Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 29-31

Would you look at this! We have a tie at this weekend's box office! In one of the biggest box office upsets in recent memory, Sony’s kids pic The Smurfs tied with DreamWorks/Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens for No. 1, with each pic claiming a $36.2M opening. The winner won’t be decided until Monday morning.

Heading into the weekend, Cowboys held a wide lead over the competition, according to tracking. Universal itself believed the movie, directed by Jon Favreau, would open in the $40M to $45M range. It fell well short of that! "Cowboys & Aliens did not get any late night young male business  -- hence the reason Universal's estimates were so far off," a rival studio exec explained. $36M isn't bad but the problem is that the budget has been pegged by insiders at a low of $163M (because of filming rebates) and a high of $200M. Awareness had been strong for the title and interest had been best with older males. But tracking had been lagging especially with women of all ages until last Thursday when it popped up. Cowboys, which received a B CinemaScore, couldn't have better pedigree with Stacey Snider and Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks overseeing production. But this weekend's exit polls showed the audience was 53% male vs. 47% female, with 63% of moviegoers age 30 years and older vs. 37% who were under age 30.

Meanwhile, Hollywood never expected Smurfs to have such a phenomenal weekend except Sony. "The studio has always had confidence in the franchise," an exec said. Exit polls showed that 35% of this weekend's audience was general moviegoers while 65% was kids with parents. Of the family sample, 40% were parents of children under age 12 and 25% were children under 12. Coming into the weekend, the family film was only expected to open in the $25M to $30M range. Sony believes Smurfs will have strong legs throughout August. The movie also is off to a strong start overseas, where it opened in Spain this weekend.

In third place for the weekend is Disney/Marvel's latest superhero flick Captain America: The First Avenger  which took in $24,9M. That makes for a domestic total of $116.7M which is slightly behind that of Thor which took in $119.5M by this time. Paramount is gleeful over its 6th consecutive release over $100M in the U.S., claiming no studio has ever had more than 4. In forth place is massively successful Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 which took in another $21.9M to bring it's domestic total to $318.4M.

The weekend’s third new offering, Warner Bros. Steve Carell-Ryan Gosling comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love opened to $19.3M to finish in fifth place. Better reviewed than most, Crazy, Stupid, Love should have "a large multiple and legs," according to the studio, adding, "Watch for excellent mid-week business as well." The better-than-average casting of Gosling, Emma Stone, Carell and Julianne Moore signaled this just wasn't your usual run-of-the-mill rom-com and the marketing smartly played off that. "We sought to highlight the films originality, and position it as a funny and deeply felt and refreshing look at how relationships make people crazy," a Warner Bros said.

This is how the entire top 10 shakes out:

1. Cowboys & Aliens (DreamWorks/Universal) NEW [3,750 Runs]
Friday $12.9M, Saturday $13M, Sunday $10.1M, Estimated Weekend $36.2M

1. The Smurfs - 3D (Sony) NEW [3,395 Runs]
Friday $13.4M, Saturday $12.7M, Sunday $10.1M, Estimated Weekend $36.2M

3. Captain America - 3D (Marvel/Disney/Paramount) Week 2 [3,715 Runs]
Friday $7.8M, Saturday $9.9M, Sunday $7.1M, Weekend $24.9M (-62%), Estimated Cume $116.7M

4. Harry Potter/Hallows Pt 2 - 3D (Warner Bros) Week 3 [4,145 Runs]
Friday $6.6M, Saturday $8.5M, Sunday $6.8M, Weekend $21.9M, Cume $318.4M

5. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Warner Bros) NEW [3,020 Runs]
Friday $7M, Saturday $7M, Sunday $5.6M Weekend $19.3M

6. Friends With Benefits (Screen Gems/Sony) Week 2 [2,926 Runs]
Friday $3.2M, Saturday $3.4M, Sunday $2.6M, Weekend $9.3M (-48%), Cume $38.2M

7. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,510 Runs]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $2.8M, Sunday $2M, Weekend $7.1M, Cume $96.2M

8. Transformers: Dark of The Moon - 3D (Paramount) Week 5 [2,604 Runs]
Friday $1.7M, Saturday $2.3M, Sunday $1.7M, Weekend $5.9M, Estimated Cume $337.8M

9. Zookeeper (Sony) Week 4 [2,418 Runs]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.6M, Sunday $1.1M, Weekend $4.2M, Estimated Cume $68.7M

10. Cars 2 - 3D (Pixar/Disney) Week 6 [1,763 Runs]
Friday $671K, Saturday $921K, Sunday $701K, Weekend $2.3M, Estimated Cume $182M

Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 22-24

"A IS FOR VICTORY" indeed! Paramount and Marvel Studios scored another victory as Chris Evans starrer Captain America: First Avenger topped the domestic box office with an estimated $65.8M this weekend. That makes First Avenger the highest grossing superhero flick of the summer narrowly beating out Thor's $65.7M. Captain America did enough business to come in No. 1, ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which fell a steep 72% after its mammoth debut a week earlier.


Released in 3D and directed by Joe Johnston, Captain America was the main headline of the weekend. Together, Captain America and Thor which opened to sport the biggest openings of the summer for non-sequels and the best of any superhero pic. It easily bested the $53.2M debut of Green Lantern. However, Captain America only drew 40% of its grosses from 3D screens, a far lower ratio than Thor. Captain America, receiving an A- CinemaScore, did draw a younger audience than Thor, with 43% of those buying tickets under the age of 25. For Thor, only 25% were under the age of 25. The film is set for release overseas in the coming weeks.

Warner Bros.' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 had to settle for second place but still managed to add $48.1M for a domestic total of $274.2M. Its dip was no surprise to box office observers, considering it opened to $169.2M last weekend, the best showing of all time. The pic is destined to become the top earner of the series, and is already close to surpassing the $317.6M earned domestically by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Deathly Hallows 2 easily won the weekend race at the international box office, grossing an impressive $121.3M in its second weekend, a 61% drop for a foreign total of $560.4M and massive global cume of $834.6M as the pic races toward the $1 billion mark.

Screen Gems' new R-rated romantic comedy Friends With Benefits debuted in third place with an estimated $18.5M. That was slightly behind the $19.7M earned by the similarly themed No Strings Attached that opened in January of this year. The Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis starrer, made for a modest $34M, played best to women, who repped 62% of the audience, and drew a B+ CinemaScore. The Screen Gems film will need a good hold if its to overcome the lowest opening among the recent crush of R-rated comedies (Bridesmaids, Horrible Bosses and Bad Teacher to name a few). Sony worldwide president of domestic distribution Rory Bruer believes Friends With Benefits will accomplish exactly that.

"This film will be around for the rest of the summer. The chemistry between Justin and Mila is great," Bruer said.

In its fourth weekend, Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon added $12M to push its domestic total to $325.8M. The Michael Bay-directed third installment was budgeted at $195M. WB's Horrible Bosses earned $11.7M in fifth place its third weekend for a total of $82.4M while Sony's Zookeeper took in $8.7M for sixth place to bring its three-week total to $59.2M. Disney's animated films Cars 2 added $5.7M for a total of $176.4M after five weeks and Winnie the Pooh received $5.1M for a total of $17.6M after two weeks.

Here's how the Top 10 shakes out:


1. Captain America 3D (Marvel/Disney/Paramount) NEW [3,715 Runs]
Friday $25.7M, Saturday $21.9M, Sunday $18.1M, Weekend $65.8M

2. Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows Pt 2 3D (Warner Bros) Week 2 [4,375 Runs]
Friday $14.6M, Saturday $18.4M, Sunday $15M, Weekend $48M (-72%), Cume $274.1M

3. Friends With Benefits (Screen Gems/Sony) NEW [2,926 Runs]
Friday $6.8M, Saturday $6.5M, Sunday $5M, Weekend $18.5M

4. Transformers 3 3D (Paramount) Week 4 [3,375 Runs]
Friday $3.5M, Saturday $4.7M, Sunday $3M, Weekend $12M, Cume $325.7M

5. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,104 Runs]
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $4.5M, Sunday $3M, Weekend $11.7M, Cume $82.4M

6. Zookeeper (MGM/Sony) Week 3 [3,215 Runs]
Friday $2.7M, Saturday $3.4M, Sunday $2.3M, Weekend $8.7M, Cume $59.2M

7. Cars 2 3D (Disney) Week 5 [2,668 Runs]
Friday $1.7M, Saturday $2.8M, Sunday $1.7M, Weekend $5.7MM, Cume $176.4M

8. Winnie The Pooh (Disney) Week 2 [2,405 Runs]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.2M, Sunday $1.5M Weekend $5.1M, Cume $17.5M

9. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 5 [2,035 Runs]
Friday $825K, Saturday $1M, Sunday $710K, Weekend $2.6M, Cume $94.3M

10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Classics) Week 10 [621 Runs]
Friday $508K, Saturday $900K, Sunday $551K, Weekend $1.8M, Cume $44.8M

Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 15-17

Records are meant to be broken and indeed a HUGE one was shattered this weekend! With it's $92M Friday ($43.5M from midnight showings), $44.2M Saturday and $33.6M Sunday, Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 conjured up the top weekend opening of all time at the domestic box office, grossing a staggering $168.6M, capping the most successful film franchise in history!

The previous record for best weekend opening domestically belonged to WB's The Dark Knight, which grossed $158.4M in its first three days. The final Harry Potter movie opened in 4,375 theaters and averaged $38,526 per location. And the good news just keeps coming. Part 2 scored an overall CinemaScore of 'A'. Warner Bros.’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 grossed a massive $476M in its worldwide debut, by far the best showing of all time. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the previous crown holder at $394M. Deathly Hallows Part 2’s opening overseas clocked in at $307M, while it earned $168.6M in North America.

Earlier this summer, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides scored the biggest debut of all time at the international box office when opening to $262 million. Deathly Hallows safely beat that number as it rolled out in 59 countries.Other records set by Deathly Hallows Part 2 domestically: Largest opening day ever, and the largest opening for the franchise. Previous best was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ($125M). Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the first title in the franchise to be released in 3D. While 3D upped the film’s earning potential, only 43% of the opening gross came from 3D theaters, another reminder that moviegoers in North America are opting to see films in 2D and avoid the extra upcharge. That didn’t hurt IMAX, though, which played Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 274 theaters. IMAX theaters supplied $15.5 million in revenues, a record opening for the large-format exhibitor.

Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon dropped a spot to second with $21.3M domestically its third weekend. The Michael Bay film is the first to pass the $300M mark at the North American box office this year having earned $302.8M to date. The movie cost about $195M to make, not counting marking costs. Warner Bros. Horrible Bosses added $17.6M its second weekend to bring its total to $60M. The R-rated comedy was made for just $35M. In fourth, Columbia Pictures Zookeeper made $12.3M and has earned $42.4 million after two weeks. This comedy was budgeted at $80M though.

Disney’s new kids entry Winnie the Pooh met expectations (really?) in its debut, grossing $8M. However, the film only placed No. 6 for the weekend, coming in behind fellow Disney/Pixar pic Cars 2, which grossed $8.3M for a domestic cume of $165.3M. In seventh place, Sony's Bad Teacher added $5.2M to bring its four-week total to $88.5M. The comedy was reportedly budgeted at just $20M. Sony Pictures Classics’ Midnight in Paris is now Woody Allen’s top domestic earner of all time, grossing $1.9M for the weekend from 706 theaters for a cume of $41.8M, surpassing the $40.1M grossed by Hannah and Her Sisters.

Here's how the Top 10 shakes out:


1. Harry Potter/Hallows, Pt 2 - 3D (Warner Bros) NEW [4,375 Theaters]
Friday $92.1M, Saturday $44.2M, Sunday $33.6M, Weekend $168M

2. Transformers 3 - 3D (Paramount) Week 3 [3,917 Theaters]
Friday $6.3M, Saturday $9.8M, Sunday $6,2M, Weekend $21.2M, Cume $302.8M

3. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,134 Theaters]
Friday $5.4M, Saturday $6.9M, Sunday $5M, Weekend $17.6M (-39%), Cume $60M

4. Zookeeper (Sony) Week 2 [3,482 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $5.1M, Sunday $3.4M, Weekend $12.3M (-38%), Cume $42.3M

5. Cars 2 - 3D (Disney) Week 4 [3,249 Theaters]
Friday $2.4M, Saturday $3.4M, Sunday $2.4M, Weekend $8.3M, Cume $165.2M

6. Winnie The Pooh (Disney) NEW [2,405 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $2.6M, Sunday $2.3M, Weekend $8M

7. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 4 [2,659 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.1M, Sunday $1.4M Weekend $5.2M, Cume $88.5M

8. Larry Crowne (Vendome/Universal) Week 3 [2,287 Theaters]
Friday $800K, Saturday $1.2M, Sunday $629K, Weekend $2.5M, Saturday Cume $31.6M

9. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 6 [1,459 Theaters]
Friday $545K, Saturday $800K, Sunday $547K, Weekend $1.9M, Cume $122.2M

10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Classics) Week 9 [819 Theaters]
Friday $500K, Saturday $800K, Sunday $570K, Weekend $1.8M, Cume $41.7M

Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 8-10

A very impressive and strong hold for Transformers: Dark of The Moon tops the headlines in this weekend's Box Office Analysis as the Michael Bay directed sequel adds another $47M to it's domestic total and another $93M to it's international cume.


Neither of this weekend's new comedies came close to catching Transformers 3 on its second weekend. While Horrible Bosses became the latest R-rated comedy to top expectations this summer, Zookeeper became the latest family film to fall flat. Both films combined barely topped this weekend’s estimate for Dark of the Moon, which became the  highest-grossing domestic release of 2011 as of Sunday. In North America, the Paramount Pictures release has earned $261M and internationally it is up to $384M, for a massive worldwide total of $645M after less than two weeks in theaters. The sequel, which cost a reported $195M to make, has passed up The Hangover Part II ($250.8M) to become the top grossing domestic film so far this year. The film has yet to open in China or Japan but it is sure to top its predecessor Revenge of The Fallen's $836M worldwide total in the coming weeks. Additionally, TF3 has a good chance of breaking the one billion mark. That would make it the second film of 2011 and the ninth of all time to pass that particular barrier.

New Line's R-rated comedy Horrible Bosses opened in second place with an estimated $28.1M. Even with Bad Teacher still a force in the top ten, Horrible Bosses bested all projections and its weekend figures place the ensemble comedy in between the debuts of the summer’s other comedy originals: Bridesmaids ($26.2M) and the aforementioned Bad Teacher ($31.6M). Audiences sampled Horrible Bosses with 51% of men rating it an 'A-' and 49% of women rating it a 'B+'. Directed by Seth Gordon, the $35M-budgeted film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Julie Bowen and Jamie Foxx.

This weekend's other new release Zookeeper didn't reach its mass potential despite its family-friendly talking animal cast and summer release slot, earning an estimated $21M to claim third place. That is a bit higher than projections placed it going into the weekend but nowhere near the $30M plus the film was once expected to earn. Exit polling showed that audiences were 48% general moviegoers and 52% parents and children; overall 47% were male and 53% female, with 41% under age 25 while 59% over age 25. But it doesn't bode well that the PG Zookeeper didn't get a Saturday kiddie bump especially when it had been tracking well enough with audiences and families to convince Sony execs to move it from October 2010 into a coveted July 2011 slot. Internationally, the Kevin James led film brought in $7.5M for a worldwide total of $28.5M. The comedy was budgeted at $80M.


Pixar's Cars 2 dropped two spots to fourth its third weekend with $15.2M. The sequel has collected $148.8M domestically and $121.6M overseas for a worldwide total of $270.4M. The film cost about $200M to make. Columbia's Bad Teacher rounded out the top five, collecting $9M its third weekend for a total of $78.8M. The comedy is said to have cost $20M.

Here's how the entire Top 10 shakes out:


1. Transformers 3 3D (Paramount) Week 2 [4,088 Theaters]
Friday $14.9M, Saturday $18.4M, Weekend $47M (-54%), Cume $261M

2. Horrible Bosses (New Line/Warner Bros) NEW [3,040 Theaters]
Friday $9.9M, Saturday $10.3M, Cume $28.1M

3. Zookeeper (MGM/Sony) NEW [3,482 Theaters]
Friday $7.4M, Saturday $7.5M, Weekend $21M

4. Cars 2 3D (Pixar/Disney) Week 3 [3,990 Theaters]
Friday $4.8M, Saturday $6M, Weekend $15.2M, Cume $148.8M

5. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 3 [2,962 Theaters]
Friday $3M, Saturday $3.5M, Weekend $9M, Cume $78.7M

6. Larry Crowne (Vendome/Universal) Week 2 [2,976 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Saturday $2.4M, Weekend $6.3M (-52%), Cume $26.4M

7. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 5 [2,292 Theaters]
Friday $1.5M, Saturday $1.9M, Weekend $4.8M, Cume $118M

8. Monte Carlo (Fox) Week 2 [2,473 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Saturday $1.3M, Saturday $3.8M, Cume $16.1M

9. Green Lantern 3D (Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,015 Theaters]

Friday $945K, Saturday $1.2M, Weekend $3.1M, Cume $109.7M

10. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Fox) Week 4 [1,996 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Saturday $1M, Weekend $2.8M, Cume $57.7M

Music Review: Florence + The Machine, Bringing Quality Back

In the second show of my summer concert series, I had the opportunity to see the British Indie Rock group Florence + The Machine, who’s quickly-rising popularity is rivaled only by their talent and individuality. If you’re hearing about them the first time here, then allow this article to act as an unofficial introduction to the group, who are helping to bring quality back to popular music. As a fan of many artists and groups coming out of the UK, I was a quick convert to their unique, skillful style, and on July 4^th in my beloved hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, I was able to see if; as I suspected it would, the music translated into a live setting.

Even though Indianapolis has a thriving concert industry, and is a major destination for performers big, small, established and new, when seeing an international act, you have to wonder if you’re going to be getting the same show as if they were playing it on home turf. My concerns were put to rest within a few moments of the show’s beginning, as they, and Florence [Welch] in particular, got off to a rousing start, bringing up the over-all energy of the show and crowd, from opening song “My Boy Builds Coffins” and maintaining it through out the rest of their set, culminating at the encore, with their cross-over hit “Dog Days Are Over”.

Established in 2007, F+TM has made a big impact in a small amount of time, much of which stemming from their 2009 debut album Lungs, where they’ve seen their music used in a number of American tv series’, as well as loads of nominations and awards from various UK entertainment organizations. The majority of the set was comprised from Lungs, however, the audience was treated to the performances of two new songs, “What The Water Gave Me” and “Bedroom Hymns” from a forth-coming album, as well as a stirring a capella version of “Amazing Grace”.

Talent and ability are almost unheard of in the music industry these days, but with a complete lack of gimmicks, autotune, or other not-so-clever distractions, the performance was a sight to behold. Florence, seemingly inexhaustible, whorled, danced, jumped, and climbed all over the stage, never interrupting or missing a note. The power and vocal range of her voice is striking, and practically mythical, leaving me wondering what she traded to Ursula the Sea Witch to gain the ability. Striding the stage in bare feet and a flowing yellow gown, well-suited for the warm Indianapolis evening, her vocal performance was perfectly accompanied by the music from the band, complete with rock-and-roll harp, which floated on the air like the ruffles of her gown.

Often engaging the audience by running out to the far edges of the stage, throwing out drum sticks, and calling for participation, when coming out for the encore, the group sported small American flags and sparklers. Florence commented that she was half American, and this was her first 4^th of July celebration, which struck me with a since of pride knowing the level of festivities the city would be putting on later that night.

It came off as a rather intimate show, the band members properly spread out on stage, not overwhelming it with props, equipment, and roadies, The eclectic audience, also managed to have their own dancing and viewing space while still providing a good turnout for the mid-sized White River State Park venue. It was clear that the majority of the crowd were actual fans, rather than people who had bought tickets on a whim, or been passed some for free, which is always better than people just attending for the party (cough Jimmy Buffet cough). The holiday spirit, and the smell of spent fireworks hung in the air as well, giving everything a light-hearted, fun atmosphere, all united by the excellent performance.

Although the show itself was relatively short, that’s to be expected with a new act, but was likely more due to the two scheduled fireworks displays that immediately followed, which for myself and my crew, was more like an entire package of entertainment. Although short in time, the show packed a big punch of energy and interest, with a since of elegance, professionalism, and audience respect you see more typically in acts from across the pond. With the unique fusion of Classical, Rock, and operatic styling, it’s not stretch of the imagination to say we’re going to be hearing from Florence + The Machine in a big way for a long time to come.

See additional photos of the show at: www.facebook.com/pcp333

♥ ♥ ♥

Weekend Box Office Analysis: July 1-4

Any question that the box office was hurting was dispelled over the Fourth of July weekend as one of the most consistent filmmakers behind summer blockbusters, Michael Bay, once again showed his box office dominance with the release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, starring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey and Alan Tudyk, as it set a number of new records. The film made $97.5M over the holiday weekend and with Monday’s estimate of $18.9M the record for the four-day holiday weekend has also fallen. The previous winner was 2004’s Spider-Man 2 with it's 3 and four-day totals of $88.2M and $115.8M respectively but now the both records belongs to Dark of The Moon with it's 4-day total of $116.4M. Even more impressive is when you add in both the 3-day and four-day international totals, $217M and $235M the cumes stand at a whopping $379M and $416M.

The Michael Bay directed robot-actioneer also broke the IMAX global record with the first ever $20M-plus debut ($22.5M global). Domestically, the pic opened with some 3D-only 9pm sneak peaks on Tuesday ($5.5M), followed by a full release into 4,013 theaters on Wednesday ($37.7M) and Thursday ($21.4M). That led to an even more impressive weekend where on Friday the film brought in $32.9M, Saturday $34.5M, and Sunday $30.2M. That's still 6% behind Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen despite the higher ticket prices for 3D showings. The film should hit $181M through the Fourth of July, compared to Fallen's $214M. But 3D actually helped Dark of The Moon along in this case after Paramount heavily marketed the 3D element of Bay’s tentpole. In North America, Dark of the Moon earned 60% of its grosses from 3D theaters, debunking the recent downturn in 3D attendance. Overseas, where 3D continues to thrive in certain markets, 70% of the grosses came from 3D.

"We expected to start behind the last one," a Paramount told Deadline. "This one has an 'A' CinemaScore and better reviews, so it should play to a better multiple." Paramount now says it's the only studio to ever score 5 consecutive $100+M films in a row. Overseas, Dark of the Moon grossed $217M through Sunday which is Paramount’s best international launch ever, and 55% ahead of Revenge of the Fallen. International Monday numbers aren't available at the moment, but once they come in, Dark of the Moon's total haul will come in around and $410M but without them, the pic’s global cume is $398.1M. Already, Dark of the Moon boasts the third best global launch of all time and scored the biggest opening as well in seven countries, led by Korea at $28 million, and followed by Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Peru.

All in all this was a very impressive week for Paramount's TF3 becoming Hollywood's third highest grossing worldwide debut ever with $416M global cume for its first 7 days.

The same can't be said for the Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts starrer Larry Crowne, which opened to a soft $13M three-day weekend and $16M four-day holiday from a wide release into 2,972 theaters. That was only good for forth place. The comedy-drama, directed by Hanks, placed No. 4, behind Dark of the Moon and holdovers Cars 2 and Bad Teacher. That's a very disappointing start for two stars who individually should be able to open a new pic to at least $20M of North American grosses for a three-day weekend and presumably more when paired. A full 71% of the audience for Larry Crowne was over the age of 50, and 93% over the age of 25. The film, receiving a B CinemaScore, is one of the oldest skewing films box office observers can remember. Universal said the film’s performance was in line with the studio’s modest expectations, and that adults will continue to turn out to see the movie in the weeks to come. With that said, this is the third movie with major stars to disappoint at the box office this summer following Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern and Jim Carrey in Mr. Popper's Penguins.

The third new film debuting nationwide over the four-day holiday weekend was 20th Century Fox and New Regency’s tween girl pic Monte Carlo, which grossed an $9M during the four-day weekend. The Selena Gomez-starrer is performing about as expected according to the studio with an 'A' CinemaScore with 61% of those buying tickets under the age of 25. Of the audience, 82% were females.

In other box office news, Disney/Pixar's weakly-received Cars 2 brought in $30.5M in its second weekend taking second place, down 54% even including Monday, proving that audiences may be agreeing with the critics on this one. It has grossed $123M in its first ten days and it's not looking very likely to gross $200M, making it the first Pixar movie since A Bug's Life not to hit that milestone. The R-rated Cameron Diaz comedy vehicle Bad Teacher dropped only 44% from its opening weekend to the 4th of July, bringing in an estimated $17.6M, claiming third place to bring its 11-day total to $63M. Super 8 took fifth place with $9.2M over the four-day weekend, bringing its total to $110M, while Green Lantern, out one week less, has now grossed $103.7M including the $8M it grossed over the holiday weekend for seventh place.

Also Universal’s sleeper hit Bridesmaids has become the top R-rated female comedy of all time, surpassing Sex and the City this holiday weekend. The movie’s domestic cume stands at $153.7M while Sex and the City has earned $152.6M to date. Also on the record breaking front, Disney confirmed that its fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides, has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide since its May 20 release. Only seven films have crossed the $1 billion milestone. On Stranger Tides now becomes No. 8. The film represents the second top-grossing "Pirates" film, and will now set its target on 2006's Dead Man's Chest, which took in $1.066 billion worldwide.

This is how the Top 10 shaped out this weekend at the box office:

1. Transformers 3 (Paramount) NEW (opened Tues) [4,013 Theaters]
Tuesday $5.5M (9 PM), Wednesday $37.7M, Thursday $21.4M, Friday $32.8M, Saturday $34.4M, Sunday $30.2M, Monday $18.7M

Three-Day Weekend $97.5M, Four-Day Holiday $116.4M, Cume $181M
Three-Day International $217M, Three-Day Global Cume $379M,
Four-Day International $235M, Four-Day Global Cume $416M


2. Cars 2 (Pixar/Disney) Week 2 [4,115 Theaters]
Friday $7.8M, Saturday $9.3M, Sunday $9.4M, Monday $6M
Three-Day Weekend $26.1M (-60%), Four-Day Holiday $32M, Cume $123M


3. Bad Teacher (Sony) Week 2 [3,049 Theaters]
Friday $4.5M, Saturday $5M, Sunday $4.9M, Monday $3M
Three-Day Weekend $14.4M (-54%), Four-Day Holiday $17.6M, Cume $63M

4. Larry Crowne (Universal) NEW [2,972 Theaters]
Friday $4M, Saturday $4.9M, Sunday $4.1M, Monday $4M
Three-Day Weekend $13M, Four-Day Holiday $15.7M

5. Super 8 (Paramount) Week 4 [3,088 Theaters]
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $2.8M, Sunday $2.7M, Monday $2M
Three-Day Weekend $7.8M, Four Day Holiday $9.5M, Cume $110M

6. Monte Carlo (Fox) NEW [2,472 Theaters]
Friday $3.1M, Saturday $2.3M, Sunday $2.1M, Monday $2M
Three-Day Weekend $7.5M, Four-Day Holiday $9M

7. Green Lantern (Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,280 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $2.3M, Sunday $2.3M, Monday $2M
Three-Day Weekend $6.6M, Four-Day Holiday $8.3M, Cume $104M

8. Mr Popper's Penguins (Fox) Week 3 [2,861 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $1.8M, Sunday $2.1M, Monday $1M
Three-Day Weekend $5.4M, Four-Day Holiday $6.6M, Cume $51.6M

9. Bridesmaids (Universal) Week 8 [1,389 Theaters]
Friday $1M, Saturday $1.3M, Sunday $1.6M, Monday $1M
Three-day Weekend $3.8M, Four-Day Holiday $4.6M, Cume $154M

10. Midnight In Paris (Sony Classics) Week 7 [951 Theaters]
Friday $875K, Saturday $1.3M, Sunday $1.5M, Monday $1M
Three-Day Weekend $3.7M, Four-Day Holiday $4.7M, Cume $35M