Three-Day Estimates: Cloverfield Stomps All Over Competition

     One of the most important things for a box office analyst to be able to do is recognize when the movie business is changing.  Sometimes, films just don't behave the way you think they're going to, and you must realize that the traditional box office behavior of yesteryear may no longer apply.  This seems to be the case with January.  With fantastic performances from Cloverfield, 27 Dresses, and The Bucket List (one of the films which I egregiously underestimated this weekend), January has become a totally viable month for studios to release big titles, leaving poor September as the worst month of the year.  This weekend proves that with solid marketing and a catchy concept, a movie can open well at any time of the year.  Fueled primarily by Cloverfield's record breaking opening (highest ever in January!), this year's three-day weekend was huge, blowing past 2007's grosses.  Check back in tomorrow for the four-day weekend analysis.

Three-Day Estimates for January 18-20

1. Cloverfield - $41 million

2. 27 Dresses - $22.4 million

3. The Bucket List - $15.2 million

4. Juno - $10.3 million

5. National Treasure: Book of Secrets - $8.1 million

6. First Sunday - $7.8 million

7. Mad Money - $7.7 million

8. Alvin and the Chipmunks - $7 million

9. I Am Legend - $5.1 million

10. Atonement - $4.8 million

11. There Will Be Blood - $3.1 million

12. One Missed Call - $2.8 million

All numbers courtesy of Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.