Another Weak Weekend: New Years Eve #1 But Underperforming; So Is The Sitter #2

SATURDAYAM: I sound like a broken record because it’s anotherdisappointing domestic box office. And thesecond weekend in a row where the overall movie total won’t make more than $80M for possibly 2011′s lowest haul. It’s also down 8% from last year.No surprises in the Top 10 since Warner Bros’ New Years Eve was expected to unseat Summit’s Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 which spent three straight weeks at No. 1. But what is alarming is that the latest in thisholiday-themed franchise is coming in way less than the $20M which the studio predicted. New Year’s Eve hit a brick wall on the late shows last night and flattened out considerably.”Not much champagne for that opening,” one rival exec snarked to me. Especially with all those name actors and actresses cast in the season’s only romantic comedy. Showing yet again that in 2011 stars and derivative storytellingdon’t attract moviegoers right now. Audiences gave it a ‘B+’ CinemaScore. Fox’s The Sitter came in second and actually did some business late and in the West so the numbers came back a bit.Butit’s worse than even the lowered expectations going into this North American weekend.Audiences gave it only a ‘C+’ CinemaScore. Good thing this Jonah Hill pic cost next to nothing.Deadline Hollywood will be holding its movie awards season ‘The Contenders’ event this Saturday and Sunday: 1. New Years Eve (Warner Bros) NEW [3,505 Theaters] Friday $5M, Estimated Weekend$14.5M 2. The Sitter (Fox) NEW [2,750 Theaters] Friday $3.7M, Estimated Weekend $10M 3.Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Summit) Week 4 [3,605 Theaters] Friday $2.4M, Estimated Weekend $7.7M, Estimated Cume $259.3M 4. The Muppets (Disney) Week 3 [3,328 Theaters] Friday $1.6M, Estimated Weekend $7M, Estimated Cume $65.7M 5. Hugo (Paramount) Week 3 [2,608 Theaters] Friday $1.5M, Estimated Weekend $6M, Estimated Cume $33.3M 6.Arthur Christmas (Sony) Week 3 [3,272 Theaters] Friday $1.4M, Estimated Weekend $6.5M, Estimated Cume $33.4M 7. The Descendants (Fox Searchlight) Week 4 [876 Theaters] Friday $1.3M, Estimated Weekend $4.3M, Estimated Cume $23.5M 8. Jack and Jill (Sony) Week 5 [2,787 Theaters] Friday $870K, Estimated Weekend $3M, Estimated Cume $68.4M 8. Happy Feet Two (Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,840 Theaters] Friday $840K, Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $57.1M 10. Tower Heist (Universal) Week 6 [2,069 Theaters] Friday $734K, Estimated Weekend $2.3M, Estimated Cume $74.1m Specialty Openings: Paramount has The Adventures Of Tintin for domestic, and Sony for overseas. The Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson collaboration is having a great start in North America’s Quebec after a very successful European run.(Tintin Passes $200M International; Will U.S. Audiences Board The Bandwagon?) AnotherEuropean hit, Focus Features’Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, begins its North American run and is looking at a Friday gross of $90K with a big per screen average of $22,671 in its4 runs (2 in NYC, 2 in LA). Estimated weekend gross is $313K.Focus said Tinker Tailor “really popped” – selling out invirtually all theaters from the late matinee shows into the prime hours through 9 PM.Its estimated weekend opening would make it the 3rd highest ranking filmopening on 4 screens on record. Paramount’s Young Adult is in 8 theaters based on per screen averages:Friday $89K, Per Screen Average $11,208. Young Adult at first looked soft but picked up. Paramountpoints out that itout-grossed the expansions of both The Artist and Shame on half the screens. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Focus Features) NEW [4 Theaters] Friday$90K,Estimated Weekend $313K, Per Screen Average $22,671 Young Adult (Paramount) NEW [8 Theaters] Friday $89K, Estimated Weekend $314M, Per Screen$11,208 The Adventures Of Tintin (Paramount)NEW [70 Theaters] Friday $366K,Estimated Weekend $1.3M, Per Screen $19,869, Cume $1.4M Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl (Yash Raj Films) NEW [80 Theaters] Friday $65K, Estimated Weekend $215K, Per Screen $815 I Melt With You (Magnolia) NEW [2 Theaters] Friday $1K, Estimated Weekend $3K, Per Screen $389 Shame (Fox Searchlight) Week 2 [21 Theaters] Friday $83K (-24%),Estimated Weekend $277K, Per Screen$3,993, Estimated Cume $775K My Week With Marilyn (The Weinstein Co) Week 3 [244 Theaters] Friday $215K,Estimated Weekend $747K, Per Screen$3,062, Estimated Cume $5.1M The Artist (The Weinstein Co) Week 3 [16 Theaters] Friday $77K,EstimatedWeekend $280K, Per Screen$4,817, Estimated Cume $873K A Dangerous Method (Sony Classics) Week3 [4 Theaters) Friday $20K, Estimated Weekend $122K, Per Screen $5,141, Estimated Cume $480K Melancholia (Magnolia) Week5 [135 Theaters] Friday $64K, Estimated Weekend $238K, Per Screen $474, Estimated Cume $1.8M Like Crazy (Paramount Vantage) Week 7 [162 Theaters] Friday $53K,Estimated Weekend $251K, Per Screen $327, Estimated Cume $3M