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Weekend Finals
Silver is Gold
It may be formulaic … but it works.
Producer Joel Silver racked up his eighth consecutive box office topper with Cradle 2 the Grave debuting in the top spot with an estimated $16.8 million. The actioner starring Jet Li and DMX attracted a core young male audience that was ready for pyrotechnics Friday. And typical with this sort of genre fare, its allure waned as the weekend progressed.
Key to the appeal of Silver productions has been his on-going interest in minority casting and a keen sense of the public pulse in action, music and style. With two Matrix movies in the wings, he’s a sure bet to make it 10 in a row, which has to be a record and ought to garner a ShoWest award in 2004.
Cradle was the weekend’s sole national release and, while a solid commercial debut, didn’t have the dynamism of for instance Daredevil. Overall business for the frame should be just shy of $100 million, down 13% from last weekend and off 8% from 2002 when We Were Soldiers debuted to $20 million.
The young male audience was very much in evidence this weekend with Old School and Daredevil ranking second and third in ticket sales with respective projected grosses of $13.8 million and $11.2 million. The gross out antics of the former film had a very good hold, slipping just 21% from its opening and the blind crime fighter slowed its decline with an $84 million cume and a $100 million plus final tally in the offing.
Miramax’s Oscar touted Chicago crossed the $100 million line with a $7.6 million addition. Roughly 90 new playdates were added. Most of the Oscar contenders including The Hours, About Schmidt, Talk to Her and The Gangs of New York experienced slight erosion or thin gains. But on a pound for pound basis, the film receiving the greatest benefit from the award spotlight is The Pianist which added 55 locations and saw its box office rise 30%.
On the flip side, sophomore sessions for the civil war saga Gods and Monsters and the police meller Dark Blue were brutal with both films losing close to half their initial steam.
Limited and regional bows were most undistinguished. IDP’s launch of Poolhall Junkies was less than addictive with roughly $280,000 and a disappointing $1,580 average. Venevision premiered Todor el Podor (Take the Power), a Mexican hit in 1999, in a smattering of Southern California theaters and rang up about $3,200 and a $1,900 average.
Better but not outstanding was the debut of David Cronenberg’s dark, intense Spider. Sony Classics opened the film in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles with an additional two dozen locations in Canada launched by Alliance. It should ring up a $170,000 B.O. with top engagements at Manhattan’s Angelika and the Cumberland and Forum in Toronto and Montreal.
Next week’s congregation of film exhibitors in Las Vegas (gambling is a huge metaphor in the business) will receive generally good news when National Association of Theater Owners’ president John Fithian announces improved 2002 ticket sales of approximately 1.7 billion admissions.
The average ticket is creeping toward $6 ($5.80 on average in 2002) and, according to NATO research, one has to go back to 1957 to find a more active movie going period. Of course, that doesn’t incorporate the frequency issue. Obviously with a smaller domestic population, people went to the movies more often in 1957 than in 2002. Still, let’s not over quibble, a gain is a gain.
If one wants to point to inconsistencies, why do NATO and Motion Picture Association of America figures never quite jibe? NATO’s numbers, which include Canada, project out to a North American box office of $9.8 billion while MPPA combined figures (which include a $200 million low-ball Canadian box office) total to $10 billion. I’d like to know what the average ticket price was for the $200 million to $400 million that’s been lost in the shuffle.
Weekend Finals - February 28 - March 2, 2003
Title Weekend Cradle 2 the Grave 16,521,468 - 2625 16,521,468 Old School 14,039,612 -20% 2742 37,379,629 Daredevil 11,121,009 -36% 3234 84,186,869 How to Lose a Guy
in 10 Days10,252,364 -12% 2923 77,620,291 Chicago 7,853,903 -5% 2447 104,901,344 The Jungle Book 2 6,984,002 -20% 2814 33,865,936 Shanghai Knights 5,027,902 -23% 2515 50,931,526 The Life of David Gale 4,537,395 -36% 2003 13,607,445 Gods and Generals 2,946,476 -37% 1533 8,932,117 The Recruit 2,728,478 -20% 1508 48,093,286 Dark Blue 2,363,002 -39% 2176 7,563,151 The Hours 2,051,515 -16% 1010 33,032,042 Final Destination 2 1,892,344 -37% 1204 43,003,540 About Schmidt 1,860,510 9% 1007 57,979,861 Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers1,618,139 -16% 905 330,338,275 The Pianist 1,421,811 27% 564 14,356,972 Kangaroo Jack 1,363,485 -31% 1545 63,609,584 The Quiet American 1,123,552 5% 222 5,791,796 Deliver Us From Eva 941,141 -46% 537 16,069,535 The Gangs of New York 696,852 3% 725 74,621,519 Catch Me If You Can 582,726 -30% 401 161,924,205 Adaptation 487,658 -15% 300 20,106,250 Darkness Falls 448,538 -36% 307 31,521,572 Biker Boyz 425,582 -48% 379 21,109,756 The Lion King
(Large Format)392,832 -1% 66 13,389,507 Talk to Her 358,414 -5% 156 6,687,520 Poolhall Junkies 301,856 179 301,856 The Guru 268,816 4% 98 2,456,440 Rabbit-Proof Fence 236,444 10% 130 4,917,948 Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets 222,115 -14% 388 261,123,736 Far from Heaven 211,897 33% 97 14,633,228 Frida 202,301 16% 157 24,286,121 Maid in Manhattan 201,734 226% 203 93,133,369 Just Married 167,544 -37% 215 54,653,987 Space Station 166,465 -9% 41 33,212,609 Spider 165,769 - 27 177,201 City of God 161,684 16% 37 1,688,480 Antwone Fisher 148,170 62% 140 20,506,415 Bowling for Columbine 142,429 -8% 106 18,062,497 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 130,928 -39% 260 241,250,669 The Hot Chick 128,212 -19% 167 34,726,789 Drumline 126,540 6% 144 55,785,338 Russian Ark 111,853 21% 23 1,069,372 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not 83,585 8% 24 335,972 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 82,808 -43% 92 15,878,598 Die Another Day 81,766 -18% 138 160,728,203 25th Hour 77,245 -27% 56 12,750,480 Lost in La Mancha 72,428 16% 24 418,536 Two Weeks Notice 66,176 0% 141 92,567,155 National Security 64,702 -44% 80 35,764,982 Help! I'm a Fish 57,626 34 57,626 The Ring 49,664 -6% 84 128,998,824 Narc 48,094 342% 109 10,392,657 All the Real Girls 48,432 101% 14 141,311 The Crime of Padre Amaro 47,386 9% 40 5,578,244 Friday After Next 42,364 -1% 55 33,171,829 Todo el Podor 41,137 - 19 41,137 The Wild Thornberrys 39,989 -8% 119 39,206,154 The R.M. 37,943 -5% 14 471,548 Seraphin, un homme et son peche 36,972 37% 23 6,515,422 Gerry 36,321 125% 10 95,116 8 Mile 35,340 -22% 62 116,691,635 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure 35,307 -8% 10 14,095,268 Decalage horaire (Jet Lag) 32,365 -23% 30 97,859 Lockdown 30,038 -64% 31 411,153 Max 29,324 11% 27 568,759 Manna from Heaven 27,812 507% 10 268,327 Amandla! 27,212 92% 3 55,239 Star Trek: Nemesis 24,822 -53% 69 43,102,408 Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary 23,915 87% 7 110,748 Moonlight Mile 19,901 71 6,808,278 Journey of Man 27,972 -29% 4 15,025,965
Weekend Estimates - February 28 - March 2, 2003
Title % change Theaters Cume Cradle 2 the Grave - 2625 16.8 Old School -21% 2742 37.2 Daredevil -38% 3234 84.2 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days -17% 2923 76.9 Chicago -8% 2447 104.6 The Jungle Book 2 -22% 2814 33.6 Shanghai Knights -25% 2515 50.8 The Life of David Gale -40% 2003 13.4 The Recruit -21% 1508 48 Gods and Generals -43% 1533 8.6 Dark Blue -46% 2176 7.3 The Hours -17% 1010 33 Final Destination 2