Box Office Guesstimations

Started by Banky, March 25, 2004, 08:36:12 PM

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Two Lane Blacktop

Opinions of these?  I didn't see Spiderman 2, even though I am a big Raimi fan, because the first one was just so flat.  Of the ones I did see:

Quote4. The Incredibles, $251 million

Loved it.  Thought the voice acting, the art direction, and the music were brilliant.  The script was pretty great, too.  :yabbse-thumbup:


Quote5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, $249 million

I haven't read the books, only seen the movies, and this was the best so far, IMO.  Less episodic, didn't feel like an ad for the series, better atmosphere.


Quote12. I Robot, $144 million

The changes in the story didn't bother me, but Will Smith killed it for me.  (I'm not a hater, but he was WRONG WRONG WRONG for that movie.)


Quote16. Fahrenheit 9/11, $115 million

When I think of Moore as an essayist rather than a documentarian, I really enjoy his stuff.  I don't think it topped "Columbine" mostly because this will be outdated in a few years, and "Columbine" was a little broader and more universal in theme.


Quote18. The Village, $114 million

I've never seen any of Shymaylyan's (sp??) movies, but the previews for this one intrigued me.  I was ready to see it till it got so soundly panned by the critics.  Did anyone here like it?  

2LB
Body by Guinness

MacGuffin

'Fockers' Beats Horror Flick at Box Office

The horror of meeting the in-laws beat out the fright flick at theaters this weekend. "Meet the Fockers" took in $28.5 million to remain the top movie for the third straight weekend, holding off the horror newcomer "White Noise," which debuted a strong No. 2 with $24 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The two movies paced Hollywood to a healthy start for the year, with the top 12 films grossing $98.3 million, up 8 percent from the same weekend in 2004.

That comes after a holiday surge sparked by "Meet the Fockers" lifted Hollywood to a record $9.4 billion domestic haul in 2004. Though the year's revenues were up, higher admission prices mean movie attendance was off about 1.7 percent, so the solid beginning positions the industry for a healthier 2005.

"The end of the year was stronger than expected, so headed into the first of the year, we have some momentum going," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Studios just need to keep the momentum in the market place, because once you lose it, it takes a long time to get back."

Since opening just before Christmas, "Meet the Fockers" has taken in $204.3 million, topping the $166.2 million total of its predecessor, "Meet the Parents."

The comedy sequel reunites Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro as prospective in-laws with a shaky relationship, adding Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand to the cast as Stiller's zany parents.

The superstar cast and the movie's universal theme has made "Meet the Fockers" an easy sell to audiences.

"It hits home, doesn't it? Conflicts between in-laws, everybody's been there," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released "Meet the Fockers" and "White Noise."

Critics hated "White Noise," which stars Michael Keaton as a man convinced his dead wife is trying to communicate with him through his television. Yet scary movies tend to have a built-in audience of horror fans, who turn out in huge numbers over opening weekend.

The box office often plunges for fright flicks in their second weekend, though some manage stronger staying power, such as last year's $100 million hit "The Grudge," which most critics also panned.

"White Noise" producer Paul Brooks said he hopes his movie can defy the critics, too, and hold up well beyond opening weekend.

"It's always fascinated me, the way critics work," said Brooks, who also produced "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." "They have a particular view of a film which sometimes can be significantly at odds with what the man on the street and the lady on the street and the kid on the street want to see."

Two films embraced by critics, Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" and Terry George's "Hotel Rwanda," had strong showings as they expanded from limited release.

"Million Dollar Baby," starring Eastwood as mentor to a strong-willed boxer (Hilary Swank), took in $2 million in 109 theaters, up from nine theaters the previous weekend.

"Hotel Rwanda," featuring Don Cheadle as a real-life hotel manager who sheltered refugees during the 1990s Rwandan genocide, grossed $1.15 million in 105 theaters, up from seven the previous weekend.


1. "Meet the Fockers," $28.5 million.
2. "White Noise," $24 million.
3. "The Aviator" $7.6 million.
4. "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events," $7.4 million.
5. "Fat Albert," $6 million.
6. "Ocean's Twelve," $5.4 million.
7. "National Treasure," $4.5 million.
8. "Spanglish," $4.4 million.
9. "The Phantom of the Opera" $3.4 million.
10. "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," $2.7 million.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

'Coach Carter' Scores at Box Office

Samuel L. Jackson bounced "Meet the Fockers" from the top spot at the North American box office after three weekends with his basketball movie "Coach Carter," while Jennifer Garner dropped the first bomb of the year with her superheroine saga "Elektra."

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Coach Carter" sold $23.6 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning Jan. 14, followed by "Fockers" with $19.0 million.

"Elektra," which was crushed by the critics, opened at No. 5 with $12.5 million. Even Halle Berry's unloved "Catwoman" did better, opening to $16.7 million last July.

Two other top-10 debutants were in a tight race for the Nos. 3 and 4 slots. The animated family movie "Racing Stripes" crossed the finish line with $14.0 million. The comedy-drama "In Good Company," starring Dennis Quaid, jumped 29 places to No. 4 with $13.9 million in its first weekend of wide release.

1. Coach Carter .............. $23.6 million
2. Meet the Fockers .......... $19.0 million
3. Racing Stripes ............ $14.0 million
4. In Good Company ........... $13.9 million
5. Elektra ................... $12.5 million
6. White Noise ............... $12.2 million
7. The Aviator ............... $ 4.8 million
8. Lemony Snicket ............ $ 4.0 million
9. The Phantom of the Opera .. $ 3.6 million
10. Ocean's Twelve ............ $ 2.9 million
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

modage

oh god, its january alright.  :shock:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

MacGuffin

Quote from: themodernage02oh god, its january alright.  :shock:

Rapper Ice Cube Hot at Frozen Box Office

Rapper-turned-filmmaker Ice Cube heated up the weekend box office in North America even as a blizzard blanketed large chunks of the U.S. Northeast and dampened overall ticket sales.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, Ice Cube's new comedy "Are We There Yet?" opened at No. 1 with sales of about $18.5 million in the three days beginning Jan. 21, exceeding the expectations of its distributor, Columbia Pictures.

Last weekend's champion, the Samuel L. Jackson basketball drama "Coach Carter" (Paramount), slipped to No. 2 with $11 million, followed by the Ben Stiller family comedy "Meet the Fockers" (Universal) with $10.2 million.

The workplace comedy-drama "In Good Company" (Universal) starring Dennis Quaid, held steady at No. 4 with $8.5 million, while the barnyard comedy "Racing Stripes" (Warner Bros.) fell two places to No. 5 with $7.1 million, narrowly ahead of new entry "Assault on Precinct 13" (Rogue Pictures) with $7.0 million.

All the studios said they were affected by the blizzard, which buried large parts of northeastern United States under several feet of snow, severely curbed road and air travel and cut power to thousands of customers. One studio estimated overall business was hit by as much as 25 percent.

"Are We There Yet?" could have made an extra $1 million if Saturday's matinee screenings had not been snowed out, said Tom Sherak, a partner at the film's producer, Revolution Studios. Nonetheless, the $32 million film still managed to exceed his expectations, which were in the $14 million-$15 million range.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Kal

Ice Cube and Coach Carter top films... who goes to see that shit?

I'm surprised after the Golden Globes last week I thought The Aviator and Sideways were going to do better....

Havent seen Elektra and of course I'm not surprised... but a lot of these films suck and at least Jennifer Garner is hot... more teenagers should see that instead of Coach Carter!

modage

Quote from: themodernage02oh god, its january alright.  :shock:

Something rotten in the state of Hollywood: Taking statistical measure of the year in movies
Source: MSNBC

Let's consider the question logically first. If a movie tests well it's going to be released when people have money and time, which is during the summer months or winter holidays; and if a movie is award-worthy the studios will push it into theaters before December 31st. The holidays for Hollywood are like the holidays for you and me. They have to entertain a lot of people and by the end their cupboards are bare. What's left? Just dusty stuff on the back shelf that never looked particularly appetizing in the first place. That's what they serve in January. January, for moviegoers, is dried onion soup mix month.

Of course some people actually like dried onion soup mix. So is there any way to back this up statistically? Is there a way to quantify quality?

The closest thing we've got right now is rottentomatoes.com, a Web site which gathers movie reviews (100 or more for wide releases), assigns a thumbs up or down if the critic already hasn't, and tabulates the results. If 60 percent or more critics like a film, it's considered "fresh"; if 59 percent or lower don't, it's considered "rotten."

There are obvious problems with this strategy. The "fresh" and "rotten" numbers are arbitrary. "I Heart Huckabees" got a 60 percent rating, so that's considered a good movie. "Ocean's Twelve" got a 58 percent rating, so that's considered a bad movie. One or two percent, apparently, can make all the difference.

The site also includes too many online and marginal critics. (To my mind, you shouldn't be included unless someone hires and pays you for your opinion.) Then there's this thumbs up/down business. Most publications employ a four-star system or a letter grade. But what about those awkward B- or two-and-a-half star movies? Someone at rottentomatoes has to point our thumbs one way or the other, and, for me anyway, it's often not the way I would point it. Did I really recommend "The Medallion," for example? I wrote, "As special effects reveal how super Eddie Yang is, they also reveal how ordinary Jackie Chan has become." That's a recommendation?

Brother, can you spare a theater
Still, the site can tell us a lot about the recent year in movies. According to my calculations, 157 movies were released at least marginally in 2004. (A marginal release, for the purposes of this article, is 500 or more theaters; a wide release is 1000 or more theaters; a very wide release is 2000 or more theaters.) Of these 157 movies, 44 managed a "fresh" rating.

The best month was July, in which seven of 13 films were considered fresh. The worst month? A tie, between our old pal January, and (surprisingly) May, both of whom went one for 10. The good news for May is that its one hit was a grand slam, "Shrek 2," with a 90 percent rating and $436 million U.S. box office, while January managed only a bloop single, "Disney's Teacher's Pet," with its 76 percent rating and $6.2 million. So, yes, even statistically, January gets the worst movie month award. Congratulations.

But February can't exactly pat itself on the back either. It went two for 13 ("Barbershop 2" and "Miracle"), while both August and September had just three winners each. March was the first of four months (April, October, and November were the others) to give us four good movies, while December had five, and June went six for 12. Add it to July's totals and it's obvious that summer ruled in 2004.

If these overall numbers seem low to you (44 for 157 is just a .280 batting average), please don't assume movie critics are being elitist here. Among their recommended films? "Starsky & Hutch" (62 percent), "Hellboy (78 percent), "I, Robot" (61 percent), "The Terminal" (63 percent), "Wimbledon" (62 percent) and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (73 percent).

No, the numbers are low because many of the better-reviewed movies don't manage even a marginal release and so haven't been counted. Stuff like "Garfield" (13 percent), "Catwoman" (9 percent), and "Taxi" (9 percent) get dumped into over 3000 theaters opening weekend, and even middling fare like "Paparazzi" and "Wicker Park" (19 percent and 22 percent) will see 2000 or more theaters; but movies that critics rave about barely play.

In its best week, Richard Linklater's "Before Sunset" (94 percent) was seen in only 203 theaters. "Touching the Void" (93 percent)? 137. One of my favorite movies of 2004, the surfing documentary "Riding Giants" (91 percent), had a high of 64 theaters one week. That's it. Even the best week for the best-reviewed movie of the year, "Sideways" (96 percent), saw just 497 theaters, or about one-fifth of the theaters "Wicker Park" saw its opening weekend.

None of this is news, particularly, but it is a reminder of how marginalized quality is. It also raises a variety of complex issues. Do the majority of Americans go see crap because they like crap, or because it's the only thing playing at the local cineplex?

Looked at one way, the stats blame the public. For 28 weeks last year, the number one movie in America was a rotten one. Looked at another way, the stats blame the movie distributors. For 29 weeks last year, the most widely distributed movie in America was a rotten one. Want to hear the scary part? Eleven of these weeks don't match. That is, distributors blanketed America with a rotten movie, which America smartly side-stepped...only to go see a different rotten movie. It's no wonder I'm cynical.

Wanted: The Bill James of movies
Twenty-five years ago Bill James helped create a revolution in the way we look at baseball statistics by asking simple questions. What's the point of baseball? To win. How do you win? By scoring the most runs. How do you score runs? By getting on and moving around the bases. He concluded that the best measure for a hitter was not the traditional one — batting average — but on-base and slugging percentage. Eventually the baseball world agreed with him.

The movies need a Bill James. Every Monday we get a list of the Top 10 movies in terms of box office, but it only says what Hollywood wants to know ($$), not what we need to know. Which movie has the highest per-theater average? Which has the lowest? Are these films popular because people like them, or because they're being pushed on us?

Sometimes you wonder if distributors even know what they're doing. The most likable, date-friendly romantic comedy of 2004 was "Garden State" (88 percent), but it didn't even earn a wide release (1000 or more theaters), let alone a very wide release (2000 or more theaters). Yet it still pulled in $26.7 million.

How many 2004 movies earned a very wide release and didn't earn that much? Thirty-five: "Chasing Liberty," "Disney's Teacher's Pet," "Torque," "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!," "The Perfect Score," "The Big Bounce," "Catch That Kid," "Eurotrip," "Welcome to Mooseport," "Twisted," "Havana Nights," "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London," "The Alamo," "The Whole Ten Yards," "The Girl Next Door," "Godsend," "Laws of Attraction," "Envy," "New York Minute," "Around the World in 80 Days," "Two Brothers," "Sleepover," "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," "Thunderbirds," "Little Black Book," "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie," "Paparazzi," "Wicker Park," "Mr. 3000," "Wimbledon," "First Daughter," "Raise Your Voice," "Surviving Christmas," "Seed of Chucky," and "Alfie."

So why didn't "Garden State" earn a wide release let alone a very wide release? Was its star, Zach Braff, too unknown? Too Jewish? Was the film too slow? Too quirky? Did it test poorly? Are these tests accurate? (Initially, remember, "Seinfeld" tested poorly.) By the way: Of the aforementioned 35 films, only four were considered "fresh" on rottentomatoes.com, and none of these came close to "Garden State's" rating. Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere.

What's the point of movies? To entertain us with stories. Is this being done? Well, 44 for 157 would indicate...not particularly.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

MacGuffin

'Hide and Seek' No. 1 at Box Office

Robert De Niro's fright flick "Hide and Seek" had a strong debut in its opening weekend, taking in $22 million to become the top movie and fending off a rush of Academy Awards contenders.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Ice Cube's road-trip comedy "Are We There Yet?", slipped to second place with $17 million, lifting its 10-day total to $39.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Director Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" led Oscar hopefuls with $11.8 million, coming in at No. 3 during its first weekend of wide release and raising its total domestic gross to $21.1 million.

Cashing in on its seven Oscar nominations last week, the boxing drama expanded to 2,010 theaters, up about 1,800 the previous weekend.

"Million Dollar Baby" is in a neck-and-neck race for best picture and director at the Oscars with Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" which was No. 6 for the weekend with $7.5 million, pushing its total to $68.2 million.

"The Aviator," a film biography of Howard Hughes that leads the Oscar field with 11 nominations, was in 2,503 cinemas, an increase of 242.

Eastwood won top honors over Scorsese Saturday from the Directors Guild of America. Eastwood also earned the Golden Globe directing prize, while "The Aviator" won for best dramatic film at the Globes.

In its 15th week of release, best-picture nominee "Sideways" broke into the top 10, coming in seventh with $6.3 million as it expanded to 1,694 theaters, up about 1,000. The road-trip comedy has taken in $40 million playing in relatively narrow release.

The weekend's only other new wide release, Tara Reid and Christian Slater's scary movie "Alone in the Dark," bombed with just $2.5 million, finishing well out of the top 10. Viciously trashed by critics, the movie stars Reid as an anthropologist and Slater as a paranormal investigator battling mutant monsters.

"Hide and Seek" also received harsh reviews, but like many other fright films, it drew the faithful horror crowd, which is rarely dissuaded by critics if a movie looks like it has some decent scares.

Horror films often nosedive in their second weekend, but De Niro's presence could give "Hide and Seek" more staying power, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released the movie.

De Niro plays a father in the film coping with the potentially murderous "imaginary friend" of his daughter, played by Dakota Fanning.

"Because of the cache of De Niro, which makes it quite a bit above the normal things-that-go-bump-in-the-night movie, I think we'll fare well," Snyder said.


Among other key Oscar nominees:

_ The J.M. Barrie tale, "Finding Neverland," which earned seven nominations including best picture, grossed $2.7 million to raise its total to $35.9 million. The film widened to 1,258 theaters, up 389.

_ "Hotel Rwanda," with a best-actor nomination for Don Cheadle and supporting-actress nomination for Sophie Okonedo, took in $1.8 million in 417 theaters, 98 more locations than the previous weekend. The genocide drama lifted its total to $8.1 million.

1. "Hide and Seek," $22 million.
2. "Are We There Yet?", $17 million.
3. "Million Dollar Baby," $11.8 million.
4. "Coach Carter," $8 million.
5. "Meet the Fockers," $7.6 million.
6. "The Aviator," $7.5 million.
7. "Sideways," $6.3 million.
8. "In Good Company," $6.2 million.
9. "Racing Stripes," $6 million.
10. "Assault on Precinct 13," $4.2 million.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Myxo

Hide and Seek, as well as Are We There Yet #1 and #2 at the box office.

While a ton of Oscar hopefuls are in theaters.

For shame..

MacGuffin

"Boogeyman" Scares Off "Date"

The thriller Boogeyman popped out of the closet and jumped to the top of the weekend box-office, with an estimated $19.5 million.

The romantic comedy The Wedding Date booked $11 million in second, but wasn't completely jilted as it earned a slightly higher per screen average - $6,494 at 1,694 sites, compared to $6,389 at 3,052 locations for the more widely released Boogeyman

These films were targeted at audiences considered to have limited interest in staying home to watch the Super Bowl - hard core teen scary movie fans and lovelorn females. The low budget Boogeyman, which wasn't screened for critics, managed to set a record for a Super Bowl weekend beating last year's hip hop dance drama You Got Served's $16.1 million.

However, as anticipated, it was a down weekend overall at the nation's theaters as football fans were apparently keener on looking at the TV or into the 'fridge for more beverages and beer, or nuzzling and guzzling at half-time over the cheese dip, than wondering what was lurked in Barry Watson's closet in Sony's PG-13 rated Boogeyman or how Debra Messing gets it on with Dermot Mulroney in Universal's PG-13 rated The Wedding Date.

Super Bowl weekend business is usually down over 60 percent on Sunday compared to Saturday and this year was no exception. Over all the top twelve movies grossed only an estimated $88.8 million from Friday through Sunday, down 14.9 percent from last weekend, and 2.4 percent from this time last year, although that was not the date of the Super Bowl.

Last week's top movie Fox's Hide and Seek, another creepy-things-lurking-out-there tale, dropped 59 percent to fourth place for $8.9 million, to bring its two week gross to $35.7 million. But Sony's road comedy Are We There Yet? only stalled 36 percent in its third week, dropping from second to third place but earning $10.4 million to bring its current gross to $51 million.

Three movies that picked up even more awards trophies this weekend at the SAG awards and are most highly favored in the Oscar race, remained in the top ten: Million Dollar Baby earned $8.7 million at 2,025 sites in fifth place, and has now grossed $34.6 million in eight weeks; The Aviator earned $5.4 million at 2,530 sites in sixth place, and has now grossed $75.9 million in eight weeks; Sideways earned $4.8 million at just 1,787 sites for eighth place, and has now grossed $46.8 million in sixteen weeks. (That's the best domestic gross ever for a Fox Searchlight release, surpassing the $45 million total for 1997's male stripper tale The Full Monty.


1. Boogeyman, $19.5 million
2. The Wedding Date, $11 million
3. Are We There Yet?, $10.4 million
4. Hide and Seek, $8.9 million
5. Million Dollar Baby, $8.7 million
6. The Aviator, $5.4 million
7. Meet The Fockers, $5 million
8. Sideways, $4.8 million
9. Racing Stripes, $4.42 million
10. Coach Carter, $4.4 million
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Moviegoers Love "Hitch"

Audiences made Hitch their Valentine. The romantic comedy, in which Will Smith plays a matchmaker with love troubles of his own, captured an above expectations estimated $45.3 million, a record for a movie opening over Valentine's Day Weekend.

It's the seventh time that the popular Smith has headlined a movie opening that big. He's clearly a major attraction in what ever film genre he chooses to appear - action, sci-fi, serious drama, biopic, cartoon voice over, comedy, and now romance.

"He's one of those rare stars that just appeals to everyone, men, women and children. There's no doubt he's somewhat of a king of action, but he is every bit as good in comedy," Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, remarked to the Associated Press.

Sony was feeling particularly star kissed. Not only did the studio have a winner with the PG-13 rated Hitch, which co-stars Kevin James and Eva Mendes, but it scored the top three slots in the box-office top ten. Their PG-13 rated horror tale Boogeyman, last week's number one, only dropped 43 percent, earning $10.8 million in second place to bring its current gross to $33.3 million, and their PG rated road comedy Are We There Yet? remained in third place with $8.5 million to reach a four week gross of $61.5 million.

Hitch, opening at 3,575 sites, where it averaged $12,671, didn't have any real opening wide competition where the only other entry was Pooh's Heffalump Movie, another adventure for the tubby bear and his Hundred Acre Wood pals, targeted at very small kids. The G rated Disney, released at 2,529 sites was essentially pooh-poohed, averaging just $2,377 for $6 million in fifth place.

The other romantic movie was Bride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's confused lovers tale transported and updated to modern India. The PG-13 Miramax release did manage a similar per screen average to Hitch - $12,127 - but the musical extravaganza, by Gurinder Chadha (director of the femme soccer romp Bend It Like Beckham), starring Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai and New Zealand bloke Martin Henderson, was only released at 32 sites, so earned only $388,076.

With the Oscars looming ever closer Million Dollar Baby continued to rack up dollars in fourth place, earning $7.5 million, moving up from fifth to fourth place in its ninth week to reach a gross of $45 million. The Aviator, considered its biggest rival for the top awards, was in ninth place with $4.6 million and has now grossed $82.2 million in its nine weeks of release.

Fox Searchlight remained very happy with their Oscar contender Sideways, which actually gained two percent in its 17th week, earning $4.7 million in eighth place at just 1,619 screens. The distributor says the current $53 million domestic gross for this independent release, which only cost around $15 million to produce, surpasses business for previous independent movies that earned a Best Picture nomination - including Lost in Translation, Gosford Park in 2002, and Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1995.

At mainstream Fox the good news was for the decent enough hold for their R rated thriller Hide and Seek, which, unlike rival scare trip Boogeyman, is rated R. In its third week the spooky tale, headlined by Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning, only dropped 38 percent, earning $5.5 million in seventh place to bring its gross to $43.5 million.

Universal rationalized that the 50 percent drop off from second to sixth place for their romantic comedy The Wedding Date was only to be expected when Hitch entered the picture, so considered it okay that at just 1,704 sites the Debra Messing and Dermont Mulroney hitch-up earned another $5.6 million, though that only brings its two week gross to $19.5 million. The studio's good mood was no doubt helped by the fact that Meet the Fockers still registered in tenth place after eight remarkable weeks, earning $3.4 million to bring its overall gross to a fantastic $269.9 million. Additionally the studio's new NC-17 rated documentary Inside Deep Throat, which explores the phenomenon of the 1972 hard core porn movie, starring Linda Lovelace, busting into the popular culture in an era when no-one would have got away with calling a PG-13 movie Meet the Fockers, opened strongly. At just 12 sites the Brian Grazer production averaged $7,583 for $91,000, and next weekend its exposure will double in size.

The top twelve movies grossed a combined $107.4 million, up 22.7 percent from last weekend, and 2.1 percent from the same weekend last year, which was also President's Day Weekend when 50 First Dates debuted with $39.8 million, then a record for a romantic comedy.


1. Hitch, $45.3 million
2. Boogeyman, $10.8 million
3. Are We There Yet?, $8.5 million
4. Million Dollar Baby, $7.5 million
5. Pooh's Heffalump Movie, $6 million
6. The Wedding Date, $5.6 million
7. Hide and Seek, $5.5 million
8. Sideways, $4.7 million
9. The Aviator, $4.6 million
10. Meet the Fockers, $3.4 million
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Myxo

Did Polar Express make it's money back?

155 million.. Wasn't that around it's budget?

©brad

alexander worldwide has grossed $154,297,191 according to boxofficemojo.com.

who knew.

MacGuffin

"Hitch" Holds Back "Constantine"

Over the first three days of this Presidents' Day weekend Will Smith's romantic comedy snagged $31.8 million, estimated to be just enough to tie down Constantine, which spirited up an above expectations $30.5 million in second place.

However Warners' R rated stylish horror fantasy, which stars Keanu Reeves as a demon slayer on a trip through heaven and hell, had the higher per screen average, $10,155 from 3,006 locations, compared to the $8,895 from remaining at 3,575 sites for Sony's PG-13 release. The how-to-get-hitched laugher, which co-stars Kevin James and Eva Mendes, appeals to a broad demographic. It has grossed a quick, slick $90.1 million in 10 days. Sony estimates it will pass the $100 million before next weekend, and eventually gross as much as $150 million.

Fox's PG rated Because of Winn-Dixie took third place, with an estimated $10.8 million. Starring AnnaSophia Robb, as the lonely young girl who finds joyous companionship with the stray dog, the family movie was marketed into 3,188 sites where it averaged $3,403. The studio estimates that by the time the holiday weekend ends Monday it will have earned back its modest around $14 million production budget.

New Line's PG rated Son of the Mask opened fourth, with an estimated $7.6 million. With Jamie Kennedy vainly trying to match the shape shifting skills of Jim Carrey, who starred in the 1994 original The Mask, the movie didn't fly, averaging only $2,588 at 2,966 sites.

The only new limited release was the dysfunctional family story Imaginary Heroes, starring Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Daniels and Emile Hirsch, which had a one week run at the end of last year in a failed bit for Oscar attention. The R rated Sony Picture Classic release, now slotted into just eight sites averaged $3,909 for $31,270.

Three movies considered hot favorites to nab some awards at next Sunday's Oscar ceremonies, remained in the top ten.

Million Dollar Baby in fifth place earned $7.1 million and has now grossed $54.6 million in ten weeks of release.

In the same time The Aviator has earned $88.1 million, including the $4.1 million picked up this weekend in ninth place.

Sideways, which has grossed $58.1 million in 18 weeks, sipped up $3.9 million in the tenth slot.

Presidents' Day is a week later this year. Final figures are not due until Tuesday, but for three days of the four days so far the gross for the top 12 movies is estimated to be $119 million, which may result in a second best ever total for this holiday's box-office.


1. Hitch, $31.8 million
2. Constantine, $30.5 million
3. Because of Winn-Dixie, $10.8 million
4. Son of the Mask, $7.6 million
5. Million Dollar Baby, $7.1 million
6. Are We There Yet?, $6.5 million
7. Boogeyman, $5.5 million
8. Pooh's Heffalump Movie, $4.4 million
9. The Aviator, $4.1 million
10. Sideways, $3.9 million
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Bethie

Quote from: MacGuffin"Boogeyman" Scares Off "Date"

yeah, no shit
who likes movies anyway