B.O. hosts quiet party for 'New Year's'

'New Year's Eve'A paltry $13.7 million opening for Warner Bros.' "New Year's Eve" party couldn't rouse what is the worst weekend overall at the domestic box office in three years. Overseas B.O. was far less dire, as Paramount-DreamWorks Animation's "Puss in Boots" rallied with a chart-topping estimated $45.6 million. Though the star-powered ensembler still managed to beat 20th Century Fox's new entry "The Sitter," which collected $10 million, Warners expected "New Year's Eve" to hit at around $20 million for the weekend. "The Sitter" performed in line with pre-weekend projections. Stateside B.O., totaling in the mid-to-high-$70 millions, was down even from last weekend's typically sluggish post-Thanksgiving frame, at $81 million. What's more, B.O. conditions haven't been this off since the weekend of Sept. 5, 2008, when overall totals reached just $67.9 million. "It's rare that this week would fall below last weekend," said Warner domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman, who added that big titles launching next weekend, such as "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," will be an important test for the industry. In advance of overseas school holidays, "Puss in Boots" added 16 territories this weekend, including top market Germany, which contributed $7.2 million. Toon has cumed $142.3 million internationally. While Stateside wide releases mostly fell short, the weekend's crop of specialty titles, led by Focus Features' "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," came in strong. "Tailor" scored the year's third-highest per-screen average for a traditional theatrical release, totaling an estimated average of $75,184 from four locations. ("Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life" hold 2011's best per-screen perfs, respectively.) Par, meanwhile, did well with Jason Reitman's black comedy "Young Adult," which launched limited for an estimated three-day gross of $320,000. That's an average of $40,000 from eight engagements. "Young Adult" should have a strong female fanbase, according to Par marketing and distribution head Megan Colligan. That's one reason why Par decided to launch the film limited, before expanding to approximately 1,000 locations next weekend. "It's always tricky with women in the weeks leading up to Christmas," Colligan said. "And with 'Young Adult,' I think it's important that we're not at 3,000 locations next weekend. "This is a film that needs room to grow." By comparison, "New Year's Eve" skewed heavily toward women, which repped 70% of the film's opening. The film stalled, however, with under-18 auds, at just 22%. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com