Friday Box Office Analysis (3/17)

Natalie Portman?s first big film as a leading star in V for Vendetta pulled in Hellboy?s audience with an opening day tune of $8.8 million in 3,365 theaters for a nice $2,613 per-screen average. In comparison, Hellboy (which also lacked star-power) came in with $8.6 million in 3,028 theaters, averaging $2,847/screen. Warner Bros. had been doing a really good job marketing the feature, and it seemed as if they were trying to reach Fox?s figure for Daredevil, which opened to $15.3 million in 3,471 sites for $4,414/screen. However, Vendetta?s only lead is Portman, whose star-power outside of the Star Wars franchise was questionable ? and it was doubtful people would show up just to hear Hugo Weaving?s voice as V (or otherwise known as ?that guy from The Matrix?). Daredevil had featured a dynamite ensemble cast including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, and Michael Clarke Duncan, most of whom were very hot in the media at the time.

V for Vendetta might see a slight second day slip in ticket sales, but Hellboy had seen a 1% jump, which presents at least some hope for the feature. It?s looking like a roughly $23 million weekend for the DC Comics release ? on par with Hellboy?s $23.2 million three-day take.

Amanda Bynes? teen comedy, She?s the Man, performed exactly on par with What a Girl Wants ($3.5 million in 2,964 theaters - $1,181 per-screen), as the film delivered $3.9 million from 2,623 theaters for a $1,487 average. In terms of cutesy teen flicks, the figure opened alongside Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ($3.6 million - $1,406/screen) and Mona Lisa Smile ($4.3 million - $1,606/screen), and also debuted like the cross-dressing comedy, Juwanna Man, which had grossed $2.0 million but in just 1,325 theaters for a nearly equivalent $1,505 average. A Saturday increase in the high teen percent range should be in store for She?s the Man, with a likely 30 - 40% drop-off from Friday to Sunday, which should give the film about $11.0 million.