..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Vroom at the Top
What is it about puns? There was enough vroom in the marketplace to swing a cat.
But I digress.
2 Fast 2 Furious came out roaring with an estimated $51.4 million debut that put it a lap ahead of the pack at the finish line on Sunday. It was the second straight $50 million plus (an industry record with The Hulk looming for the hat trick) opener for Universal and that won’t hurt when the company negotiates an imminent sale. And while the new entry paled critically in comparison to its inspiration, it easily bettered the original’s then surprising $40 million bow.
Overall there was joy in Mudville as weekend box office headed toward $165 million. It translated into a whopping 50% increase from 2002 when The Sum of All Fears led the field with $19.2 million and the debuts of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Bad Company ranked second and fourth with respective grosses of $16.2 million and $11 million.
The high-octane sequel also benefited from the fact that it was the sole national debut for the frame. That also proved fortuitous for continuing runs that had decidedly better holds than have been seen since May. Sophomore sessions of Finding Nemo and The Italian Job were off by one-third with the former film becoming the animation speed king to $100 million in its eighth day of release. Disney distribution is now confident it can top $300 million domestically.
One curiosity of the weekend was the seeming non-impact of sneak previews of Hollywood Homicide on the box office of Daddy Day Care. While the Eddie Murphy family comedy had an excellent weekend hold of –30%, its head-to-head theater average eroded Friday to Saturday despite Sony’s insistence that the 700 plus locations of the sneaks drew excellent crowds.
Among regional and limited openers, Equinox’s 41 print launch of the family comedy Mambo Italiano was eyeing a potent $350,000 in its Canadian exposure. The film has been drawing considerable heat since screening at the American Film Market in March with some suggesting it could be this year’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding _ a very lofty claim. IDP will open the picture this fall in the U.S.
Also strong in its debut was Newmarket’s (the Greek Wedding company) Kiwi acquisition Whale Rider, a critical and audience hit on the festival circuit. The film’s nine screen bowed generated about $130,000 for a $15,000 theater average. Newmarket is positioning the film as a summer alternative with crossover appeal.
Asian horror opus The Eye from Palm Pictures had a buoyant bow with a $39,000 gross at four venues and Sony Rep’s two-screen reissue of the 1973 Wattstax concert arriving on the tails of Standing in the Shadow of Motown and Only the Strong Survive had an OK $7,200 weekend.
Non-fiction entries Spellbound and Chasing the Friedmans both saw box office upturns and excellent per screens as they added screens. The same scenario holds for MGM/TVA’s Chinese Together with a sophomore session of $122,000 from 27 venues.
Weekend Finals - June 6-8, 2003
Title Cume 2 Fast 2 Furious 50,472,480 - 3408 50,472,480 Finding Nemo 46,589,649 -34% 3391 144,043,789 Bruce Almighty 22,358,715 -40% 3549 171,435,525 The Italian Job 13,163,133 -32% 2877 40,000,274 The Matrix Reloaded 9,186,342 -42% 3225 247,778,753 Daddy Day Care 4,613,566 -32% 2713 88,465,297 X2: X-Men United 3,006,643 -41% 2050 204,263,301 Wrong Turn 2,654,013 -48% 1614 9,741,494 The In-Laws 1,978,398 -47% 2047 17,896,585 Bend It Like Beckham 934,346 -12% 493 20,545,640 Down with Love 888,723 -43% 773 18,761,086 Holes 691,297 -26% 692 63,053,630 Lizzie McGuire: The Movie 641,130 -45% 753 40,519,493 A Mighty Wind 464,389 -30% 361 16,125,710 Anger Management 366,698 -45% 427 133,441,228 Mambo Italiano 342,433 100 342,236 Identity 316,330 -59% 344 51,221,726 Spellbound 304,719 32% 77 1,122,046 Winged Migration 292,790 30% 58 1,439,098 L'Auberge Espagnole 272,344 30% 75 1,774,789 Bringing Down the House 269,066 -30% 318 130,821,038 Ghosts of the Abyss 258,905 -27% 53 10,893,221 The Man on the Train 225,452 43% 72 947,109 Nowhere in Africa 211,469 -14% 86 4,943,850 Phone Booth 202,105 -36% 197 45,740,239 Chicago 187,119 -30% 250 168,962,297 Les Invasions barbares 177,143 -59% 86 3,159,248 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 169,201 -4% 185 105,147,491 The Dancer Upstairs 160,556 -29% 128 2,009,336 Space Station 144,947 -12% 30 38,923,693 Malibu's Most Wanted 140,549 118% 258 33,816,096 Whale Rider 137,418 9 137,418 Together 131,365 69% 28 239,474 The Core 118,161 1158% 173 30,794,650 Taxi 3 98,300 -60% 63 497,208 Head of State 98,043 -41% 154 37,788,228 Biker Boyz 82,334 - 49 21,989,492 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 82,136 -8% 115 339,104,919 Raising Victor Vargas 71,484 -24% 46 1,650,068 Capturing the Friedmans 69,920 7% 5 169,654 Daredevil 65,973 -32% 129 102,409,655 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 60,957 36% 10 43,789,482 Pokemon Heroes 58,935 239% 200 663,187 House of 1000 Corpses 54,129 33% 97 12,368,833 Old School 53,743 -32% 53 75,509,783 Bulletproof Monk 52,793 13% 88 23,156,227 Agent Cody Banks 49,299 -23% 73 47,795,563 What a Girl Wants 48,319 -46% 178 35,924,119 Respiro 47,050 -9% 11 232,254 Laurel Canyon 44,568 -5% 31 3,515,663 The Eye 39,058 - 4 39,058 Blue Car 38,485 -19% 26 352,523 Cowboy Bebop 31,976 60% 28 910,607 A Man Apart 31,679 60% 35 26,466,373 Russian Ark 30,454 -2% 16 2,465,572 City of God 30,348 -4% 16 4,287,883 The Good Thief 29,860 -20% 54 3,318,307 The Trip 29,361 77% 8 110,557 The Pianist 28,990 -30% 45 31,620,066 Sweet Sixteen 25,976 14% 19 160,529 City of Ghosts 25,626 137% 14 276,998 The Shape of Things 24,059 -54% 32 714,708 Bhoot 24,056 -63% 19 106,774 Kangaroo Jack 23,941 -21% 56 66,822,238 The Cremaster Cycle 23,191 -49% 8 266,074 The Quiet American 21,629 -6% 31 12,874,317 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure 21,376 18% 9 14,717,905 Owning Mahowny 19,614 66% 7 197,904 Haunted Castle 19,231 -13% 4 6,286,181 Rivers and Tides 18,889 29% 8 1,687,853
Weekend Estimates - June 6-8, 2003
Title % change Theaters Cume 2 Fast 2 Furious - 3408 51.4 Finding Nemo -35% 3391 143.4 Bruce Almighty -40% 3549 171.4 The Italian Job -33% 2877 39.9 The Matrix Reloaded -42% 3225 247.7 Daddy Day Care -30% 2713 88.6 X2: X-Men United -42% 2050 204.2 Wrong Turn -52% 1613 9.5 The In-Laws -44% 2047 18 Bend It Like Beckham -9% 494 18.9 Down with Love -61% 775 17.2 Holes -19% 692 63.1 Lizzie McGuire -44% 753 40.5 - Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - % Change (Last Week) - Also Debuting/Expanding Mambo Italiano - 41 0.31 Spellbound 11% 60 1.07 Man on the Train 39% 70 0.95 Whale Rider - 9 0.13