Is it time for Hollywood to begin biting their collective, metaphorical nails? D-grade horror film The Roommate snagged box office honors this week with $15.6 million, but the real scare might come from the weekend’s cumulative bottom line. Revenue was down 25% compared to the same time last year—a familiar refrain thus far in 2011.
Granted, the early days and weeks of 2010 were buoyed by Avatar, James Cameron’s 3-D titan that eventually pulled in $760 million in North America. The Roommatewasn’t about to do that sort of business—nor was Sanctum, the latest cinematic creation to which Cameron’s lent his name. Sanctum, despite its 3-D cachet and heavy promotional budget, spelunked its way to a mere $9.2 million. As Time’s Richard Corliss wrote, the only way out for Sanctum was down.
No Strings Attached finished third with $8.4 million, The King’s Speech held tight to fourth with $8.3 million, and The Green Hornet buzzed into fifth with $6.1 million.
It’s probably too early to say whether the movie industry can expect a slumpish 2011. It is only February, after all, and studios are still rummaging through their 2010 leftovers. Judging from the plethora of Super Bowl movie ads, we’ll see plenty of high-budget fare at the local multiplex before long. We’ve got a third Transformers movie on the way. A fourth Pirates of the Caribbeanfilm. Nothing makes the box office jingle like sequels.
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