Looks like Ray will do very well and probably be # 1

If Ray hits $25 million, that would be a PTA of $12,500!

Ray is doing great..have on 2 screens and sold out the 7, 8 and 10 pm shows...every other show was 70ish % full..

Saw started off slow but did really well for the late shows, as did Grudge, however Grudge did more bussiness just due to the fact the teens could see it (most snuck into Saw tho, then were kicked out without seeing anything )

http://talk.hsx.com/films/post.htm?1029230558.notfabio
Obviously they had yet to start their prime shows. Also, it is the Long Beach area which has a very large African American community so RAY will obviously do better there than the norm. ALI did equally as well the first two nights there and then divebombed.

The Grudge
Well, I had intended to see Ray, but it was (grr) actually sold out the *entire* night. I was quite shocked. So, the fiance (who had not seen it) and I caught The Grudge again, in time for Halloween.

It was an 8:45 PM show in a 500-seat theatre. It eventually sold out, which leads me to believe it will see a strong hold this weekend, even with competition from Saw (which, along with Ray, was *also* sold out the ENTIRE night).

Trailers (at The Grudge):
Boogeyman - a lot of talking
Guess Who? - laughs
Seed of Chucky - laughter
After the Sunset - silence
Another one I'm forgetting.

Movie:
Unlike the last time, this was one packed, excited crowd for a horror movie. There was constant screaming (followed by giggling) and everyone seemed to have a great time.

When I left the theatre, Ray and Saw were both (as mentioned above) sold out for the rest of the night (that would be 2 shows for Ray, 3 for Saw), and The Grudge had another sold out show. I would really not be surprised if all 3 films cracked $20M for the weekend. It was a very robust night.

Scott, where art thou?

Copied from my BOM post, 'cuz I'm a lazy bastard.

Saw (8:05 p.m.)
500-seat Theater: SOLD OUT

Trailers:

Hide and Seek (no reaction)
The Life Aquatic (laughs)
The Devil's Rejects (positive -- they definitely knew it was HO1KC 2)
The Ring 2 (clapping)
Seed of Chucky (clapping)
High Tension (confusion)

Film:

The audience LOVED IT. Screams in the right places, some good-natured poking (when the hotel phone is picked up, someone whispered "Seven days" to a good response). There was cheering during the Monica Potter/Jigsaw confrontation (massive calls of "Shoot him!"), and when Adam went crazy with the stone block. Gasps at the twist, and massive applause when the lights came up.

I swear, it literally was the exact opposite of The Grudge. Leaving the theater, there was a line that wrapped around the building for the next show.

So far looks like Ray might pull in as the champ, Scots probably gonna come in with his crowd reports, so will see what he has to say.

It is only about 10:20 PM PST. He won't probably post till after midnight.

I have one OT question........

Is "A SOUND OF THUNDER" new trailer attracted to "RAY"?

My 18-screen theater in Albany, NY

Ray - 3 screens (2 big, 1 medium)

Although no shows sold out, the evening shows averaged 2/3 full so I expect a great opening day for this, maybe 5~6 million opening.

Saw - 2 big screens

9:10, 10:10, and 11:40 shows SOLD OUT. This is definitely in line with or surpassing Resident Evil: Apocalypse's business, but since it's on less screens it may not muster as huge an opening. I say a 6~7 million opening.

Grudge - 3 medium screens

8:10, 9:00, 10:00, and 10:40 shows SOLD OUT. This is good, it's a signal that it probably won't drop more than 50% today. Since the Grudge was in twice as big screens last week, and those sold out, it seems like it may grab 6~7 million today as well.

Birth - 1 medium screen

It only managed about 1/3 capacity, so I see a fairly low opening, since it has such a low theater count. I'm guessing around 400k, probably will kill some derbies, including mine. I had it pegged at 1.8 million weekend.

As for other movies, Shall We Dance sold out at 7:15 in a small theater, while Surviving Christmas didn't seem to hold up at all. Friday Night Lights, Forgotten, and Ladder 49 all seem to be hit by the new movies. Team America, however, managed 1/2 capacity in a medium theater. I guess that isn't too bad. As for Huckabees, I have no idea how this is doing. Business seemed to be a little down compared to last weekend, but we still had our hands full :wink:

Glad to see you post your crowd posted here report JMorphin. :wink:

It certainly looks good for both the openers. This confirms everything we have seen all day from Yahoo reviews and the other crowd reports.

Here is my theater report.

Birth (135 seater)
4:35 - 41% full.
7:45 - 74% full.
10:35 - 78% full.
Not bad, considering that this was a tough sell.

Ray
4:15 (250 seater) - 19% full.
4:45 (250 seater) - 35% full.
7:00 (400 seater) - 33% full.
7:45 (250 seater) - 35% full.
8:10 (250 seater) - 92% full.
10:30 (400 seater) - 71% full.
11:15 (250 seater) - 36% full.
11:45 (250 seater) - 45% full.
Not as high as we anticipated, but urban movies are never popular at our place.

Saw
4:05 (400 seater) - 9% full.
5:35 (300 seater) - 25% full.
6:45 (400 seater) - 41% full.
8:15 (300 seater) - Sold Out.
9:25 (400 seater) - Sold Out.
11:10 (300 seater) - Sold Out.
11:10 (175 seater) - Sold Out.
12:05 (400 seater) - Sold Out.
Wow, better than we anticipated, we added a 1:00 show, it was 30% full by the time I left (20 minutes before the show).

Sold Out report.
Grudge
9:00 (600 seater)
9:45 (300 seater)
9:45 (175 seater)
10:35 (600 seater)
11:30 (600 seater)
This movie really held it's own here.

Overall, we did better business than we anticapated, mostly thanks to the Grudge and Saw, but next week should really turn things around.

Thanks for the reports, guys...I wonder if JMorphin's theatre also doesn't necessarily cater to urban audiences since there seemed to be a lot of sellouts in other cities. Not too sure how Halloween might affect The Grudge and Saw..I think House on Haunted Hill made less than 3 times its Friday over the entire weekend, but I think that wasn't as well received as Grudge or Saw. I think it might end up being a closer race between the three than it seems but Grudge will still come out on top. (YOu can't beat the publicity of being a #1 movie with almost $40 million when few people expected it to make half that.)

Whoa. Ray, Saw, and The Grudge are all doing AWESOME. Especially Saw. Sell-outs everywhere it seems. I guesa any of the #3 could be #1 (hope it's Saw, but I won't be mad if it's Ray either- definitely want to see both) Can't wait for Friday numbers.

The Grudge ....7:20 about 80% full at a 400 seater?

Saw 7:20 sold out at a 400

saw Saw last night at 7:50
I'd say 60% full in what had to be at least a 300 seater.

Trailers:
Boogeyman
Hide and Seek
Seed of Chucky
High Tension (never heard of this movie before)

Everyone liked the movie, but at times the audience burst out laughing at some of Adam's semi-funny lines. I don't think anyone was as scared as the filmmakers wanted them to be, but everyone loved the ending.

Sounds amazing for all three.

I consider my theater to be right around the average for bringing in the minorities, since we are a state capital AND a college town. We usually seem to get a lot more urban films than obscure independent films (we got Woman, Thou Art Loosed and Empire, but we never got Napoleon Dynamite). So for Ray, I dunno, it seems to be doing very well, on par with Saw perhaps. It's a little hard to tell because Ray was in one screen more than Saw. Since it's a longer movie though (by 45 min!), I'd say Saw at least has a better average. I predict the top 3 (in order) to be Grudge, Saw, and Ray, but maybe I'm catering to my own predictions :wink:

Saw

AMC Marple 10
7:00pm, 400 Seater, Sold Out

Trailers
Hide and Seek (no reaction)
Seed of Chucky (laughs)
The Life Aquatic (laughs)
The Ring 2 (clapping)

Movie
Excellent. Nothing like watching it on the big screen. The ending was so incredibly shocking, it made my jaw drop, even though it was my second viewing. I freakin' loved this movie. A+