Viacom, Disney: Box Office Winners & Losers
NEW YORK (
) --
Viacom
(VIA) - Get Report
shares were inching up today after Paramount's
True Grit
saw a better-than-expected performance at the box office this weekend, coming in as the No. 2 movie of the weekend and grossing $25.6 million.
The movie is a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film. It stars Jeff Bridges as Rooster Coburn and features Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
The film was financed by Viacom's Paramount as well as Skydance, and cost the two studios about $38 million to produce. Strong exit reviews suggest that the movie could potentially bring in $100 million domestically.
Analyst Gregory Brown of Wunderlich Securities said that while total domestic movie attendance is down 5.4% this year, box office revenue results should not come in far from 2009's $10.6 billion.
Brown gives Viacom stock a buy rating with a price target of $45. Shares were up 0.44% today to around $45.85.
Disney
(DIS) - Get Report
shares dropped slightly today after the media company's most recent movie release
Tron: Legacy
delivered weak results in its second weekend in theaters.
The movie cost about $170 to produce while its domestic gross revenue as of Dec. 26 came in just over $88 million.
"The initial opening depended heavily on adult males who were familiar with the 1982 original film," Brown said in his Dec. 27 research note, "but
Tron
has to cross over to families if it is to show continued legs through the holiday season."
He says the film still has money making potential in Disney theme parks and video games, and has grossed about $65.5 million overseas.
Brown gives the media company a hold rating with a price target of $36. Disney shares fell 0.58% on Monday to a closing price of $37.48.
Little Fockers
was ranked the highest grossing movie this weekend, bringing in $48.3 million since its opening on Wednesday. This, however, was seen as a weak opening as the first two installments of the
Meet the Parents
movie franchise generated $847 million globally. Universal had predicted a $60 million opening for the third installment.
Universal Studios is a unit of NBC Universal. Cable company
Comcast
(CMCSA) - Get Report
is currently working to adhere to
regulatory conditions proposed by the Federal Communications Commission
in order to acquire 51% of NBC U from
General Electric
(GE) - Get Report
. The merger is expected to be complete in early 2011.
-- Written by Theresa McCabe in Boston.
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