Box Office Report: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Box Office Report: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

The weekend estimates are in and the numbers for Guillermo Del Toro's Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark are scary.

News
By MarkJulian - Aug 28, 2011 09:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Horror
Source: Box Office Mojo

Checking out the box office estimates for this weekend, Aug. 26-28 you can see that both Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark and Colombiana are suffering from the August release curse. Per BoxOfficeMojo," The weekend as a whole, though, was the second-slowest of the year so far, ahead of only Super Bowl weekend (Feb. 4-6), but business was poised to flounder, hurricane or no."


Image courtesy of Collider.

The Estimates, Aug. 26-28
1. The Help - $14.3 million
2. Colombiana - $10.3 million
3. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - $8.7 million
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $8.65 million
5. Our Idiot Brother - $6.6 million
- Conan the Barbarian - $3.1 million
-Fright Night - $3 million


August is typically a throwaway month, where studios release movies they think won't perform well but the Hollywood studios will have a convenient excuse in the form of Hurricane Irene this week. While both Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Colombiana received mixed reviews from critics,Don't Be Afraid of the Dark generally had a few more positive reviews so it's numbers may improve next week. Luckily Colombiana has a budget of only $40 million while Don't Be Afraid of the Dark cost only $25 million to produce.

Conan the Barbarian took an estimated $3.1 million, collecting a tepid $16.6 million in ten days while Fright Night grossed an estimated $3 million for an equally low $14.2 million tally in ten days.

Check back Monday, when the numbers are finalized.








Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2011 American horror film written by Matthew Robbins and Guillermo del Toro and directed by comic book artist Troy Nixey. The film stars Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison, and Guy Pearce as a family moving into an 19th century Rhode Island mansion, where their withdrawn daughter begins to witness malevolent goblin-like creatures that emerge from a sealed fireplace in the basement of the house. It is a remake of the 1973 ABC made-for-television horror film of the same name that starred Kim Darby.

Colombiana is an American and French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldana and Michael Vartan. The film was released in Europe on July 27, 2011, and in the USA on August 26, 2011.

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MasterBlaster
MasterBlaster - 8/28/2011, 9:46 PM
Well it isn't Halloween...
THRILLHO
THRILLHO - 8/28/2011, 9:55 PM
Vonkrieg
Vonkrieg - 8/28/2011, 9:55 PM
I don't know where you are getting your information, but I just looked it up and Cap it about $20 mil ahead of smurf in total at the moment.
Spidey91
Spidey91 - 8/28/2011, 10:12 PM
ugh,I'm sick of JLA2014,and now he even has a friend that sucks his d*ck
SFCamerica
SFCamerica - 8/28/2011, 10:16 PM
Wow, both JLA and iblowNolan are compete douche bags. Cap has done pretty well and very well reviewed by critics and fans alike. I know it's Batman or nothing with you morons so I don't know why I even bother.
DoomXfactor
DoomXfactor - 8/28/2011, 10:25 PM
First mistake was putting Katie Holmes in it
jbrandtc
jbrandtc - 8/28/2011, 10:28 PM
What was the marketing strategy behind releasing Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Fright Night in August instead of October?

I get that August is just another February, a dumping ground for movies in which the studios have lost faith (don't look now but Ghost Rider returns in February). However, families were spending their cash on back-to-school supplies and paying activity fees, not going to the movie theater.

Why not instead hold these films for an early October release, even if that means opening on fewer screens (a 1970s movie release strategy), and let word of mouth build interest in repeat viewings/scares?
AsianVersionOfET
AsianVersionOfET - 8/28/2011, 10:43 PM
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is the worst movie I've seen in theaters in a looooong time. I'm mad that I gave $8.50 to it.
Kayo
Kayo - 8/28/2011, 10:44 PM
guys don't worried about it, JLA is just making fun of it. Cap is doing well on the boxoffice and guaranteed a future sequel.
Hannibal_King
Hannibal_King - 8/28/2011, 10:58 PM
Why is Del Toro's name attached? He's not the director....
SHHH
SHHH - 8/28/2011, 11:17 PM
How Cares About Box Office Numbers?? If U Liked the movie thats all that matters..:)
Ceejay
Ceejay - 8/29/2011, 12:12 AM
@SHHH - Yes if you liked the movie then that should be fine, if however you liked it enough to want a sequel then box office numbers do matter!
AVEN
AVEN - 8/29/2011, 12:18 AM
The original "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" was bad and this remake is lame, what happend to Guillermo Del Toro? -_-
NeoBaggins
NeoBaggins - 8/29/2011, 1:55 AM
Columbiana is under performing? I wonder why? Oh, I see why. Shame on you disgusting pieces of shit.
SUPERSP00NS
SUPERSP00NS - 8/29/2011, 5:26 AM
Was SO excited to see Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark this week, because i'm on holiday in America at the moment and the film isn't out 'til October in the UK. However, it was one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory for me. Not scary at all, the creatures were goofy and revealed too quick, but the acting from the little girl was pretty decent and the whole gothic style was very impressive/atmospheric. Although I do agree with some users on here, I don't really care about box office figures, it doesn't make a film good. Avatar = pretty much the highest grossing film ever, but, for me anyway, is the most over-rated piece of un-original turd to grace the cinemas in recent memory. If you like a film, just like it. Infact, chances are that if a film gets buckets of cash, they'll have to make a sequel which can, more often than not, destroy whatever credibility the first film had. Some of the best films around are independent releases that barely have a run longer than a week in theatres. But hey ho, that's just my two-cents :)
ComicBookGoth
ComicBookGoth - 8/29/2011, 6:20 AM
i saw Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, Was good.

Love the Set design.

Then again im a whore for anything Del Toro touches.

Just wish they'd Get (At The Mountains Of Madness) back on track.
nordberg
nordberg - 8/29/2011, 6:21 AM
@SUPERSPOONS

Well, that's disappointing to hear. As a child fan/victim of the original '73 TV movie, I was very excited to see this Del Toro guided remake but I have to admit that the commercials have left me somewhat less than enthused.... not to mention my concerns about the addition of a back story for the evil little imps.

That said, perhaps it will be more effective if seen at home anyway, on a windy Winter night with all of the lights turned out...
SUPERSP00NS
SUPERSP00NS - 8/29/2011, 6:48 AM
@Nordberg

Yeah, I agree... It's hard to totally lose yourself in a theatre where there's the obvious fact that you're in this building that's explicitly made for entertainment purposes. That, accompanied with the fact that i'm on holiday, probably didn't help with the whole 'make-you-scared-of-your-own-home' effect that they're going for. I think i'll definately rent it and watch it in the comfort of my own home once i'm back. Hopefully all of my criticisms will disappear.

That being said, my brother really enjoyed it and didn't understand my issues with it. So maybe I was just expecting a little too much. It's definately worth a watch though! :)
Highways
Highways - 8/29/2011, 7:15 AM
The failure of Conan makes me wanna cry!
nordberg
nordberg - 8/29/2011, 8:04 AM
@SuperArgo

After hearing about the remake, I re-watched the original with my wife sometime last year (btw, there are torrents out there and it's also available on Youtube in several parts). While there are two or three scenes that are still fairly creepy, it doesn't hold up very well by today's standards. In fact, I couldn't help but think that it would make for a good MST3K skewering.
nld3
nld3 - 8/29/2011, 8:41 AM
its not even playing around here.
Jimdlux
Jimdlux - 8/29/2011, 8:49 AM
I'm sure it had nothing to do with Hurricane Irene...
quickdraw1021
quickdraw1021 - 8/29/2011, 11:33 AM
$8.7 million opening weekend,thats awful.I guess there won't be Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark 2.
C0nan
C0nan - 8/29/2011, 11:39 AM
Neobaggins: I think I'm possibly being a bit slow here, but why do you think it is that Columbiana is underperforming? And who is it your calling disgusting pos?
TimeLordLantern
TimeLordLantern - 8/29/2011, 2:31 PM
I saw Don't be afraid immediately after I saw the original. I thught it was wonderful! In Del Toro I trust!
ScionStorm
ScionStorm - 8/29/2011, 11:17 PM
Captain America needs 94.3 million to triple it's budget. With it's gradual release schedule it will be raking in from the box office 'till nearly the end of the year. Meanwhile, Thor needs just 1.5 million from tripling it's budget at the box office.
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