Philly moviegoers will catch it in the burbs when it goes wide on Wednesday. What was TWC thinking?

  • VCQ | Sat Nov 17 12:19:52 EST 2012Reply

    Considering that it is just an ordinary movie, it should not be a surprise to anyone. I guess, it is to critics that are hyping it as potential award contender! There are much better films out there and this movie is not golden!!!

  • lio | Sat Nov 17 11:44:04 EST 2012Reply

    Well, I'm not surprised at all. This movie is the most overrated of the year by far.

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