Sony Pictures' "Concussion" ranked eighth at the box office with a weekend gross of $8M and now in its second week has a total gross of $25.37M after being created on a $35M budget, according to data from Box Office Mojo. Its weekend gross was down 23.8% from its opening weekend (THE DAILY). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Erich Schwartzel noted the film was among many Christmas Day releases that "enjoyed healthy staying power thanks to holiday breaks," seeing second-weekend grosses "dip less than 40%" (WSJ.com, 1/3). In L.A., Susan King noted "Concussion" was No. 8 in the box office on New Year's Day, taking in an estimated $3.1M (LATIMES.com, 1/2).
HEAD IN THE GAME: The film continues to be a talking point for columnists in and around the NFL, and in Buffalo, Vic Carucci wrote, "After walking out of the theater, I no longer was able to think about or watch football the way I had for a virtual lifetime." Carucci wrote despite having covered the NFL for nearly four decades, "I find myself questioning much more of what I have witnessed all of these years, what I have helped glorify to a large extent, and wondering what the future holds for a sport that has been blamed for causing long-term brain damage to players at the professional level." Carucci: "I honestly never gave a single thought to such ramifications, especially when I began covering the league in the late 1970s." He added, "At the very least, 'Concussion' will continue to prompt more conversations/debates such as the ones I’m guessing took place at many holiday gatherings." Carucci noted that he found only one member of the Bills, DT Corbin Bryant, who had actually seen the film, but several others said that they "were planning to see it." Bryant said, "I thought it was very informative." Bryant added, however, that the film "didn’t cause him to have even the slightest doubt about what he does for a living" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 1/2). In Utah, Amy Donaldson writes if the movie "does one thing effectively, it’s this: 'Concussion' distills a medical issue into an emotional message." Donaldson: "It converts the abstract into an ugly reality. And it should force us to confront issues we'd rather ignore" (DESERET NEWS, 1/4). In Honolulu, Dave Reardon writes “Concussion” is an "entertaining story" that "got the important parts right, and it’s not going to kill football with its version of how the game was forced to stop killing its players" (HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER, 1/4).
IS SEEING BELIEVING? Lions S Don Carey, in a special to the DETROIT FREE PRESS, wrote, "I expected it would be a watered-down or exaggerated version of what NFL players actually go through, as is the case with most sports films. However, I was completely blown away at the accuracy and candor of the film. ... Director Peter Landesman does a very good job of giving the world a glimpse into what we players go through" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/3). But Seahawks CB Richard Sherman said of not having seen the film yet, "I see a concussion movie every Sunday for free. Don't need to go to the theater" (SEAHAWKS.com, 12/30).
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: In N.Y., Atkinson & Morgan wrote "Concussion" has "set off a scramble among former players touting game-changing helmet technology." At least two former NFLers "are piggybacking on the film ... to promote products designed to reduce the impact of head injuries." John Roman, who went on to become a Wall Street investment adviser and is now CEO of Defend Your Head, "is launching a protective helmet add-on next year." Former NFLer Shawn Springs, meanwhile, said that he is "rolling out new protective headgear padding in concert with companies such as Triple 8, which makes skateboarding helmets." Springs’ company, DC-based Windpact, "has developed a technology called Cloud Comfort, which he describes as a cross between an airbag and landing on a mattress" (N.Y. POST, 1/2).
IS THIS THE END? In N.Y., Michael Gray wrote this season is "likely the apex for the NFL." Gray: "In 10 years -- perhaps less -- professional football will be out of business as we know it today. It sounds impossible given its popularity, but football cannot survive as it is now." Hanging over everything "is a court battle that will likely leave the league on the hook for hundreds of millions in concussion-related liabilities." Landesman's film has "elevated the conversation in pop culture." Besides the costs of concussions, the NFL’s challenges include fixing the culture in which not a season goes by without multiple members of the league "making news for horrendous acts -- on and off the field," and the league must also address a lack of supply, as there are tens of thousands of football fields in the U.S. that "do not see a game played on anymore." Additionally, the NFL faces a challenge with Madison Ave., as "you are already seeing advertisers moving away from using pro athletes in their campaigns" (N.Y. POST, 1/3).
BUBBLE TROUBLE: In San Diego, Dan McSwain wondered whether market forces have "inflated a National Football League bubble." There is reason to wonder if the NFL "can grow revenues faster than expenses forever." McSwain: "Here’s where the bubble talk gets interesting." Attendance peaked in '07 and "hasn’t fully recovered." The NFL "makes most of its money" from TV nets -- $205.6M annually per team. But the latest round of contracts expires in '22, and the "vast Millennial generation despises its cable bill, preferring to watch programming a la carte or free over the Internet." There are "other signs of froth" as well, as the "bursting of the NFL’s public financing bubble is clearly under way." The NFL "faces a public funding trend that’s headed rapidly to zero" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/3).
