I’m guess lots of people go to movies on sunday evenings… or during the day… more so than during the weekdays… unless it’s cheap tuesdays… but it’s part of the weekend… you’d think the results would come monday. But if you check box office result sites they come out on sunday. Guess most people go to the movies fri sat evenings… and after that gets added to the gross.
I’m not sure what the exact question is here, so this is more of a comment in response than an answer.
The Sunday results are estimates based on previous experience and best guesses about performance.
The Monday results have better information about the actual grosses. They’re still something of an estimate because not every theater can get electronic results in to the studios that quickly. You’ll sometimes see changes to the numbers, and also changes in the rankings when the estimates were off or very close in the first place.
Moviegoers seem to be very predictable, however, because the Sunday estimates are normally accurate to a couple of percent. This allows the studios to get a crucial day’s advance in on the advertising about The #1 Movie or Hottest Comedy in America or whatever. That’s the only reason that they trumpet weekend grosses at all.
In the real world of groupthink, lots of people do get influenced into seeing a movie because so many others do. That makes them feel more connected, or allows to be knowledgeable when their friends are talking, or whatever. Popularity breeds popularity. Getting a jump on that is worth fudging the numbers.
Take a look at Box Office Mojo.
Here’s this weekend’s projections which include Sunday estimates.
The actual totals will be listed tomorrow. There are frequently changes. E.g., last weekend “Shaun of the Dead” was projected to finish 8th and actually came in 7th.
The middle of the top ten are quite close this weekend so expect at least 1 change when the actuals show up. (But no one will really care since it’s the top spot everyone obsesses about.)
As a general rule of thumb, of the best movies currently in theaters, maybe 1 or 2 are in the top 10. It’s a pretty meaningless indicator of quality. Check Rotten Tomatoes for real info on what you should spend money on. So, for example, “Shark Tale” is now number 1 but the reviews and word-of-mouth are pretty poor. “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” and “Shaun of the Dead” are the only quality films in the top 10 this week.