Movies

With just $14.6 million over the long weekend, Tropic Thunder stayed on top for a third consecutive week as the overall box-office take fell 23 percent from Labor Day weekend of 2007. Much of the blame fell to Hurricane Gustav, which virtually shut down theaters along the Gulf Coast, leading to the lower revenues.

Despite a weak economy, summer domestic grosses totaled $4.13 billion, down less than 1 percent from 2007's record, according to Nielsen EDI data, The Hollywood Reporter said Tuesday. When a 5 percent ticket-price inflation is figured in, overall admissions were down 6 percent from last year.

Babylon A.D. is an easy inductee to the Squad this week. Sure, it finished in second place and had a per-screen average above $3,000. But with a cost of $70 million and only $11.5 million in the bank, it's going to be very tough for this one to turn a profit.

Gustav rained all over these predictions.

Prediction: Babylon A.D. wins the weekend with $23 million.

Result: It came in second, but the total was half of the prediction.

Prediction: Disaster Movie earns the No. 2 spot with $17 million.

Result: Try the seventh spot with just under $7 million. (In a side note, this is a prediction the Swami is proud to be wrong about.)

Hollywood studios are staying away from this weekend like the plague, as Bangkok Dangerous is the only wide-release film opening. The reason is anyone's guess. Possibilities include the opening of the Toronto Film Festival this weekend and the fact that the NFL season kicks off. So will Bangkok Dangerous take advantage of the open slate?

Prediction: With everyone else forfeiting, Bangkok wins the weekend with a paltry $14 million.

With only the one new film coming out, it seems pretty safe that this will be a down weekend. How down?

Prediction: Bangkok Dangerous is the only film to cross the $10 million mark over the weekend.

Stephen Becker

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