Weak Weekend Ends In A Virtual Three-Way Box Office Tie

Scott Harris September 23, 2012

It was a virtual tie for the top spot at this week’s box office, as Jennifer Lawrence’s horror film “House at the End of the Street” and Jake Gyllenhaal’s cop drama “End of Watch” both brought in $13 million according to estimates.

“Trouble with the Curve,” which features Oscar favorites Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood, trailed slightly with $12.7 million.

Of course, given that these are still just estimates, the actual winner could still turn out to be any one of those three new releases. One new release definitely not in the mix, however, was Karl Urban’s comic-book shoot-em-up “Dredd,” which faded to a disappointing sixth place with just $6.3 million.

The indie arthouse hit “The Master,” on the other hand, is still gainging momentum, as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar favorite expanded to wide release this weekend and brought in a solid $5 million, good enough for seventh place thanks to a strong per-theater average of $6345.

Overall, though, the box office was still down roughly 20% from last year’s figures, continuing a box office depression that hasn’t seen a true hit since “The Expendables 2″ arrived over a month ago. That trend could end next weekend thanks to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s “Looper,” but if JGL doesn’t pull off a solid win, it might be another Black Friday for Hollywood’s coffers.

Here’s a full run down of this week’s box office top ten, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. “House at the End of the Street” – $13m (our review)
2. “End of Watch” – $13m (our review)
3. “Trouble with the Curve” – $12.7m (our review)
4. “Finding Nemo” – $9.4m
5. “Resident Evil: Retribution” – $6.7m (our review)
6. “Dredd” – $6.3m (our review)
7. “The Master” – $5m (our review)
8. “The Possession” – $2.6m (our review)
9. “Lawless” – $2.3m (our review)
10. “Paranorman” – $2.3m (our review)