..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Estimates
Mexico Found in Translation…
The audience said "see, see" to Once Upon a Time in Mexico but remained cautious about Matchstick Men as weekend movie going expanded slightly with the arrival of some high profile movies. There were also excellent bows for the chiller Cabin Fever and the critically lauded Lost in Translation in its limited launch.
The highly charged Once Upon a Time in Mexico was the clear weekend favorite with an estimated $25 million bow. Three appears to be a definite charm for filmmaker Robert Rodriguez with the latest edition of his El Mariachi character and the summer bow of Spy Kids 3-D. The new film definitely tapped into both an action and Hispanic crowd and that might prove to be an edge in the coming weeks as the majors unleash a flood of new films.
It was a decidedly more con verdict for Matchstick Men's $13 million debut. Though promoted vigorously it was a disappointing return for its pedigree and is likely to get lost in the shuffle as its displaced by newer films in the coming weeks and struggles to a $40 million to $50 million gross.
Conversely, the graphic horror and black comedy of Cabin Fever resulted in a better than anticipated $8.7 million opening. Though it will likely experience rapid commercial erosion, the smart campaign by Lions Gate will translate into heady profits for the company along the lines of recent horror hits Jeepers Creepers 2 and Freddy vs. Jason and bodes well for New Line's revived Texas Chainsaw Massacre next month.
Overall weekend sales should climb to about $87 million for a healthy 35% boost from the prior weekend. It was also a 6% increase from 2002 when Barbershop proved surprisingly strong with $20.6 million and Stealing Harvard eked out $6 million.
Following its rapturous response at the Toronto Festival, Focus's Lost in Translation had a potent $880,000 box office that translated into a $36,600 average at 24 theaters. The company is already touting Bill Murray's performance for Oscar consideration but even with an abbreviated awards season, it's a long road to the Kodak Theater. There remain very big question marks about the film's ability to cross over and echoes of last year's critical favorites Punch-Drunk Love and Adaptation linger in the memory.
Among holdover titles, the most resilient titles were targeted toward family audiences including Pirates of the Caribbean, Freaky Friday and last week's freshman Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. That trio received an assist from sneak previews of Under the Tuscan Sun and The Fighting Temptations Saturday evening. Based on preliminary data both Tuscan Sun and Temptations drew heavily on their core appeal, attracting respectively an older female and African-American crowd. Reps for the pictures concede that its vital for the two pictures to broaden their appeal and both are working with intangible hooks that include quality, entertainment and laughs.
The arena was also rife with limited bows that failed to demonstrate hefty expansion prospects. MAC Releasing aggressively dated the thriller No Good Turn with Samuel Jackson - an adaptation of a Dashiell Hammett short story - in 402 theaters in most major markets save New York and Los Angeles. Its roughly $120,000 likely means a quick push to the ancillaries.
The frame also saw the debut of DreamWorks' specialty label Go Fish with the Japanese anima Millennium Actress. It recorded a passable $18,200 gross from six screens while the distaff Hong Kong actioner So Close via Strand returned $26,500 from 11 locations. Artisan's Adrian Brody vehicle Dummy also eluded the smart set with a $27,800 box office in five theaters.
The box office blow was soften largely as a result of many pictures continuing to play modestly in continuing runs and by a couple of niche titles holding ground in limited exposure. Disney surpassed its annual box office record of $1.24 billion Saturday and, with close to three months left in 2003, should considerably raise the bar for future years.
Among the limited openers, only Strand's Party Monster, a true life saga of success starring Macauley Culkin, displayed any strength. The film expanded from a single screen to eight venues and grossed approximately $130,000.
New Yorker had good response to the wartime drama Taking Sides with a $22,600 box office at two Manhattan sites but Innovation's Home Room, a controversial drama, sputtered with just $3,700 at three theaters. Also disappointing was the Indo-American Where's the Party Yaar? that was eyeing $41,000 from 11 screens.
In general specialized and niche films were feeling the pinch of competition as reflected by weekend returns from such fast out of the gate titles as American Splendor and Thirteen. Splendor added 184 engagements but only experienced a 24% b.o. increase while its theater average dipped below $3,000. Thirteen, in its fourth weekend, added 50 playdates but dipped 30% and its average also fell below $3,000. With fewer than 500 prime playdates for alternative fare and the award season contenders about to be unleashed, this sector of the film business is likely to experience the fiercest and most unforgiving season in memory.
Weekend Finals - September 12-14, 2003
Title Once Upon a Time in Mexico 23,424,118 - 3282 23,424,118 Matchstick Men 13,087,307 - 2711 13,087,307 Cabin Fever 8,633,585 - 2087 8,633,585 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star 5,042,028 -24% 2083 12,871,357 Pirates of the Caribbean 4,506,400 -15% 2029 287,884,372 Freaky Friday 4,061,689 -20% 2567 101,971,030 Jeepers Creepers 2 3,019,860 -54% 2784 31,865,481 Seabiscuit 2,754,615 -26% 2102 113,606,750 S.W.A.T. 2,708,563 -41% 2062 112,791,312 Open Range 2,706,853 -36% 2063 53,482,017 Uptown Girls 1,403,912 -43% 1425 35,496,283 Freddy vs. Jason 1,387,720 -57% 1577 80,539,099 The Order 1,140,136 -74% 1975 6,845,194 American Wedding 1,137,375 -48% 1011 102,486,890 Lost in Translation 925,087 - 23 925,087 American Splendor 840,774 45% 272 3,871,437 The Medallion 835,165 -62% 990 21,252,540 The Italian Job 791,525 -55% 980 104,733,456 Finding Nemo 636,935 1% 624 334,702,727 Whale Rider 632,224 -29% 492 19,100,089 My Boss's Daughter 587,885 -66% 1044 14,876,383 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 522,100 -52% 1044 109,631,985 Bad Boys II 521,844 -49% 525 137,255,889 Thirteen 482,965 -23% 158 2,572,863 Dirty Pretty Things 444,286 -48% 443 6,508,955 Le Divorce 439,403 -54% 432 8,409,849 The Magdalene Sisters 359,867 -37% 297 3,610,892 Bruce Almighty 274,665 -2% 252 241,686,320 Step Into Liquid 261,810 -22% 90 2,604,144 The Secret Lives of Dentists 240,852 -46% 156 3,090,198 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 206,106 -22% 260 65,883,617 Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life 204,835 -51% 382 64,966,533 The Matrix Reloaded 193,196 -50% 286 280,644,783 Winged Migration 183,623 -27% 137 8,783,694 Swimming Pool 182,943 -41% 173 9,781,267 Daddy Day Care 153,828 -3% 204 103,551,400 28 Days Later 144,640 -40% 212 44,777,706 Bend It Like Beckham 144,635 -24% 164 32,196,445 No Good Deed 129,042 - 402 129,042 The Book of Mormon Movie 114,573 - 29 114,573 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle 107,812 -42% 176 100,685,880 La Grande Seduction 100,445 -33% 62 5,749,183 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 100,361 -48% 120 149,543,038 The Hulk 92,120 -20% 128 132,042,005 Johnny English 89,640 -12% 129 27,888,885 Legally Blonde 2 86,100 -15% 188 90,039,088 2 Fast 2 Furious 79,065 -23% 118 127,015,815 Gaz Bar Blues 76,289 0% 23 197,713 Party Monster 68,719 -49% 7 296,665 Ghosts of the Abyss 68,434 15% 22 14,506,018 Space Station 58,882 -35% 21 43,484,113 Kuch Naa Kaho 58,784 -36% 32 187,444 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas 58,775 -34% 152 26,367,627 Camp 54,062 -55% 64 1,566,968 Passionada 47,421 34% 33 487,110 The Legend of Johnny Lingo 44,921 -25% 43 340,693 Grind 41,448 25% 140 5,111,630 Spellbound 40,424 -22% 38 5,530,123 Where'd the Party Yaar? 35,941 -26% 11 93,807 So Close 31,702 - 11 31,702 Capturing the Friedmans 31,649 -10% 34 3,051,619 Dummy 30,120 - 5 30,120 Rugrats Go Wild 28,450 -23% 71 39,378,921 Hawayein 27,523 -27% 5 377,794 Northfork 27,175 -35% 45 1,323,116 Masked and Anonymous 27,122 -2% 17 390,842 And Now Ladies & Gentlemen 26,638 -53% 35 643,962 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 26,036 -28% 8 45,977,326 Sept. 11 - 11'09"01 24,958 40% 11 103,909 Taking Sides 22,915 4% 5 56,383 Nowhere in Africa 21,864 14% 18 6,718,474 I Capture the Castle 19,368 -41% 24 1,131,676 Millenium Actress 18,732 - 6 18,732 30 Years to Life 18,602 -11% 3 99,023 Haunted Castle