Well, i think Tyler Perry and wis movie will win the weekend. Sorority Row looks bad and Whiteout too, but have around 2600 theatres each other. 9 just dont have enough theatres, its sad because is a good movie that deserves to be at least second place.

My top 5:

I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $28.0M
Sorority Row – $13.9M
Whiteout – $11.6M
9 – $9.3M
Inglorious Basterds – $7.0M

I heard '9' wasn't great. 'Whiteout' looks thrilling, though it hasn't gotten any good reviews, and 'Sorority Row' looks bad but has gotten surprisingly mixed reviews. Anything could hit #1 this week.

Wow, can't believe they're at 8 Tyler Perry movies now. Always hate to see a weekend where he tops the crown by default. At least we can take solace in the fact that it won't repeat, due to next weekend's (also) busy slate of new releases.

Otherwise, Sorority Row would have easily taken this one. I think you have it about right, Laremy – performing like an R-rated Prom Night.

1.) I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $24.8m
2.) Sorority Row – $16.8m
3.) Whiteout – $12.8m
4.) 9 – $9m (lol)
5.) Inglourious Basterds – $7.9m

Tyler Perry will win because of GA.

1. Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $29.5M Over at boxoffice.com, they say this movie is ruling the early ticket sales on fandango. Should be big, since even a little Madea will get his audience out there.

2. Sorority Row – $14.2M I think this was solid marketing. It's getting the Gossip Girl fan base mixed in with the slasher fan base. The R hurts a bit, but it could be another I Know What You Did…

3. 9 – $12.1M I don't think it will lose to much of that Wednesday lead in. Better than what I had expected. But I remember that Nightmare Before Christmas didn't have huge box office but it really took off on home video. This has cult hit written all over it.

4. Whiteout – $9.7M Would put it lower but its got so many GD theaters. I had free passes to this one, and found no one to go with me. Only a handful had even heard of it. WB, what's up with the marketing on this. I still don't know if its a thriller, horror, or sci fi.

5. Inglourious Basterds – $8.3M

6. The Final Destination – $6.8M

7. All About Steve – $5.1M

8. Julie and Julia – $4.1M

9. District 9 – $4M

10. Gamer – $3.8M

I'm really going to have to disagree on the order of that Top 5

1. I Can Do Bad All By Myself – 26.3M

2. Sorority Row – 13.6M

3. 9 – 10.1M

4. Inglourious Basterds – 8.9M

5. The Final Destination – 8.4M

There's no way Whiteout will make its way into the Top 5.

1. Sorority Row- $25 Million
2. I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $23 Million
3. Whiteout – $16 Million
4. Inglourious Basterds – $8 Million
5. 9 – $7 Million

boxoffice.com is saying that Tyler Perry is dominating the early ticket sales. So, he should have yet another busy weekend. I wonder if the guy even sleeps. Two movies a year and a TV series, plus plays. How is that fathomable. I'm ready to nap after my half hour commute to the office.

9 will do okay, but it won't be the box office dynamo that some have reported. Nice start on Wednesday, but it may not hold too well. I see it performing like a Nightmare Before Christmas, which did mid-level business at the box office but became a cult phenomenon on video. Cult phenomenons rarely do well in theaters. Sorority Row is being marketing surprisingly well. Not so for Whiteout which despite being the opener with the highest theater count, it will be the lowest of the openers. I had passes to see it last night and found no one to go with me. Most hadn't even heard of it. And those who did, myself included, didn't know if it was a horror film, a weather survival film, or a murder mystery.

1. Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $29.5M
2. Sorority Row – $14.2M
3. 9 – $12.5M
4. Whiteout – $9.7M
5. Inglourious Basterds – $8.3M
6. The Final Destination – $6.8M
7. All About Steve – $5.1M
8. Julie and Julia – $4.1M
9. District 9 – $4M
10. Gamer – $3.8M

Not only will Whiteout NOT crack the Top 5……but JAB……Theres no chance in hell that the second weekend in September will yield a Top 5 totaling 79 Million. I feel like my estimates are way too liberal and mine don't even crack a 70 Mil Top 5.

I don't get why so little theaters for 9. Tyler Perry just must not sleep, he also has two shows on TBS, and they always seem to be new. But it has Taraji P. Henson so it can't be all bad, can it?

1. I Can Do Bad All By Myself- $26.8 million
2. Sorority Road- $17.4 million
3. 9- $10.2 million ($16.4 million 5 day total)
4. Inglourious Basterds- $9.3 million
5. Whiteout- $7.8 million

I didn't like "9" when I saw it on the 1st and can't account for it having much pull, either Oscar-wise or financially. "Whiteout" is crummy; I saw it yesterday, simply awful.

Seeing "Sorority Row" tomorrow morning. Don't think it will do much. Perry'll win, even as awful as "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" looks (I have not and will not see it).

1) I Can Do Bad All By Myself–$23.6 million. I compared audiences polls to this movie and "The Family that Preys," because both seemed to have similar ad campaigns, plus the same release date. That meant numbers were considerably lower than comparisons between this and "Madea Goes to Jail."

2) Sorority Row–$17.4 million. Very clear marketing and a pretty good trailer. Will perform slightly under "Prom Night."

3) 9–$15.0 million. It could go quite a few ways. If it drops hard on Thursday, it could end up with only $11 or 12 million, but if it holds strong it could rise as high as $17 million. And although I heard it was weak on story, I hear it's strong on visuals, and that's enough for mainstream audiences. Imagine the word of mouth: "Maybe not a great story, but it was amazing to look at, and only 80 minutes!" People will flock. But not as much as they did to "Coraline." And with the buzz this movie's been having, I don't think its low theater count will hurt it too much. It didn't hurt "Borat," after all.

4) Whiteout–$10.1 million. No interest, unclear marketing campaign, etc. Won't do well.

5) Inglorious Basterds–$7.3 million.

I have a hard time believing 'The Final Destination' will drop to number 6. Unlike the horrendous 'Halloween 2', fans actually like this film, or at least most, and i don't think they'll give it up just yet.

1.) Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself- $26.1 million
[i don't see it being Tyler Perry's highest opening weekend, but it won't be a flop either.]
2.)Whiteout- $18.5 million
[it looks pretty good, to me. But as far as the rating goes, some people will like this better compared to Sorortiy Row's rating.]
3.) 9- $12.2 million
[don't like it, but that doesn't mean others won't.]
4.) Sorority Row- $11.3 million
[People'll see it this weekend and it'll drop big time next weekend--i can see it now.]
5.) The Final Destination- $9.8 million
[As i said, fans aren't done with this yet, the 3D'll still help it. It's definately gonna be in the top 5.]
6.) Inglorious Basterds- $7.7 million
[Pretty good film. I still know people who haven't seen it yet but are going to this weekend.]
7.) District 9- $6.9 million
[By far, the best alien film ever made.]
8.) All About Steve- $4.3 million
[There goes Sandra Bullock's career again--it's like a roller coaster ride.]
9.) Juli

I think your prediction for the Tyler Perry flick is right on, but those predictions for Whiteout and Sorority Row are a little to high. Whiteout is getting awful reviews and while that doesn't mean it won't make money when it comes to comicbook movies the fans usually check up on the online reviews and if it's not good at all they will usually just skip it unless it's something big like anoher Batman or Suprman flick because those movies have many diehard fans. This is basically what happend to The Spirit all over again. Lackluster trailers mixed with heavy negative buzz equals a boxoffice disaster, but I'm still going to check it out for Kate. As for SR it's getting suprisingly decent reviews, but the only one's I know who are excited for this movie are online and I haven't heard a single peep out of anyone else interested in it, but I guess that doesn't mean it will flop.

I'm wondering if Beatles Rock Band might have any effect on the weekend box-office.

1.) I Can Do Bad All By Myself – $22.8m
2.) 9 – $12.9m
3.) Whiteout – $10.8m
4.) Sorority Row – $8.9m
5.) Inglourious Basterds – $6.78m

I can do bad all by myself- $38 million easy, unless people are watching Ohio St. vs. USC

1. I Can Do Bad All by Myself – $26.7 million
2. Sorority Row – $18.6 million
3. Whiteout – $11.0 million
4. 9 – $9,999,999
5. Inglourious Basterds – $7.2 million
6. The Final Destination – $6.0 million
7. All About Steve – $5.3 million
8. District 9 – $4.2 million
9. Gamer – $4.1 million
10. Julie & Julia – $3.9 million

Re: Rock Band Beatles and Ohio St. – USC the only event I can think that potentially hurts box office is the Super Bowl which crushes Sunday. Otherwise people still see the films, anyone can find three hours off from their weekend in my opinion.

It looks like I'm one of the more bullish folks on Tyler Perry this weekend. But he seems to have really consistent box office support. We'll see this weekend if it's still there.

I forgot to put in my estimates last night! No sense doing the whole top 10 now, but I do think Tyler Perry will win the weekend. My guess is a $30M opening frame, as the presence of Madea in TP's films seems to give nice boost.

Also, I don't think Sorority Row will make the $17-$19M projections discussed here. I hate to underestimate it, but horror fans still have the option to see Final Destination in 3D. My guess is an $11M opening.

That leaves Whiteout, which I'm guessing will make around $8M this weekend, for a little less than $3,000 per screen.

@laremy: Doesn't Easter usually hurt, or is that only for family films? An article on which of the holidays weekends helps, hurts, or has no effect on box office would be great!

@Pumice Miner: Yeah, I will take a look at that. Most holidays help, but there are certain dates that studios seemingly take off.

I hated "Sorority Row" with a passion. Scummy, crummy, dirty, stupid, horrible. Hopefully, it won't make any money, but that won't happen.

EXCLUSIVE STEVE MASON FRIDAY ESTIMATES FOR SEPTEMBER 1`
1. Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself (Lionsgate) – $8.6M
2. 9 (Focus) – $3.3M
3. Inglourious Basterds (Weinstein) – $2M
4. All About Steve (Fox) – $1.9M
5. White Out (Warner Bros) – $1.9M
*Sorority Row (Summit) – $1.8M
*GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra (Paramount) – $675K

Maybe the 'why watch an only OK movie for $20 when I can watch football for free' people have a point. And for all the people who are about to say they can see a movie for $10, lighten up an buy some popcorn.

aaaaaaaaw man, friday estimates are KILLING me. I guess i just thought more people would be down for a good old fashion slasher