Hannah Montana 3 soundtrack debuts at #2 Sells half Jonas Brothers CD Is Miley Cyrus fad done?

Never thought it would happen, but the Hannah Montana Volume 3 soundtrack did not jump out of the box at number 1. It placed #2 behind an R&B artist who hasn’t released a CD in nearly a decade – and it wasn’t Michael Jackson, either.

The Hannah Montana CD bowed with a mere 137,000 units; nearly half the 247,000 units Jonas Brothers Lines Vines and Trying Times launched at, and about a fourth of what I thought the soundtrack would do.

It opened second to R&B singer Maxwell who has not had a product since 2001. He sold 316,000 units, making Hannah Montana’s career look even more uncertain.

Cyrus came on the scene as a clone to Hilary Duff, whose show Lizzie Mcguire left the Disney stable two years before Hannah Montana bowed in 2006. January of 2009 Duff was released from her Hollywood Records contract.

In 2007 Cyrus’ tour sold 69 cities out in less than an hour. Her upcoming 45 cities tour has tickets available for every show five weeks after initial sale. Is this the beginning of the end of Cyrus’ career? She recently signed for a fourth season of Hannah Montana. She is filming The Last Song. The Hannah Montana Movie, opening with about $45,000, is still in the box office top 10 for 2009.

Only 137,000 units of her new CD. Questions are – is she as popular as ever but with the current economic conditions, people are listening to the songs on YouTube and other sites and foregoing purchasing. Are downloads higher, thus reducing initial CD sales? Or has Miley Cyrus lost the publics’ eye? Have her fans outgrown her as they get older. Have Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez replaced her in the hearts of Tweens?

Tween’s creating movie box office records

from Wikipedia and Myspace

While the national media whines about the economy’s ill health, tweens are sending movie box office receipts into the stratosphere.

Associated Press’ David Germain (any relation to my journalism professor Leonard Germain?) reports “Studios head into summer on a box-office tear, with receipts running at a record pace.”

Who led that? Hannah Montana Movie with $42-million two weeks ago. Last week Zac Efron’s 17 Again with $12 million and this weekend another tween idol, Beyonce (even though she’s out of the tween demographic, she still gets Radio Disney play) took the crown with $29 million.

It will continue through the summer as Hollywood realizes the power of Tweens – they’re taking advantage of it; why isn’t your company tapping into this $3-billion per year spending power?

Other summer blockbusters will be another Hayden Panettierre venture, I love you Beth Cooper, opening July 10. Doesn’t matter what the plot is. That $3 billion tween market is half boys reaching puberty. Then you have the college boys in love with Panetttierre, also every guy from TMZ who will hype the heck out of this movie and don’t forget the dirty old men. This one could beat Woverine.

Bandslam, opening August 14, is Vanessa Hudgens, sans Zac Efron, in her first movie outside High School Musical. It also introduces a mature Alyson Michalka. You know her as half of Aly and AJ. It will be interesting to see how she sheds that Super Sweet 16 and Cow Belles image. Bet it will be Hudgens pulling the weight in the movie, though. Look for Bandslam to put Efron’s $24 million opening weekend to shame. More tween dollars rolling in for Hollywood.

The biggest movie of the summer will probably be Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The original series fans are near 20, they’ll go see this and the 8 to 14 will need to go to see the “buzz.”

Unfortunately Hannah Montana Movie is rapidly headed to the $1 movie places. Its first week #1, last week #4, this week #8. As bad as Jonas Brothers 3D. Is that out on DVD yet?

17 Again is holding strong at #2 with $12 more million on top of last weekend’s $24 million. Hannah Montana movie has grossed $61 million in three weekends, so Efron is doing half that.

Expect 17 Again to drop fantastically this coming weekend as the biggest blockbuster this year (probably topping Hannah Montana $42 million easily) features a real hunk, Woverine, dropping his shirt in X Men Origins. That has been Efron’s main draw.

Personally, I can’t wait for X Men Origins Storm when Haley Berry drops her shirt.

Look for The Boat That Rocked about British pirate radio to draw baby boomers. Wonder if that generation can challenge tweens for box office dollars.

Tween music degenerates into depravity

Arizona’s top radio show, Beth and Bill, played The Dixie (c)Hicks’ Landslide. This radio show, which panders to baby-boomers, doing it quite well, points to the obvious. There was country before Taylor Swift. Matter of fact, Beth and Bill’s musical choice makes a similar statement to jonasmontana.wordpress.com.

Tween music has denigrated to a lower level. The group Devo, who preached de-evolution, was accurate 30 years ago. The Jonas Brothers are the Cowsills and Taylor Swift is Loretta Lynn.

It is time for Tweens to switch to a higher form of music – Aly & AJ, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgins, and – ta-da – Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana.