Hurricane Irene Blowing Away Box Office: Business Is In The Crapper Right Now

Theater chains are closing, location counts are dropping, and major releases are finding cover as Hurricane Irene prepares to come ashore along the Eastern Seaboard starting in North Carolina and heading due north.”Landing Saturday night in New York? Couldn’t be much worse,” one studio exec complained to me. Said another, “Business is in the crapper right now. Any way you slice it business is getting creamed this weekend.” There’s no doubt that the state of emergencydeclared across the East Coast from North Carolina to Massachusettsbecause of the storm which is already bigger than the size of Europecould depress box office by 10%, 20%, or more. Considering that this weekend’s opening movies were only expected todebut in the $8M to $10M range even in fair weather, studios and distributorshave a Mother Nature excuse when their films underperform between only $6M to $8M at the North American box office. (So I can’t humiliate them. Drats!) I’ve just learned that AMC which operates the Empire 25 in NYC’s Times Square — the top grossing theater in the country — is closing all New Jersey theaters Saturday at 6:00 PM for the weekend as well as a bunch in states like New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Regal is leaving it up to individual managers to make the call unless otherwise instructed by local authorities but Hollywood distributors expect them to follow suit. Clearview Cinemas already announced all theaters are closed for Saturday and Sunday. Out of concern for the safety of our guests and staff, all Clearview Cinemas will be closed on Saturday August 27 and Sunday August 28. We plan to reopen on Monday August 29. Wishing you and your family a very safe weekend, read a statement on the circuits website. Already my sources say DreamWorks/Disney’s The Help is a lock again for #1with an estimated $11M as the bestselling book-turned-pic enters its 3.5th week. As for the rest of the Top 5, it’s a free-for-all.New releases fighting it outareFilmDistrict’s Guillermo del Toro-produced horror movie Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce originally booked into 2,760 theaters,The Weinstein Co’s raunchy R-rated comedyOur Idiot Brother showcasing Paul Rudd surrounded by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer originally booked into 2,555 theaters, andSony Pictures/TriStar’s Luc Besson-produced and co-writtenactionerColombiana starring Zoe Saldana originally booked into 2,614 theaters.