The Jonas Brothers are losing the expectations game.
The band's new concert movie, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, grossed an estimated $4.8 million Friday, an unspectacular opening day that barely held off the Tyler Perry holdover Madea Goes to Jail for the No. 1 spot, and forced box office analysts to revise their weekend forecasts downward.
Where once a $30 million Friday-Sunday take was considered possible, if not likely, for Jonas Brothers, Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock now said the movie was looking at a $17 million three-day opening—$20 million, if Saturday-Sunday business picks up substantially.
"When you factor in the ticket prices," Bock said, "you're talking about a movie that's underpeforming."
Jonas Brothers is playing at 1,200-plus 3-D-equipped and IMAX theaters, where tickets cost $15-$18 each, about twice the national average.
Compared to last year's Miley Cyrus concert movie, which also played exclusively on 3-D and IMAX screens, the Jonas Brothers' effort is looking especially lame. On its opening day, Cyrus' concert movie grossed nearly twice as much money ($8.7 million) on nearly half as many screens as the Jonases'.
The complete weekend standings and estimates will be out tomorrow.