..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
3-D's a Crowd … with a Silver Lining
The summer has its first surprise hit as Miramax's Dimension label unleashed Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over to an estimated $32.8 million to easily outpace the competition. There was also good news for Universal's thoroughbred Seabiscuit with per theater averages of more than $10,000, but the Lara Croft sequel disappointed in its premiere.
Far from a tired franchise, Spy Kids received a commercial boost by employing the stereoptic gimmick and industry touts were blind-sided by its appeal. One reason is the lackluster methods employed to gauge movie-going habits of pre-teens. Still, there's also something to be said about looking in the history books. Though 3-D's heyday was a half century ago, the infrequent subsequent forays (Imax notwithstanding) have mostly been successful including the dreary 1981 spaghetti western Comin At Ya! There's a new generation that's completely unexposed to the process and they were lined up around the blockbuster this weekend.
Conversely, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life was tipped to be the number one film in the marketplace (it will finish no better than second) with double the gross of Spy Kids 3-D. It's roughly $22 million weekend was a major disappointment and expectations for its grossing power have been significantly lowered.
Though the highly and critically embraced anticipated Seabiscuit crossed the finish in fifth place, it displayed the power of a movie champion in more than a 1,000 fewer theaters than the frame's other freshmen. Still, to go the distance, word-of-mouth has to translate into sustained interest and bring in a younger audience that doesn't normally see historic dramas with a decidedly emotional component.
Weekend box office should clock in with about $155 million in ticket sales and nose past 2002's comparable weekend receipts by 2%. A year ago Austin Powers in Goldmember was out of the gate with a jaw dropping $73 million (roughly the combined gross of this weekend's trio). Business was also about 3% better than last weekend.
A clear indication of both the opening power and short shelf life of summer movies was evidenced by $20 million plus grosses for the top five marketplace titles. It's a first but expect more of it next summer.
The frame was also chock-a-block with bows of specialized fare but only IFC's Camp with a $54,000 debut from three screens showed the kind of muscle that might translate into wider exposure. It's sort of the summer recess version of Fame.
Other niche debuts ranged from disappointing to fair including Fox Searchlight's South American Lucia, Lucia with just shy of $70,000 in 49 locations. Its art house engagements out-paced dates aimed at Latinos. It was also bad news for Miramax's politically sensitive and oft-delayed Buffalo Soldiers that tested the waters in six locations and grossed about $30,000. The Spanish hit Mondays in the Sun averaged about $3,000 from seven screens while Sony Classic's Masked and Anonymous headlining Bob Dylan hooked the curious with a $32,000 box office from four and the highly experimental Hotel from Mike Figgis grossed $12,000 from single exclusives in New York and L.A.
Last weekend's trio of freshmen - Bad Boys II, Johnny English and How to Deal - all experienced the terrible twos with 50% to 60% box office erosions and that was pretty much the fate for the marketplace's high profile titles with the exception of Pirates of the Caribbean.
The weekend's other successful gimmick was Fox Searchlight's switcheroo ending of 28 Days Later. Though its box office dipped slightly, its screen average climbed and the low budget horror item should wind up with a neat $45 million domestic gross. It should also translate into increased interest when the film goes out in DVD.
Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo came up less than $200,000 short of The Lion King's domestic tally of $312.9 million and will claim the all-time animated box office crown Monday. However, not to diminish the achievement, the 1994 release hit that level when the average ticket price was about 60% less than current levels.
Weekend Finals - July 25 - 27, 2003
Title Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 33,417,739 - 3344 33,417,739 Pirates of the Caribbean 23,136,029 -32% 3416 176,838,155 Bad Boys II 22,051,422 -53% 3202 88,503,074 Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life 21,783,641 - 3222 21,783,641 Seabiscuit 20,854,735 - 1989 20,854,735 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 5,070,971 -50% 2532 52,927,018 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 5,063,450 -46% 2660 137,459,813 Finding Nemo 4,391,650 -40% 2025 313,119,898 Johnny English 4,327,130 -53% 2236 18,435,985 Legally Blonde 2 2,707,034 -56% 2120 82,171,969 28 Days Later 2,341,887 -8% 915 37,304,321 How to Deal 2,308,713 -60% 2319 11,469,731 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle 1,460,418 -63% 1270 93,073,452 Whale Rider 1,085,258 -20% 491 9,577,687 The Italian Job 1,001,029 -42% 529 94,030,450 Swimming Pool 919,103 8% 206 3,756,408 Bruce Almighty 718,900 -50% 553 237,531,380 The Hulk 518,085 -66% 560 129,538,175 The Matrix Reloaded 511,327 -29% 168 276,231,510 La Grande Seduction 475,773 -1% 78 2,926,445 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas 390,254 -79% 865 25,260,946 2 Fast 2 Furious 368,715 -53% 380 124,813,080 Winged Migration 337,296 -20% 148 5,497,145 Daddy Day Care 333,468 223% 262 100,647,340 Bend It Like Beckham 223,567 -27% 119 26,307,646 Spellbound 200,046 -23% 98 4,459,720 Space Station 163,244 2% 23 41,472,320 Capturing the Friedmans 136,722 -25% 75 2,370,574 I Capture the Castle 133,896 6% 42 404,405 Northfork 124,035 20% 41 359,857 Dumb and Dumberer 122,160 -6% 151 25,909,184 Lizzie McGuire: The Movie 120,056 -37% 209 42,330,401 Rugrats Go Wild 119,051 -70% 356 38,243,303 X2: X-Men United 118,149 -32% 155 214,411,695 Holes 117,370 -46% 204 67,018,593 Ghosts of the Abyss 112,856 -9% 34 13,231,151 Chicago 105,211 -33% 172 170,306,377 Dirty Pretty Things 100,588 1% 8 260,222 Wrong Turn 92,993 -32% 95 15,044,311 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 71,936 4% 10 45,001,214 Lucia, Lucia 70,773 - 49 70,773 Alex & Emma 68,105 38% 171 14,070,101 Anger Management 66,761 -37% 101 135,377,854 Bringing Down the House 58,288 -41% 60 132,541,238 L'Auberge Espagnole 57,317 -14% 42 3,510,134 Nowhere in Africa 55,945 -33% 60 6,343,437 Camp 54,294 - 3 54,294 The Housekeeper 53,014 71% 22 167,540 The Man on the Train 45,372 -44% 50 2,316,487 Hollywood Homicide 45,198 -37% 93 30,013,346 Identity 42,491 -36% 73 51,958,117 Owning Mahowny 40,760 -36% 20 688,026 Mambo Italiano 35,697 -16% 16 2,304,742 The Magdalene Sisters 33,562 7% 17 112,198 Les Invasions barbares 31,805 15% 13 4,382,240 The Hard Word 31,354 1% 26 400,844 Buffalo Soldiers 30,977 - 6 30,977 Masked and Anonymous 30,783 - 4 37,120 The Legend of Suriothai 29,560 -28% 17 322,948 Jet Lag 29,066 -37% 23 460,279 Haunted Castle 27,696 9% 3 6,685,939 The In-Laws 24,447 -58% 59 20,440,627 Respiro 23,816 -9% 15 856,059 Darna Mana Hai 23,419 - 22 23,419 The Weather Underground 23,108 311% 5 129,863 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 22,680 -22% 32 339,734,454 Mondays in the Sun 22,401 - 7 22,401 The Holy Land 22,095 1% 4 88,122 Weekend Estimates - July 25 - 27, 2003
Title Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over - 3344 32.8 Pirates of the Caribbean -34% 3416 176.1 Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life - 3222 22.3 Bad Boys II -53% 3202 88.4 Seabiscuit - 1989 19.7 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines -48% 2660 137.3 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen -55% 2532 52.4 Johnny English -54% 2236 18.3 Finding Nemo -46% 2025 312.7 Legally Blonde 2 -58% 2120 82 How to Deal