Box Office Guesstimations

[MacGuffin]

'Prestige' Conjures $14.8M at Box Office

The magic act "The Prestige" debuted as the weekend's No. 1 movie with $14.8 million, outperforming Clint Eastwood's World War II saga, which opened at No. 3 with $10.2 million.

Holding strong in second place was Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," which took in $13.7 million and raised its three-week total to $77.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Sony's horror sequel "The Grudge 2," tumbled to fifth-place with $7.7 million, lifting its 10-day total to $31.4 million.

Box-office analysts had viewed the weekend as a three-way race among well-reviewed films: Disney's "The Prestige," starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians in a blood feud; Paramount's "Flags of Our Fathers," dramatizing the Iwo Jima invasion; and the Warner Bros. mob tale "The Departed."

"I'm not surprised that we won the weekend," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "It's just when everybody has such quality films as `Flags' and `Prestige' and `Departed,' that's a great crowd to be running in."

"The Prestige" debuted in 2,281 theaters, 400 more than "Flags." "The Departed" is playing wider, in 3,005 cinemas.

With 70 percent of its viewers under 35, "The Prestige" drew a younger crowd that tends to turn out in bigger numbers over opening weekend. Eighty percent of the audience for "Flags" was older than 30.

"We felt the movie was going to play to the older crowd. It takes time usually for that group to show up," said Jim Tharp, head of distribution for Paramount.

Among other new movies, 20th Century Fox's family film "Flicka" tied "The Grudge 2" for No. 5 with $7.7 million. Based on the children's book "My Friend Flicka," the movie stars Alison Lohman as a teen who adopts a wild mustang.

Sony's "Marie Antoinette," with Kirsten Dunst in director Sofia Coppola's chronicle of the 18th century queen beheaded during the French Revolution, premiered at No. 8 with $5.3 million.

The 1993 animated tale "Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas" returned to theaters in a three-dimensional version and rang up a strong $3.3 million in limited release of 168 theaters.

"Running With Scissors," featuring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening and Alec Baldwin in an adaptation of Augusten Burroughs' best-seller, opened strongly with $225,000 in eight theaters.

"The Prestige" pits two big-screen superheroes against each other, "Batman Begins" star Bale vs. Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the "X-Men" flicks. The film reunited Bale with his "Batman Begins" director, Christopher Nolan.

"Flags of Our Fathers" lacked that star power, its ensemble cast led by Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach and Jesse Bradford.

Eastwood's last two movies, 2003's crime drama "Mystic River" and 2004's Academy Awards champ "Million Dollar Baby," both debuted in a handful of theaters. The debut for "Flags of Our Fathers" was in line with the first wide-release weekends for those films, $10.4 million for "Mystic River" and $12.3 million for "Million Dollar Baby."

"I don't think it was a movie that was destined to make a huge opening-weekend splash," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "`Flags' is a film that definitely has more appeal to older audiences, so I think over time, it'll do well."

1. "The Prestige," $14.8 million.
2. "The Departed," $13.7 million.
3. "Flags of Our Fathers," $10.2 million.
4. "Open Season," $8 million.
5 (tie). "Flicka," $7.7 million.
5 (tie). "The Grudge 2," $7.7 million.
7. "Man of the Year," $7 million.
8. "Marie Antoinette," $5.3 million.
9. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," $3.9 million.
10. "The Marine," $3.7 million.

[Pubrick]

"`Flags' is a film that definitely has more appeal to older audiences, so I think over time, it'll do well."

cos everyone will get older? i don't get it. does a film that appeals to young children do better in reverse time? i think i'm missing a crucial bit of his logic here.

[MacGuffin]

'Saw III' Takes $34.3M Cut at Box Office

Halloween came early at movie theaters as "Saw III" sliced up the competition with a $34.3 million debut, the best opening yet for the gory horror franchise. Lionsgate's "Saw III" easily took over as No. 1 at the box office, bumping off Disney's dueling-magicians saga "The Prestige," which slipped to third place with $9.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "The Prestige" raised its 10-day total to $28.8 million.

Martin Scorsese's mob tale "The Departed" held strongly again, taking in $9.8 million to place second for the third-straight weekend. The Warner Bros. film lifted its total to $91.1 million.

Revenues for "The Departed" were down just 27 percent from the previous weekend, compared to 35 percent for "The Prestige" and 38 percent for Clint Eastwood's World War II epic "Flags of Our Fathers," which was No. 4 with $6.35 million.

Paramount's "Flags of Our Fathers," which cost $90 million to produce, has gotten off to a slow start, raising its 10-day total to $19.9 million. The acclaimed film still could follow the pattern of Eastwood's last two movies, "Mystic River" and "Million Dollar Baby," which became hits on the strength of Academy Awards buzz.

Focus Features' South African drama "Catch a Fire" premiered weakly with $2 million in 1,306 theaters, averaging $1,541, compared to $10,830 in 3,167 cinemas for "Saw III."

"Catch a Fire" stars Derek Luke and Tim Robbins in the story of a black family man driven to rebel against South Africa's apartheid system in the 1980s.

The far-flung drama "Babel," whose ensemble cast includes Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, had a huge opening in limited release, grossing $365,801 in seven theaters. The film traces the consequences of a tragedy in the desert on families in Africa, Mexico and Japan.

Distributor Paramount Vantage plans to open "Babel" nationwide on Nov. 10.

The Dixie Chicks documentary "Shut Up & Sing" debuted solidly in limited release, taking in $50,798 in four theaters. Released by the Weinstein Co., the film explores the furor after lead singer, Natalie Maines, told a London concert crowd on the eve of the Iraq war in 2003 that the music trio was ashamed President Bush was from Texas, their home state.

Hollywood remained on a box-office roll, with business up for the fifth straight weekend. The top 12 movies took in $89.1 million, up 2.4 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Saw II" opened at No. 1 with $31.7 million.

Since the low-budget "Saw" debuted with $18.3 million over the same weekend two years ago, Lionsgate has turned the franchise into an annual ritual with quickly produced sequels each Halloween.

The movies follow the diabolical schemes of psycho killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), who stages elaborate, bloody games to test the moral fiber of his victims. Lionsgate plans to have "Saw IV" in theaters over Halloween weekend next year.

"It's the biggest no-brainer of the century to put these movies out on Halloween weekend and wait for the money to roll in," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

1. "Saw III," $34.3 million.
2. "The Departed," $9.8 million.
3. "The Prestige," $9.6 million.
4. "Flags of Our Fathers," $6.35 million.
5. "Open Season," $6.1 million.
6. "Flicka," $5 million
7. "Man of the Year," $4.7 million.
8. "The Grudge 2," $3.3 million.
9. "Marie Antoinette," $2.85 million.
10. "Running With Scissors," $2.55 million.

[modage]

Borat: Bigger Than Santa Clause!
Source: Box Office Mojo

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

This weekend, the guy bringing presents wasn't wearing a red suit, he was wearing a gray one, as Sacha Baron Cohen's acclaimed comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan took on two new family films for a surprising victory as the king of the box office with an estimated opening weekend take of $26.4 million!

That amount wouldn't be nearly as impressive, if not for the fact that the comedy opened in almost a third as many theatres as the other two new wide releases, after a controversial decision by distributor 20th Century Fox to cut back its opening weekend release to 837 theatres. As of Friday, it looked like "Borat" would surpass Michael Moore's 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 as the highest per theatre average for a film opening wide in less than 1,000 theatres. Actually, "Borat's" stunning per-theatre average of $31,511 (estimated) is the third highest per theatre average for a wide release EVER, just behind the summer hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the original Spider-Man. It averaged more per theatre than Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith just to give some idea how huge this movie is. 20th Century Fox plans on expanding the movie into over 2,200 theatres next weekend, although after such a huge opening, one can expect that number will increase by Friday.

Settling for second place, the Disney threequel The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, once again starring Tim Allen, grossed an estimated $20 million in 3,458 theatres, $9 million less than The Santa Clause 2 earned in the same weekend four years ago.

Part of that reduced opening might be blamed on its competition for the family market, DreamWorks' Flushed Away, the first computer animated comedy from England's Aardman Studios, featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet. Continuing this year's declining trend for the CG animated genre, it only grossed $19 million despite its ultra-wide release into over 3,700 theaters. That may be a disappointing opening for a DreamWorks animated film, but it's slightly higher than the opening for Chicken Run in 2000 and quite a bit higher than the opening of Aardman's 2005 offering Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

As far as the returning movies, last week's Lionsgate #1, Saw III, dropped nearly 54% to make $15.5 million in its sophomore slot, bringing its total gross to $60 milion, while dropping to fourth place.

Both Martin Scorsese's crime drama The Departed and Christopher Nolan's period mystery The Prestige had neglible drops of less than 20%, though The Departed ended up just slightly ahead for fifth place with $8 million to The Prestige's $7.8 million. This weekend, Scorsese's critical and commercial success crossed the $100 million mark on its way to passing The Aviator as his highest grossing film ever; The Prestige has accumulated $39 million to date.

Clint Eastwood's WWII drama Flags of Our Fathers continued to add theatres, as it dropped three more places to #7 with $4.5 million. So far, the $90 million movie has only taken in $26.6 million domestically.

At #8, Universal's political comedy Man of the Year, starring Robin Williams, brought in $3.8 million to take its own total to $34 million.

With two new family films, Sony's computer-animated comedy Open Season took its biggest hit, dropping 47%, but adding another $3.1 million to its total gross of $81.4 million.

Miramax's The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, entered the Top 10 for the first time, earning $3 million in 387 theatres. The Oscar-ready movie has grossed $10 million to date.

Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst, rounded out the Top 12 with $2.3 million.

After its platform debut last weekend, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarittu's global drama Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, added 28 theatres, grossing $918 thousand in its second weekend. On Friday, it expands nationwide into over 1,000 theatres.

Opening in five theatres in New York and L.A., Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, which reunited the Spanish director with Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura, grossed $202 thousand, an average of $40 thousand per site. It's the filmmaker's biggest first weekend, although it also opened in twice as many theatres as his last two films.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.

[modage]

'Borat' banks $29 mil to stay on top of b.o.

A make-believe son of the glorious nation of Kazakhstan continues to rule the American boxoffice.

Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" took in $29 million to remain the No. 1 movie for a second-straight weekend, distributor 20th Century Fox said Sunday. "Borat" raised its 10-day total to $67.8 million.

The top three movies remained unchanged from the previous weekend, with Disney's "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" still in second place with $16.9 million and the Paramount-DreamWorks animated tale "Flushed Away" in third with $16.7 million.

None of the new wide releases could climb past the holdover movies. Sony's Will Ferrell comedy "Stranger Than Fiction" debuted as the best of newcomers, placing fourth with $14.1 million. Ferrell plays a meek tax auditor suddenly able to hear the voice of a narrator (Emma Thompson) chronicling his life and impending death.

While 20th Century Fox could crow about "Borat," the studio's Russell Crowe-Ridley Scott reunion "A Good Year" flopped, coming in at No. 10 with $3.8 million. "A Good Year" was a departure for the star and director of "Gladiator," a soft romance with Crowe as a London investment shark seduced by the laid-back life at a French vineyard he inherits.

The movie generally was panned by critics, and audiences apparently were not willing to accept actor Crowe in a romantic lead, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox.

Audiences were willing to accept Cohen as Borat, the Kazakh TV journalist he originated on "Da Ali G Show," who jumps to the big screen in a mock documentary about his journey across America.

Crudely funny and raucously satiric, "Borat" was a surprise winner at the boxoffice with a $26.5 million opening weekend, though it played in only 837 theaters, fewer than one-fourth the number of cinemas for "The Santa Clause 3" and "Flushed Away."

Some boxoffice analysts had questioned whether 20th Century Fox missed the boat by launching "Borat" in so few theaters, saying the movie could have rung up millions more on opening weekend if it had gone wider.

But Snyder said the buzz from the movie's huge debut proved a great prelude to a wider release over the second weekend, when it expanded to 2,566 theaters.

"When a picture takes off like this, you can do it anyway you want and you can't screw it up, quite honestly, when a picture becomes a part of the culture like this," Snyder said.

Expanding nationwide after two weekends in limited release, Paramount Vantage's drama "Babel" was No. 6 with $5.65 million. With an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, "Babel" traces the repercussions of a shooting in the African desert on families around the globe.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's supernatural thriller "The Return" opened weakly with $4.8 million to come in at No. 8. Released by Focus Features, the movie was not screened beforehand for critics, generally a sign the distributor expects bad reviews.

MGM's "Harsh Times," a gritty street drama starring Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez, also had a poor debut of $1.8 million, finishing out of the top 10.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," $29 million.
2. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $16.9 million.
3. "Flushed Away," $16.7 million.
4. "Stranger Than Fiction," $14.1 million.
5. "Saw III," $6.6 million.
6. "Babel," $5.65 million.
7. "The Departed," $5.2 million.
8. "The Return," $4.8 million.
9. "The Prestige," $4.6 million.
10. "A Good Year," $3.8 million.

[Pubrick]

Some boxoffice analysts had questioned whether 20th Century Fox missed the boat by launching "Borat" in so few theaters, saying the movie could have rung up millions more on opening weekend if it had gone wider.

But Snyder said the buzz from the movie's huge debut proved a great prelude to a wider release over the second weekend, when it expanded to 2,566 theaters.

Snyder you idiot, not only would the film have still had that buzz, it would have resulted in an even bigger opening AND second weekend.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's supernatural thriller "The Return" opened weakly with $4.8 million to come in at No. 8.

GOOD

[modage]

Birds Beat Bond in Bitter Box Office Battle!
Source: Box Office Mojo, Edward Douglas November 19, 2006

Actor Daniel Craig may do a lot of running around as the latest James Bond in Casino Royale, but that didn't help the highly-publicized franchise relaunch stay atop the fancy footwork of Warner Bros' dancing penguin movie Happy Feet, as it eeked out a win for the golden #1 spot, according to Sunday morning estimates. The George (Babe) Miller directed computer-animated musical comedy-adventure grossed an estimated $42.3 million in three days compared to Sony's first James Bond movie, which took in $40.6 million after opening $3 million ahead of the penguins on Friday. (Note: Other sources have the amounts earned by the two movies to be much closer, within a few hundred thousand dollars.) Both movies averaged over $11 thousand per theatre, although Happy Feet had the clear advantage having opened in 400 more theatres.

Only once before have two movies opened over $40 million, that being Memorial Day weekend 2005, though once actual box office receipts are counted, this could end up being one of the tightest box office battles between two movies since the legendary face-off between Steven Spielberg's Minority Report and Disney's Lilo & Stitch in 2002.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox's comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, dropped down to third place with $14.3 million, having grossed $90.5 million after three weekends.

The two family films already in theatres moved aside to make way for the new animated movie, as Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and DreamWorks' Flushed Away dropped 51% and 59% respectively from Veterans' Day weekend. The Tim Allen holiday comedy crossed $50 million over the weekend with an additional $8.2 million for fifth place, while the animated movie is close behind with an additional $6.8 million in fifth place.

The Will Ferrell comedy Stranger Than Fiction also fell over 50%, dropping to #6 with $6.8 million to bring its total to $22.9 million, while Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarittu's global drama Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, earned $2.9 million in its second weekend of wide release to bring its total to $12 million.

Lionsgate's Saw III took another hit in its fourth weekend, earning $2.8 million after losing nearly 1,000 theatres, to end up with $74.8 million after four weeks.

Still holding a spot in the Top 10 after seven weeks, Martin Scorsese's The Departed grossed an additional $2.6 million with a total box office gross of $113.8 million.

In one of the most inventive ideas of the year, indie horror distributor After Dark teamed with Lionsgate to release 8 horror films into 488 theatres for one weekend only, and the resulting After Dark Horrorfest resulted in a cumulative $2.5 million for the weekend, enough to get into the Top 10.

Miramax's The Queen, starring Helen Mirren, added 122 theatres and an additional $2.3 million to its gross of $17.2 million, moving up one spot to #11.

The only other new movie in wide release, Bob Odenkirk's Universal-distributed comedy Let's Go To Prison barely made a mark, rounding out the top 12 with $2.1 million in 1,495 theatres.

Opening in limited release, Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration grossed roughly $394 thousand in 23 theatres in select cities, while Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation, based on the best-selling non-fiction book, barely made that amount in 321 theatres nationwide, averaging a pitiful $1,200 per theatre.

Emilio Estevez's star-studded drama Bobby opened in a single theatre in New York and L.A.to bring in $67 thousand its first weekend before expanding nationwide on Thanksgiving Day.

[modage]

Happy Feet & Casino Royale Have Turkey Legs
Source: Box Office Mojo November 26, 2006

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

Newcomers were no competition for Happy Feet and Casino Royale over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, as the two hits remained firmly in first and second, respectively.

Warner Bros. Pictures' animated Happy Feet reached the $100 million mark after just 10 days. The $100 million-budgeted film earned $39.9 million from Friday to Sunday, while making $51.5 million during the five days, for a total of $100.1 milllion so far.

Casino Royale collected $45.1 million in five days, and $31 million in the three-day portion. With a total of $94.2 million after 10 days, the 21st James Bond installment will likely become the highest-grossing 007 film in the franchise's history. It cost about $150 million to make.

Out of the newcomers, Touchstone Pictures' Déjà Vu fared best with an estimated $29 million from 3,108 theaters over the five days, and $20.8 million in three. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington, the thriller averaged $6,703 per location.

Fox's holiday comedy Deck the Halls, starring Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick, debuted in fourth with $16.9 million for the five days and $12 million in three. The film played in 3,205 theaters.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan dropped two spots to fifth, adding $10.4 million from Friday to Sunday for an impressive total of $109.3 million after four weeks. The Sacha Baron Cohen comedy cost only $18 million to make.

What's become the norm for the "Santa Clause" franchise, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause increased its sales over the Thanksgiving holiday and was up 20.6% from last weekend. The Tim Allen comedy made $10 million over the three day frame for a four-week total of $67.2 million.

Moviegoers didn't show much interest in the other two new wide releases. Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, earned just $5.4 million over the five days from 1,472 theaters, and New Line's Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, featuring Jack Black and Kyle Gass, opened outside of the top 10 with $5.2 million in five days from 1,919 locations.

[Pubrick]

i wish i had $5.4million 

[MacGuffin]

Gibson Delivers Another Box Office Win

Mel Gibson's bloody epic "Apocalypto" debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie, proving the filmmaker still can deliver a winner despite his drunken-driving arrest and anti-Semitic rant last summer.

"Apocalypto," a Disney release set in the Mayan civilization and told in an obscure Mayan language, opened with $14.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It was a modest haul compared to the $83.8 million opening weekend of Gibson's last movie, the 2004 religious blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," which went on to do $370 million domestically.

But "Apocalypto" overcame the baggage of Gibson's personal troubles as well as its difficult subject matter, which features a no-name cast in a hyper-violent tale that includes beheadings and images of hearts ripped from people's chests.

"The movie obviously succeeds on its own level. I think people probably are a bit on the surprised side around town that it's No. 1," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. "Two months ago, nobody would have bet on that."

Sony's romance "The Holiday" debuted at No. 2 with $13.5 million. Directed by Nancy Meyers, the movie stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law in the story of American and British women who swap homes for the holidays and find love in the process.

The Warner Bros. thriller "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, opened at No. 5 with $8.5 million. Set against Sierra Leone's civil war in the 1990s, the film follows a mercenary pursuing a rare diamond.

Also from Warner Bros., the holiday comedy "Unaccompanied Minors," about a group of kids run amok while stranded at an airport Christmas Eve, premiered at No. 6 with $6.2 million.

The Warner Bros. animated hit "Happy Feet" and Sony's James Bond adventure "Casino Royale," which had been the top-two movies for three-straight weekends, slipped to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

"Happy Feet" took in $12.7 million, raising its total to $137.7 million. "Casino Royale" grossed $8.8 million, lifting its total to $128.9 million.

The overall box office fell sharply, with the top-12 movies grossing $86.8 million, down 25 percent from the same weekend last year, when the blockbuster "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" opened with $65.6 million.

Disney reported that Gibson's "Apocalypto" drew solid crowds across-the-board, with movie-goers equally split between men and women and the core of the audience ranging from 18 to 45.

The publicity over Gibson's problems and his contriteness since last summer may have stoked interested in "Apocalypto," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"Whenever I tell people I saw the movie, they'd be like, `You saw it? How was it?' There was a huge curiosity factor," Dergarabedian said. "A movie about Mayan civilization was never destined to be a big hit, let alone a No. 1 movie. But through Disney's marketing, which highlights Mel Gibson I believe they associated him very closely with the movie I think that strategy paid off." 

1. "Apocalypto," $14.2 million.
2. "The Holiday," $13.5 million.
3. "Happy Feet," $12.7 million.
4. "Casino Royale," $8.8 million.
5. "Blood Diamond," $8.5 million.
6. "Unaccompanied Minors," $6.2 million.
7. "Deja Vu," $6.1 million.
8. "The Nativity Story," $5.6 million.
9. "Deck the Halls," $3.9 million.
10. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $3.3 million.

[MacGuffin]

'Happyness' Pays Off at Box Office

Not even a dragon or the world's most-beloved spider could deny Will Smith another first-place finish at the box office.

Sony's father-son drama "The Pursuit of Happyness," starring Smith and his own son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, debuted as the No. 1 movie with $27 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Smith's latest topped 20th Century Fox's dragon fantasy "Eragon," which opened in second place with $23.45 million, and Paramount's children's tale "Charlotte's Web," which premiered a distant third with $12 million. 

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Mel Gibson's Mayan saga "Apocalypto," fell to sixth place with $7.7 million, raising its 10-day total to $27.9 million.

The story of a struggling dad who becomes homeless along with his young son, "Pursuit of Happyness" joins a long line of No. 1 openings for Smith, including the action tales "Independence Day" and "I, Robot."

"Audiences around the world love him," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, whose past hits with Smith include the "Men in Black" flicks and last year's romantic comedy "Hitch."

"Everyone who sees Will Smith or meets Will Smith feels like he could be their best friend," Bruer said. "He has that type of charisma that resonates throughout whatever room he's in."

Combining live action and computer animation, "Charlotte's Web" had a soft opening despite an all-star voice cast including Julia Roberts, Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey in E.B. White's classic about a spider that befriends a lonely pig.

Don Harris, executive vice president of distribution at Paramount, said the studio hopes "Charlotte's Web" will follow the pattern of other pre-Christmas family releases such as "Stuart Little" and "The Prince of Egypt" which opened in the same range but held on through the holidays to become hits.

"The movie has every chance to get to $100 million off of this opening," Harris said.

Paramount's musical "Dreamgirls," starring Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson in an adaptation of the stage hit, opened to big numbers at three theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Premiering with reserved seating and special programs at a premium ticket price of $25, the film took in $360,000, a healthy start to its nationwide release on Christmas.

George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh's latest collaboration, "The Good German," debuted solidly with $78,572 at five theaters. Clooney stars with Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire in a black-and-white tale of murder and intrigue in Berlin just after World War II.

Overall business was off, with the top 12 movies taking in $112.3 million, down 8.3 percent compared to the same weekend last year, when two blockbusters "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" were Nos. 1 and 2.

This weekend's holdover films retained strong audiences, though, a sign that many current movies may have a long shelf life, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"It's hard to say this is a positive thing that this is a down weekend. But the strength of this weekend has been the holdovers," Dergarabedian said. "There is a lot of depth to the marketplace. It's a direct reflection of audience satisfaction. That's more important I think than beating last year's competition." 

1. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $27 million.
2. "Eragon," $23.45 million.
3. "Charlotte's Web," $12 million.
4. "Happy Feet," $8.5 million.
5. "The Holiday," $8.2 million.
6. "Apocalypto," $7.7 million.
7. "Blood Diamond," $6.3 million.
8. "Casino Royale," $5.7 million.
9. "The Nativity Story," $4.7 million.
10. "Unaccompanied Minors," $3.7 million.

[MacGuffin]

Online 'Zyzzyx' gate
Low grosser gets attention through Net buzz
Source: Variety

Anyone wondering how to drum up buzz for a film that sells a grand total of six tickets should consider the case of "Zyzzyx Road."

The film grossed $30 in a week-long stint in one Dallas theater, the lowest tally of any pic since modern record-keeping began in the 1980s. The stunningly feeble gross figure was first noted Dec. 31 by online film site Chud, following a reader's tip. A Daily Variety story followed and the online crowd started weighing in -- getting the film much more attention than it got in theaters.

Leo Grillo, who exec produced and starred in the film along with Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl, called Daily Variety on Jan. 5, in the wake of the online buzz. He admitted, "We definitely set the world record for box-office futility. Six people bought tickets at five dollars each - and two of them were crew people.'" For a modest fee, he hired the releasing arm of Regent Entertainment, the L.A.-based outfit known for helping back films like "Gods and Monsters" as well as producing film and TV content, to distribute for a week to satisfy Screen Actors Guild rules dictating pay levels. But he neither wanted to four-wall the theater nor have Regent distribute it with any splash, for fear of driving away any interested suitors. "The idea was to stay out of the game entirely and just avoid the guild penalties. We worked with Regent to pick the worst times - 11 a.m. shows in February - and there was no advertising at all."

"I didn't want anyone to have the idea that we had just rented the theater ourselves because you can shoot yourself in the foot as far as getting a domestic deal," he said. Regent also sold the film overseas, where the film has been distributed theatrically and on DVD in several territories.

The $30 tally was mentioned in a Jan. 4 Daily Variety article, which neglected to credit Chud. That throwaway non-mention became an online Zyzzyx-gate. The perception of malicious literary thievery spawned numerous fulminations, initially on Chud but soon linked to by several other entertainment sites eager to decry the establishment's alleged disdain for the Net. Rarely has a low-grosser stirred up so much excitement.

Grillo said he had been out of town during the flurry of Web activity and admitted he doesn't often go online anyway. But when alerted to the stir, he called Variety to set the record straight.

There is, as of yet, no U.S. homevid deal, though surely all of these Internet hits must add up to something. Perhaps Grillo will address the homevid issue when he talks to Chud.com on Saturday, as was promised Friday afternoon on the site.

[modage]

300... and 70 Million Dollars!
Source: Box Office Mojo March 11, 2007

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

Director Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's epic graphic novel 300 set a new March record with an estimated opening of $70 million from 3,103 locations. Starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas who leads the Spartans against the massive Persian army, the movie surpassed previous March record holder Ice Age: The Meltdown, which collected $68 million its first weekend last year. Budgeted in the mid-$60 million range, the Warner Bros. release also marks the third-highest debut ever for an R-rated movie, trailing just The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million) and The Passion of The Christ ($83.8 million). It is now also the top opening of 2007 so far, beating Ghost Rider's $45.4 million from February.

Touchstone's Wild Hogs dropped a spot and just 29.4% in ticket sales for an impressive second weekend of $28 million. The comedy, starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy, has reached $77.4 million.

In third, Disney's family fantasy Bridge to Terabithia climbed a spot and added $6.9 million for a total of $67 million after four weeks.

Sony's Ghost Rider, with Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, made $6.8 million in its fourth weekend and has earned $104.1 million domestically so far.

David Fincher's crime thriller Zodiac rounded out the top five with $6.77 million. The Paramount film has collected $23.7 million in two weeks.

Jim Carrey's The Number 23 and Eddie Murphy's Norbit took the sixth and seventh spots, earning $4.33 million and $4.31 million, respectively. The former is at $30.5 million after three weeks and the latter at $88.3 million after five weeks.

The only other movie opening in wide release was the Fox Faith drama The Ultimate Gift, which garnered $1.2 million from 797 theaters, good for 13th place.

In limited release, Bong Joon-ho's monster movie The Host took in $320,000 from 71 theaters, an average of $4,507, while Mira Nair's The Namesake earned $251,000 from six theaters, a strong average of $41,833.

1  300 WB $70,030,000 / $70,030,000
2  Wild Hogs BV/Touch $28,021,000 / $77,437,000
3  Bridge to Terabithia Disney $6,865,000 / $67,020,000
4  Ghost Rider Sony $6,800,000 / $104,142,000
5  Zodiac Para. $6,773,000 / $23,727,000
6  The Number 23 New Line $4,330,000 / $30,481,000
7  Norbit P/DW $4,314,000 / $88,331,000
8  Music and Lyrics WB $3,830,000 / $43,847,000
9  Breach Universal $2,611,000 / $29,127,000
10  Amazing Grace IDP $2,525,000 / $11,439,000
11  Black Snake Moan PVan. $1,862,000 / $7,272,000
12  Reno 911!: Miami Fox $1,390,000 / $19,120,000

[Pubrick]

300... and 70 Million Dollars!
300 set a new March record with an estimated opening of $70 million from 3,103 locations.
...
Budgeted in the mid-$60 million range,

someone already said it in the 300 thread but shit movie or not, this is really great for Watchmen in that it is certainly going to be made soon and he will get to spend as much money as he needs to get it done right (meaning he will shoot as many frames per second as he feels like  ).

Mira Nair's The Namesake earned $251,000 from six theaters, a strong average of $41,833.

that's unbelievable really. those six theatres must all be near thousands of her relatives or something.

[modage]

Ferrell & Disney Pull Out Easter Repeat
Source: Box Office Mojo, Edward Douglas
April 8, 2007

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures based on actual box office.

Although the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez B-movie double feature Grindhouse seemed to have the most buzz going into the Easter weekend, there didn't seem to be an audience willing to sit through three plus hours of the filmmakers' tribute to B-exploitation movies, as it failed to dethrone last week's returning movies and a new comedy sequel starring Ice Cube.

Instead, the Will Ferrell-Jon Heder comedy Blades of Glory and Disney's Meet the Robinsons remained on top for a second week in a row. Blades brought in an estimated $23 million over Easter weekend to bring its total to $68.3 million, while Robinsons added roughly $17 million to its box office total of $52.2 million. Each movie dropped rougly 30 - 32% from their opening weekend thanks to the added boost of Good Friday.

The holiday also helped Sony's family comedy sequel Are We Done Yet?, once again starring Ice Cube, to gross just over $19 million in its first five days after opening on Wednesday in 2,877 theatres. Its three-day weekend take of $15 million was 20% less than the original movie Are We There Yet? made in January '05.

Despite an abundance of media coverage, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature Grindhouse opened with just $5 million on Friday struggling to $11.5 million over the weekend, less than half what many expected the movie to make based on Tarantino and Rodriguez's past track record. Opening in fourth place, Grindhouse is unlikely to make back its reported $53 million production budget in theatres, at least not in the U.S.

It may have lost some of its R-rated horror business to Dark Castle's horror-thriller The Reaping, starring Hillary Swank, which tied its biblically-influenced premise of plagues striking a small town into the Easter and Passover holidays to make an estimated $10.1 million over the weekend, following its $2 million opening day on Thursday.

Dropping to #6, Zack Snyder's 300 continued to hold up strong over the holiday frame with an additional $8.8 million, bringing its total to $193.9 million. It's very likely to pass the $200 million mark by this time next week.

Touchstone Pictures' Wild Hogs also did well, grossing $6.8 million in seventh place and bringing its own total to $145.4 million.

Dropping to eighth place, the Mark Wahlberg action-thriller Shooter took in $5.8 million over the weekend, a 30% drop from last week, to bring its total to $36.6 million. That was enough for it to pass Warner Bros' computer animated TMNT, which grossed just under $5 million in its third weekend for a total of $46.7 million.

Just squeaking into the Top 10 with a measly $4 million after making $1.2 million on Wednesday and Thursday, the Fox family comedy Firehouse Dog had trouble finding an audience with so many stronger family movie choices.

On Friday, Miramax Films released Lasse Hallström's crime drama The Hoax, starring Richard Gere, into 235 theatres in select cities where it made $1.5 million over the weekend, an average of $6,300 per theatre. It's scheduled to open nationwide on Friday.

Paul Verhoeven's WWII drama Black Book opened on Wednesday in 9 theatres in New York and L.A., and it grossed roughly $145 thousand in its first five days, an average of $13 thousand per theatre for the weekend.

THINKFilm's The TV Set, written and directed by Jake Kasdan ("Freaks and Geeks"), opened in one less theatre in New York and L.A., but only brought in $40 thousand over the three days.