Serenity: opening weekend box office

Pulling up in second this weekend is Serenity, Joss Whedon's take on what a space opera is in 2005. Serenity did okay over its opening frame, grossing $10.1 million, thanks mostly to the cult success of its creator and its originating TV Series called Firefly. Notable here is that the venue count was actually quite low for an sci-fi flick at only 2,188. That gives Serenity the second best venue average in the top ten at $4,634, which means it stays ahead of new films despite having fewer screens in the per venue battle. We often talk about how the second weekend of a film's release is so crucial, and it's even more important in this case. Because this movie is based on a TV show that only a renegade few watched and stars no one mainstream audiences would know, the second weekend drop could be inherently precipitous. However, Serenity does seem to have reviews and word-of-mouth on its side. At RottenTomatoes, a much higher than expected 80% of critics gave this one a thumbs up, a number I certainly did not think it would see. Not only is this one fresh in the critics' eyes, but also in the Users of RottenTomatoes. Signed-up users of the review compilation Web site combine to give this a 92% fresh rating. Sure, it may just be a bunch of freaks and geeks, but remember that this same demo made Napoleon Dynamite a $44.5 million winner against a production budget of $400,000. Universal and partners spent a small $40 million on Serenity, a good investment for this kind of opening weekend. If it doesn't drop crazily next weekend, a franchise could be born. Ah hell, with this sort of open it's probably a franchise already. A decent follow up weekend probably makes it a trilogy. It worked for Transporter 2, so there's no reason not to do it here.