Friday Estimates: Cloverfield Has Monster Sized Box Office

     What month are we in again?  January?  Really?  Alright, but last time I checked, January was one of the worst months of the year in terms of box office.  With Cloverfield and 27 Dresses' fantastic opening day grosses, it looks like times must be really changing.  At least Mad Money is behaving normally...

     Cloverfield exploded onto the scene with an awesome $16.8 million on Friday.  Paramount's experimental advertising campaign has paid off in a big way.  I'm expecting this one to be very frontloaded, so a 3.0 multiplier over four days could be in order.  Still, this would give Cloverfield an amazing $49 million over the holiday weekend.

     In the appropriate bridesmaid position on the chart, 27 Dresses will claim the second place position on the chart.  On Friday, the Katherine Heigl/James Marsden rom-com earned a delightful $7.7 million.  Just like opening Alvin and the Chipmunks against I Am Legend, Fox counter-programmed this film very well, and 27 Dresses should match my prediction of $27 million over the next three days.

     Way back in fifth place, Overture Films' flagship title, Mad Money, got off to a disappointing start.  The lame comedy featuring Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes, and Queen Latifah (who only seems to find success as part of an ensemble) earned a meager $2.3 million on its first day, and it will only find about $7 million overall.

     The rest of the chart should behave pretty much as predicted, though with just $2.2 million yesterday, First Sunday is falling harder than expected.  The real surprise on the chart, though, comes from There Will Be Blood.  Hot on the heels of Daniel Day-Lewis' Golden Globe win for Best Actor, the stunningly reviewed Paramount Vantage release popped in at twelfth place on Friday with $0.8 million.  In only 389 theaters, it could be looking at a strong $3 million weekend.

     Alright, tomorrow I'll post some three-day estimates, but there won't be any analysis.  Because of the four day weekend, the Weekend Fix will be up on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Friday Estimates for January 18

1. Cloverfield - $16.8 million

2. 27 Dresses - $7.7 million

3. The Bucket List - $4.2 million

4. Juno - $3.1 million

5. Mad Money - $2.3 million

6. First Sunday - $2.2 million

7. National Treasure: Book of Secrets - $2.1 million

8. Alvin and the Chipmunks - $1.6 million

9. I Am Legend - $1.4 million

10. Atonement - $1.3 million

11. One Missed Call - $890,000

12. There Will Be Blood - $820,000