Box office: Two new movies fall short

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Despite unrelenting ad campaigns and celebrity promotional tours, moviegoers showed only middling interest in religious comedies and political dramas over the weekend.

Evan Almighty proved mortal in theaters, pulling in No. 1 but with a lackluster $32.1 million, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI. That's about $8 million short of projections.
And A Mighty Heart, the much-publicized Angelina Jolie film about Mariane Pearl and her husband, murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, came in 10th place with $4 million, about $3 million below analysts' expectations.

With Evan's estimated price tag of at least $175 million and Heart's grim subject matter, both could struggle to find audiences and profits.

Evan executives remain undaunted. "Kids and families talk about movies like no other groups," says Nikki Rocco, distribution chief for Universal. "Night at the Museum opened at $30 million" on its way to $250 million, she says. "I'm not saying we're that, but obviously if you can get families — and especially churches and congregations — behind your film, you've got a reason to feel good."

Heart, on the other hand, was never expected to become an instant blockbuster. But with a healthy release in more than 1,300 theaters and positive reviews, most expected the movie to do at least $7 million.

Executives for Paramount Vantage, which released Heart, refused to comment on the record.
But analysts believe the film's dark tone may have hampered its performance.
"The movie is about tragedy and came off as a bitter pill, like Babel or Flags of Our Fathers," says Brandon Gray of Boxoffice mojo.com. "Critics and studios say it's good for you, but that's not enough for audiences."

There was one studio feeling good, though: The Weinstein Co., with 1408 and Sicko.
1408, the Stephen King thriller, came in second with $20.2 million, a surprisingly strong showing and the highest debut for a King adaptation, beating out 1999's The Green Mile and 2004's Secret Window, which opened at $18 million.

"I think it's old-school psychological horror," says studio co-founder Bob Weinstein. "Hollywood had gotten into a rut with Hostel and Saw and movies like that. Stephen King doesn't do that kind of story, which is why he's the man."

The company's Michael Moore documentary Sicko posted a healthy $70,000 in one New York theater and sold out Saturday sneak previews in 43 theaters. It expands nationwide Friday.
Among the holdovers: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer fell a sizable 65% from its debut to take third place and $20.15 million; Ocean's Thirteen was No. 4 with $11.3 million; and Knocked Up continued to hold well, bringing in $10.6 million for fifth.

For the fourth straight weekend, ticket sales were down compared with the same time last year, dipping 2% from 2006.

Final figures are due Monday.