A Lump of Coal for This Christmas ‘Spirit’ (icv2.com)

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Miller’s Movie Lost in Xmas Shuffle

12/29/2008

Lionsgate’s decision to move up the release date of Frank Miller’s adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit from January 16th to December 25th (see “Lionsgate Gets the Christmas Spirit”) proved to be anything but fruitful as The Spirit was the only one of the five new films debuting on Christmas Day that tanked. Finishing in ninth place, The Spirit only earned an estimated $6.5 million over the 3-day weekend ($10.3 when Christmas Day totals are included) thanks to a poor per theater average of $2,593. Lionsgate actually mounted a strong promotional campaign for The Spirit including TV spots running during televised sporting events, but in spite of the ads and a perceived lack of male-oriented action film competition, The Spirit failed to get its share of the Christmas pie.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): Dec. 26-28, 2008

Rank	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./Screen
1	Marley and Me	$37,000,000	3,480	$10,632
2	Bedtime Stories	$28,069,000	3,681	$7,625
3	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	$27,000,000	2,988	$9,036
4	Valkyrie	$21,531,000	2,711	$7,942
5	Yes Man	$16,450,000	3,434	$4,790
6	Seven Pounds	$13,400,000	2,758	$4,859
7	The Tale of Despereaux	$9,368,000	3,107	$3,015
8	The Day the Earth Stood Still	$7,900,000	2,402	$3,289
9	The Spirit	$6,510,000	2,509	$2,595
10	Doubt	$5,675,000	1,267	$4,479