"Fantastic Four" Foils Slump
Yoda couldn't do it. Batman failed, too. It finally took the heroics of Fantastic Four to stop that most nefarious of villains--the dastardly Box Office Slump.
Clobbering time, indeed!
The flick about a quartet of dysfunctional superheroes earned an incredible $56 million, leading the box office to its first up weekend after a record 19 straight downers, according to preliminary studio figures Sunday.
If estimates hold the top 12 movies will have grossed $140.9 million, a 2.2 percent gain over this time last year when fellow Marvel do-gooder Spider-Man 2 headlined the lineup.
The truly fantastic gross for Fantastic Four was a welcome surprise. Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for Fox, said he'd anticipated something in the high $30 million range, but "it exploded...and you know why? Because it's fun!"
"It's great. This shows that the right movie with the right marketing, will bring the people in," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. He believes that Fox may even have slightly underestimated Sunday's numbers, so that when final figures are in Monday, the overall tally will be up even more--something sorely needed by a business that has been trashed week after week this year.
"It's what people want in a summer movie. It's popcorn. It's light-hearted," said Dergarabedian. The PG-13 action adventure, stars Ioan Griffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis as astronauts transformed into mutants who must save the day from megalomaniac baddie Dr. Doom, played by Julian McMahon.
Audiences ignored the critics, who mainly whined that the comic-inspired movie played, well, like a comic book. All demographics flocked to the 3,602 sites, generating a per-theater average of $15,547.
As creator Stan Lee might say: Excelsior!
The film was the fifth-best July opener ever on a list led by last year's Spider-Man 2's whopping $88.1 million during the first three days of the Fourth of July weekend.
Nearly 41 percent of those purchasing tickets for the top 12 attractions chose Fantastic Four, leaving the weekend's other wide release, Dark Water, barely treading water. Buena Vista's PG-13 frightfest, a remake of a Japanese horror flick, stars Jennifer Connelly as desperate mom who makes a very bad rental choice, managed to attract about 7 percent of the weekend business, grossing $10.1 million in fourth place. Its per-site average was $3,811 at 2,657 theaters.
Meanwhile, War of the Worlds dropped 52 percent from its first-place opening, with $31.1 million in second place. The PG-13 Paramount release, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, has grossed $165.8 million.
Batman Begins held steadier, dropping just 35 percent to $10.2 million in third place. After four weeks, the Christian Bale-fronted Caped Crusader origin tale has grossed $172.1 million for Warners.
But it was another Warners film that had the weekend's best per-screen average. The G-rated Warner Independent release March of the Penguins expanded to 64 sites and waddled up $16,094 per site for $1 million. The feel-good nature documentary has now totaled $1.9 million.
Among the newcomers in limited release, the best screen average belonged to Saraband, the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's latest--and possibly final--look at the troubles of marriage, starring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. The R-rated Sony Pictures Classic averaged $8,788 at four sites for $35,153.
Murderball, the documentary about wheelchair sport, also opened strongly. The R-rated ThinkFilm release averaged $7,650 at eight sites for $61,200.
Crònicas, an R-rated Palm thriller starring John Leguizamo, averaged $4,760 at nine sites for $42,838. Beautiful Country an R-rated Sony Pictures Classic about a child of the Vietnam conflict seeking his heritage, averaged $4,422 at six sites for $26,532.
Besides being "thrilled to death" by the Fantastic Four business, Snyder trumpeted the fact that Fox had three other films in the top 10 to help fuel the uptick in business. The Brangelina caper Mr. and Mrs. Smith was in fifth place in its fifth week, only dropping 26 percent to earn $7.8 million for a total of $158.6 million. Rebound, the hoops comedy starring Martin Lawrence that misfired in its opening last weekend, was off 43 percent, but managed to scrape up $2.8 million in ninth place for an $11.3 million gross. And the season's biggest blockbuster, Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, was still a force in its eighth week, earning $2.6 million for a total of $370.8 million.
Degarabedian says he's "very cautiously optimist" that this good weekend will lead to better box office ahead. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp as the eccentric candy man, opens next Friday, as does the anticipated comedy The Wedding Crashers with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. Even though its virtually impossible for this summer to match 2004, Dergarabedian says the "step in the right direction" this weekend is a good omen.
1. Fantastic Four, $56 million
2. War of the Worlds, $31.3 million
3. Batman Begins, $10.2 million
4. Dark Water, $10.1 million
5. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, $7.8 million
6. Herbie: Fully Loaded, $6.2 million
7. Bewitched, $5.5 million
8. Madagascar, $4.3 million
9. Rebound, $2.8 million
10. Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, $2.6 million
