..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

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. - by Leonard Klady