|
  
   

| Sept
14, 2003 |
| Sept
7, 2003 |
| Sept
1, 2003 |
| August
24, 2003 |
| August
17, 2003 |
| August
10, 2003 |
| August
3, 2003 |
| July
27, 2003 |
| July
20, 2003 |
| July
13, 2003 |
| July
6, 2003 |
| June
29, 2003 |
| June
22, 2003 |
| June
15, 2003 |
| June
8, 2003 |
| June
1, 2003 |
| May
27, 2003 |
| May
18, 2003 |
| May
11, 2003 |
| May
4, 2003 |
| April
26, 2003 |
| April
13, 2003 |
| April
6, 2003 |
| March
30, 2003 |
| March
23, 2003 |
| March
16, 2003 |
| March
9, 2003 |
| March
2, 2003 |
| February
23, 2003 |
| February
23, 2003 |
| February
17, 2003 |
| February
9, 2003 |
| February
2, 2003 |
| January
26, 2003 |
| January
20, 2003 |
| January
12, 2003 |
| January
5, 2003 |

..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride

|
|

Weekend Estimates
Market Share
Top Limited Grosses
The Wails of September
Movie going
continued to rebound with record September business led by Sony's
vampire thriller Underworld with an estimated $22.9 million.
Second and third ranked films also featured new entries in Paramount's
The Fighting Temptations and New Line's family film Secondhand
Lions. Even Focus Film's reissue of Scarface proved
potent in 13 situations.
Still, volume
largely trumped individual potency as the Sharon Stone
thriller Cold Creek Manor returned tepid results and the
latest Woody Allen offering, Anything Else wilted
in the heat of competition.
Overall business
expanded to slightly more than $107 million, compared to about
$81 million generated in 2002 when Barbershop led the field
with $12.8 million and the top newcomer was The Banger Sisters
at $10 million followed by Ballistic and The Four Feathers.
It's a 33% increase from last year and 25% better than last weekend's
business.
I believe
it was Hammer's Dracula A.D. 1972 that had the ad line
that "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down." However, even
if Underworld has a distaff vampire unrelated to the Count,
you get the picture. Horror movies are enjoying a current vitality
regardless of their pedigree and certainly irrespective of providing
more than a modest twist to venerable characters and situations.
Last weekend's
excellent bow of Cabin Fever - one of the more inventive
recent chillers - nonetheless experienced a sharp second weekend
drop. That's pretty much been standard, too, and has to be worrisome
for upcoming scare titles leading up to Halloween when attendance
tends to be soft and competition fierce.
It was a close
race for second spot (see How Can You Tell I'm Lion below) with
the musical The Fighting Temptations nosing out Secondhand
Lions by about $100,000 with $12.4 million. The spread widens
considerably when you toss in the fact that Lions played in close
to 1,000 more theaters and underscores the continuing problem
faced by all family fare that doesn't carry the Disney imprimatur.
The Mouse
House's Touchstone label was having its own problems with Cold
Creek Manor, a predictable thriller that generated no more
than an OK gross of $8.4 million.
And DreamWorks decision to give Woody Allen's Anything
Else a wider than usual launch proved to be just about a total
wash as evidenced by its $1.8 million return. Allen has moved
on to Fox Searchlight for his next film.
Activity in
niche and limited releases was generally soft although the U.S.
launch of Mambo Italiano had room for optimism and the
Scarface DVD promo proved quite effective.
Mambo, a hybrid
indie comedy with gay and ethnic appeal set in Montreal, grossed
$770,000 for the weekend. It previously rang up about $3 million
in Quebec via producer/distributor Equinox that added 130 theaters
in English Canada this weekend. IDP's 42 playdates on the west
coast accounted for about $180,000 of the weekend tally.
Scarface,
originally released in 1983 by Universal, was given a locked one-week
run to tub thumb its DVD release and based on the results some
exhibs will be pleading to keep it on screen longer. Certainly
if it's deemed a successful promotional tool, more such limited
theatrical revivals will be in the offing.
Among the
handful of exclusives, Videograph's offbeat comedy horror item
Bubba Ho-Tep was the surprise with about $36,000 from two
engagements. It should kick start the yarn involving Elvis (yes,
he's still alive) and a malevolent mummy. Also upbeat was the
$17,300 generated by the French documentary To Be and To Have
on two screens.
The rest of
the entries were no better than fair and included John Sayles'
social drama Casa de los Babys with $37,200 from 9 theaters
and the Berlin Golden Bear winner In This World - the
second Sundance Film Series offering - with $26,500 from 10 venues.
How
Can You Tell I'm Lion?
The race for
second spot (and not the lion's share) between The Fighting
Temptations and Secondhand Lions is a reminder how
weekend box office estimates rather than Monday's final figures
have become the news story and focus for studio reporting.
In the long
run it will make little difference how either film ranked on opening
weekend but judging from the vigorous inflation being applied
to each film by their distributor that argument falls on deaf
ears. According to the respective studios, Temptations grossed
$13.2 million and Lions did $12.88 million. MCN estimates fall
outside the typical +/- 5% statistical norm for margin of error.
For virtually
all media outlets, the studio reported estimates are not verified
or counter checked and, as they are estimates, it's difficult
to separate bad calculations from numbers being spun for a presumed
commercial advantage. The latter excess has bothered several distribution
execs and even prompted Phil Barlow at Disney to devise
a chart that would include estimates from all studios of the top
ranked pictures. However, before it could be taken the next step,
both Variety and the Hollywood Report rejected it
when it was proposed about seven years ago. When I I was reporting
weekend box office at Variety, my entreaty to print "our"
estimates was also deep sixed though I was able to question reported
numbers in the written analysis.
For those
who never spend time in the schoolyard in the Second Grade, the
answer to the riddle is: Because you paws too long.
- by Leonard
Klady
|
|
Weekend
Finals - September 19-21, 2003
|
|
Title |
Distrib
|
Weekend |
%
Change |
Theaters |
Cume |
Wks
|
|
1
|
New
|
Underworld |
Sony
|
21,753,759 |
- |
2915 |
21,753,759 |
1
|
|
2
|
New
|
Secondhand
Lions |
New
Line
|
12,139,832 |
- |
3013 |
12,139,832 |
1
|
|
3
|
New
|
The Fighting
Temptations |
Par
|
11,758,655 |
- |
2026 |
11,758,655 |
1
|
|
4
|
1
|
Once Upon a
Time in Mexico |
Sony
|
11,007,367 |
-53% |
3282 |
40,951,922 |
2
|
|
5
|
New
|
Cold Creek
Manor |
BV
|
8,190,574 |
- |
2035 |
8,190,574 |
1
|
|
6
|
2
|
Matchstick
Men |
WB
|
7,552,427 |
-42% |
2711 |
24,233,745 |
2
|
|
7
|
3
|
Cabin Fever |
Lions
Gate
|
3,909,896 |
-45% |
2105 |
14,722,225 |
2
|
|
8
|
4
|
Dickie Roberts:
Former Child Star |
Par
|
3,783,655 |
-25% |
2083 |
17,302,664 |
3
|
|
9
|
5
|
Pirates of
the Caribbean |
BV
|
3,480,968 |
-23% |
1746 |
292,495,912 |
11
|
|
10
|
15
|
Lost in Translation |
Focus
|
2,622,737 |
184% |
183 |
3,957,342 |
2
|
|
11
|
6
|
Freaky Friday |
BV
|
2,540,613 |
-37% |
1850 |
105,099,613 |
7
|
|
12
|
New
|
Anything Else |
DreamWorks
|
1,673,125 |
- |
1033 |
1,673,125 |
1
|
|
13
|
8
|
Seabiscuit |
Uni
|
1,622,465 |
-41% |
1417 |
116,026,970 |
9
|
|
14
|
10
|
Open Range |
BV
|
1,411,028 |
-48% |
1465 |
55,762,861 |
6
|
|
15
|
9
|
S.W.A.T. |
Sony
|
1,236,611 |
-54% |
1278 |
114,708,025 |
7
|
|
16
|
7
|
Jeepers Creepers
2 |
MGM
|
1,007,970 |
-67% |
1358 |
33,591,118 |
4
|
|
17
|
87
|
Mambo Italiano |
Equinox/IDP
|
667,896 |
- |
178 |
3,227,625 |
15
|
|
18
|
14
|
American Wedding |
Uni
|
549,780 |
-52% |
561 |
103,376,280 |
8
|
|
19
|
11
|
Uptown Girls |
MGM
|
538,666 |
-62% |
676 |
36,287,727 |
6
|
|
20
|
16
|
American Splendor |
Fine
Line
|
510,330 |
-39% |
260 |
4,640,236 |
6
|
|
21
|
24
|
Thirteen |
Fox
Searchlight
|
467,086 |
-3% |
243 |
3,212,979 |
5
|
|
22
|
12
|
Freddy vs.
Jason |
New
Line
|
460,095 |
-67% |
631 |
81,315,226 |
6
|
|
23
|
19
|
Finding Nemo |
BV
|
419,862 |
-34% |
480 |
335,258,448 |
17
|
|
24
|
20
|
Whale Rider |
Newmarket
|
390,728 |
-38% |
341 |
19,699,291 |
16
|
|
25
|
22
|
Spy Kids 3-D:
Game Over |
Miramax
|
387,595 |
-26% |
567 |
110,112,768 |
9
|
|
26
|
18
|
The Italian
Job |
Par
|
308,766 |
-61% |
420 |
105,284,126 |
16
|
|
27
|
43
|
Terminator
3: Rise of the Machines |
WB
|
305,453 |
204% |
335 |
149,891,208 |
12
|
|
28
|
25
|
Dirty Pretty
Things |
Miramax
|
297,813 |
-33% |
201 |
6,994,938 |
10
|
|
29
|
27
|
The Magdalene
Sisters |
Alliance/Miramax
|
284,155 |
-21% |
227 |
4,067,882 |
10
|
|
30
|
17
|
The Medallion |
Sony
|
254,821 |
-69% |
307 |
21,701,977 |
5
|
|
31
|
21
|
My Boss's Daughter |
Miramax
|
248,888 |
-58% |
383 |
15,267,983 |
5
|
|
32
|
New
|
Scarface (reissue) |
Focus
|
242,821 |
- |
13 |
242,821 |
1
|
|
33
|
26
|
Le Divorce |
Fox
Searchlight
|
213,852 |
-51% |
252 |
8,767,532 |
7
|
|
34
|
28
|
Bruce Almighty |
Uni
|
213,745 |
-22% |
225 |
241,976,935 |
18
|
|
35
|
23
|
Bad Boys II |
Sony
|
204,461 |
-61% |
229 |
137,607,187 |
10
|
|
36
|
29
|
Step Into Liquid |
Artisan
|
191,816 |
-27% |
91 |
2,898,173 |
7
|
|
37
|
New
|
Pere et fils |
Alliance
|
150,300 |
- |
49 |
150,300 |
1
|
|
38
|
36
|
Daddy Day Care |
Sony
|
145,743 |
-5% |
207 |
103,762,638 |
20
|
|
39
|
31
|
League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen |
Fox
|
136,713 |
-34% |
215 |
66,101,373 |
10
|
|
40
|
33
|
The Matrix
Reloaded |
WB
|
133,897 |
-31% |
196 |
280,872,150 |
19
|
|
41
|
30
|
The Secret
Lives of Dentists |
Manhattan
|
123,420 |
-49% |
120 |
3,286,081 |
8
|
|
42
|
34
|
Winged Migration |
Sony
Classics
|
117,218 |
-36% |
118 |
8,995,136 |
23
|
|
43
|
42
|
La Grande Seduction |
Alliance
|
112,998 |
12% |
50 |
6,123,457 |
11
|
|
44
|
13
|
The Order |
Fox
|
100,868 |
-91% |
296 |
7,399,305 |
3
|
|
45
|
40
|
The Book of
Mormon Movie |
Morman
Movie
|
92,634 |
-19% |
38 |
282,376 |
2
|
|
46
|
38
|
Bend It Like
Beckham |
Fox
Searchlight
|
89,497 |
-38% |
117 |
32,337,580 |
28
|
|
47
|
35
|
Swimming Pool |
Focus
|
84,669 |
-55% |
93 |
9,942,554 |
12
|
|
48
|
48
|
Gaz Bar Blues |
Alliance
|
80,911 |
6% |
23 |
332,440 |
3
|
|
49
|
32
|
Lara Croft:
The Cradle of Life |
Par
|
68,828 |
-66% |
114 |
65,077,515 |
9
|
|
50
|
41
|
Charlie's Angels:
Full Throttle |
Sony
|
67,087 |
-38% |
120 |
100,785,217 |
13
|
|
51
|
37
|
28 Days Later |
Fox
Searchlight
|
61,131 |
-58% |
136 |
44,900,469 |
12
|
|
52
|
45
|
Johnny English |
Uni
|
58,910 |
-34% |
90 |
27,972,410 |
10
|
|
53
|
44
|
The
Hulk |
Uni
|
57,950 |
-37% |
95 |
132,122,995 |
13
|
|
54
|
51
|
Space Station |
Imax
|
55,235 |
-6% |
18 |
43,587,357 |
75
|
|
55
|
46
|
Legally Blonde
2 |
MGM
|
54,255 |
-37% |
132 |
90,134,526 |
12
|
|
56
|
47
|
2 Fast 2 Furious |
Uni
|
52,465 |
-34% |
82 |
127,083,765 |
16
|
|
57
|
50
|
Ghosts of the
Abyss |
BV
|
50,197 |
-27% |
22 |
14,589,457 |
24
|
|
58
|
49
|
Party Monster |
Strand
|
50,065 |
-27% |
9 |
375,486 |
4
|
|
59
|
53
|
Sinbad: Legend
of the Seven Seas |
DreamWorks
|
45,211 |
-23% |
117 |
26,428,185 |
12
|
|
60
|
New
|
Demonlover |
Palm
|
39,284 |
- |
8 |
39,284 |
1
|
|
61
|
New
|
Casa de los
Babys |
IFC
|
36,456 |
- |
9 |
36,456 |
1
|
|
62
|
New
|
Bubba Ho-Tep |
Vitagraph
|
35,636 |
- |
2 |
35,636 |
1
|
|
63
|
58
|
Spellbound |
Thinkfilm
|
32,439 |
-20% |
36 |
5,580,404 |
21
|
|
64
|
New
|
Red Betsy |
Lang
Films
|
29,884 |
|
22 |
29,884 |
1
|
|
65
|
68
|
T-Rex: Back
to the Cretaceous |
Imax
|
26,468 |
2% |
8 |
46,021,695 |
256
|
|
66
|
52
|
Kuch Naa Kaho |
Eros
|
24,278 |
-53% |
28 |
224,831 |
3
|
|
67
|
91
|
Les Invasions
barbares |
Alliance
|
21,352 |
76% |
13 |
4,958,643 |
19
|
|
68
|
54
|
Camp |
IFC
|
20,795 |
-62% |
31 |
1,604,886 |
9
|
|
69
|
Re
|
To Be and To
Have (Etre et avoir) |
New
Yorker/Seville
|
20,528 |
- |
3 |
203,184 |
42
|
|
70
|
64
|
Hawayein |
Megastar
|
19,659 |
-29% |
5 |
409,978 |
6
|
|
71
|
55
|
Passionada |
IDP
|
18,396 |
-61% |
18 |
523,524 |
6
|
|
72
|
76
|
Haunted Castle |
nWave
|
17,825 |
3% |
3 |
7,157,880 |
135
|
|
73
|
62
|
Dummy |
Artisan
|
17,803 |
-41% |
5 |
58,736 |
2
|
Weekend
Estimates - September 19-21, 2003
| Title |
Distributor
|
Gross
(average)
|
%
change
|
Theaters
|
Cume
|
| Underworld |
Sony
|
22.9 (7,870)
|
- |
2915 |
22.9 |
| The
Fighting Temptations |
Par
|
12.4
(6,110)
|
- |
2026 |
12.4 |
| Secondand
Lions |
New
Line
|
12.3
(4,090)
|
- |
3013 |
12.4 |
| Once
Upon a Time in Mexico |
Sony
|
11.2
(3,410)
|
-52% |
3289 |
41.2 |
| Cold
Creek Manor |
BV
|
8.4
(4,140)
|
- |
2035 |
8.4 |
| Matchstick
Men |
WB
|
7.9
(2,920)
|
-39% |
2711 |
24.6 |
Dickie
Roberts:
Former Child Star |
Par
|
3.9
(1,890)
|
-22% |
2083 |
17.5 |
| Cabin
Fever |
Lions
Gate
|
3.8
(1,810)
|
-56% |
2105 |
14.6 |
| Pirates
of the Caribbean |
BV
|
| |