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It was a big weekend for Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF). The company had a Tyler Perry picture in the multiplex marketplace. As shareholders know, the talented writer/producer/director has a lot of brand equity with moviegoers. About a year ago, Lionsgate was doing relatively well with Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys. That project opened in second place.
This year, Perry has done even better. Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself debuted in the top spot at domestic theaters as of early estimates at Boxofficemojo. Its three-day gross was roughly $24 million. It had some stiff competition. Coming in second was the animated sci-fi piece 9 from Focus Features, which is owned by General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal. Inglourious Basterds, distributed by The Weinsten Company, was third (the Quentin Tarantino flick has now gone beyond $100 million in total gross). News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) All About Steve came in at number four. Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Final Destination appears to be losing steam, as it dropped to the fifth slot on the chart.
Speaking of horror, Sorority Row from Summit Entertainment came in sixth. I thought this movie was going to rank much higher, but I was wrong. The marketing campaign looked good to me, but it apparently didn't fully resonate with the intended audience (perhaps a large amount of that audience decided to opt for Destination instead).
Lionsgate surely appreciates the fact that I Can Do Bad All By Myself's current estimated gross represents a huge percentage of the total take of $37.1 million generated by The Family That Preys. Next weekend will tell if this observation truly holds meaning. Perry is certainly valuable to Lionsgate (although keep in mind he gets paid quite a premium for his creative efforts).
Like I said last week, I'm very cautious about buying Lionsgate. It seems like it will make a great trade at some point, but it's also a scary stock in many ways. And no, I'm not saying that because this is the company behind the Saw franchise. Doesn't Lionsgate feel like an equity that will drop as soon as you pull the trigger and buy?
At any rate, I'll keep watching Lionsgate. I can't wait to see how shares of the studio settle out on Monday after Perry's performance is analyzed by the movers and shakers in the market. I wouldn't necessarily purchase Lionsgate solely on the new film, but since it was number one, it is possible Wall Street might be in a buying mood.
Disclosure: I own GE; positions can change without notice.
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