The Day The Box Office Stood Still

December is traditionally a strong month at the box office, but it seems nobody told the American public who were decidedly underwhelmed by this weeks new releases. The Day the Earth Stood Still generated a placid estimated $31 million on compared to I Am Legend's $77.2 million last year.

Let's be optimistic here for a moment though. Considering the usual performances for December releases, a month when opening weekends tend to be muted and grosses are spread throughout the week, and the receipts for an IMAX run, where ticket prices run 25 to 40 percent higher than the norm, Day still has the potential to exceed $100 million.

According to Box Office Mojo:

The marketing campaign for The Day the Earth Stood Still eschewed the human drama of the original and focused on the swarming destruction of buildings and trucks, making the picture look like a generic alien invasion or disaster movie. In bold print, ads declared the end of humanity, yet showed no humanity to begin with, such as relatable characters or storylines. Even the famous robot Gort received no play, just fleeting glimpses. The remake's environmentalist propaganda (that man is destroying earth and must stop or be wiped out) was a different message from the original's plea for peace and was obfuscated amidst the special effects chaos, contradicting the contemplative nature of the movie's title. All told, few compelling reasons to see Day were offered to potential moviegoers beyond the vague spectacle and the promise of the new trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Elsewhere, Christmas comedy Nothing Like the Holidays served up a paltry estimated $3.5 million while Delgo had the worst opening ever for a movie playing at over 2,000 theaters. The computer-animated fantasy scrounged up an estimated $916,000 at 2,160 sites. In a word, embarrassing.

1 N The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Fox $31,000,000
2 1 Four Christmases WB (NL) $13,270,000
3 2 Twilight Sum. $8,013,000
4 3 Bolt BV $7,506,000
5 4 Australia Fox $4,285,000
6 5 Quantum of Solace Sony $3,800,000
7 N Nothing Like the Holidays Over. $3,500,000
8 6 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa P/DW $3,250,000
9 11 Milk $2,636,000
10 7 Transporter 3 LGF $2,250,000