October 12, 2003
October 5, 2003
Sept 28, 2003
Sept 21, 2003
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 Finals
Market Share

Top Domestic Grosses

What's Buzzin'? … Slicin' and Dicin' the Crowds

New Line's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre proved to have the kindest cut of the marketplace as it arrived with an estimated $29.8 million in its debut. It was a slightly better than anticipated bow and propelled weekend business to a record level for the month.

And while Fox's Runaway Jury was commercially disappointing, the national expansion of Mystic River was formidable and the anticipated slice in Kill Bill Vol. 1 was not as severe as had been anticipated.

Overall business approached $118 million for a 6% improvement on last weekend and a significant 32% expansion from 2002. A year ago The Ring entered the marketplace at $15 million and My Big Fat Greek Wedding did $7.1 million in its 27th week.

TCM was a clear frontrunner entering the weekend with pundits predicting it would perform comparably to last weekend's $22 million debut of Kill Bill and that the latter film would be trimmed by as much as 60%. However, Chainsaw proved more resilient than expected and, unlike recent R-rated genre fare, actually saw business improve slightly on Saturday from opening day. It virtually decimated second weekend business on House of the Dead.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 took a 43% downturn to rank second with $12.6 million and appeared to stave off a more radical plunge by attracting a slightly older, hipper crowd than the incoming power tool wielding maniac. As a result its commercial prospects have been adjusted upward. That unexpected strength ate into Runaway Jury's opening which ranked third with $12.3 million.

Jury was tracking strongest with an older crowd but wound up competing with the critically acclaimed Mystic River. The Clint Eastwood directed social thriller still has to tough it out as its subject matter remains an obstacle. Four star reviews have been an asset and awards from critic's groups may make a significant difference to its on-going vitality.

Mixed to negative reviews pretty much put the kibosh to Buena Vista's Veronica Guerin with a dull $640,000 opening at 462 theaters. The company obviously was not expecting great response but hoped to generate a screen average better than $2,000.

The frame's limited releases had fair returns but fell short of the type of business that presages real commercial momentum. Focus's bio Sylvia grossed a little better than $50,000 from three venues and, like Mystic, has the hurdle of overcoming grim content. MGM's Pieces of April with a $47,200 weekend looks like a film that might easily get lost in the shuffle of product flow despite positive reviews simply because it lacks the sort of easy marketing hooks that make a difference. IDP's The Returner is simply the latest Japanese anima title not to breakout with box office of $31,500 from 13 screens.

Among holdovers, The School of Rock is ample proof of the potency of a crowd pleasing comedy and more than suggests audiences aren't giving the thumbs up to Intolerable Cruelty which dropped by close to 50% in its second weekend. It also appears that Lost in Translation has hit the wall and will have a tough time just holding on until award's season. Meanwhile, Miramax's first expansion of its Sundance-prized The Station Agent was promising and Vitagraph's slow roll out of the very offbeat Bubba Ho-Tep is holding its own against mainstream and niche competition.


Liberte, Fraternite, Screeners!

First disclosure: I am a card-carrying, dues paying member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Not surprisingly, the subject of the screener ban was on the agenda of Saturday's meeting of the L.A. film critics. Discussion began with a modest proposal of drafting a statement and soliciting support from fellow critics nationwide. Then a member astutely noted that such a path was conventional and if we truly wanted to make a difference, the appropriate action was to assail the process. The loudest noise we could make was to cancel the organization's annual exercise of award giving.

There is of course danger in responding by taking extreme measures. Many within the industry will view the action as little more than a means to grab headlines by a group composed of pampered, petulant and vindictive people. That thought immediately crossed my mind and forced me to examine my motives and whether to support such an action.

There's no debating that such a course is intended to stir up the pot just as the action by the Motion Picture Association of America was a loud, bold move to send a clear message to Capitol Hill that the country's major movie producers were ready to stop up leaks in its fight against piracy. LAFCA members are affected by the MPAA decision and bristle because it was done without consultation and by implication implies we are part of the problem.

Now, a friend at one of the studios invoked the old saw about one bad apple …and I'm not insensitive to that observation. Still, I fail to see the wisdom of the MPAA's extreme measure being made in a partial vacuum. Those seeking to ban screeners had to be aware that the move would be disruptive to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other organizations that give awards of merit. There appears to be little doubt that its members felt they had to make an immediate preemptive strike rather than seek out allies - particularly those that would feel the effects of the fallout.

The question is why right now?

Theoretically, one might justify alacrity in the face of a clear and present danger. However, to date no one has presented a case that includes a new wrinkle on piracy as a rapidly growing and venal virus. What has been stated is that the film industry cannot afford to see revenues decline in the manner that has occurred in the record industry.

Piracy is obviously not a new concern and I would have to say that the MPAA has been quite diligent about curbing its growth for decades. Impact studies indicate that as a percentage of overall business, losses from illegal activity have remained constant for more than 20 years. At current levels, estimates of $2 billion to $3 billion annually in piracy amount to no more than 7% of the total picture, very significantly less than the double-digit erosion that's hit the record companies.

At the same time, MPAA members continue to experience annual revenue growth for their theatrical releases, particularly in ancillaries and especially in DVD sales.

For a certain type of entertainment, critical acclaim and awards play a major part in the marketing and promotion of those films. It has evolved strategically that serious awards contenders are advantaged by a commercial release in November or December and that's created a fiercely Darwinian environment for the closing weeks of the year, any year. So, about 15 years ago, the majors and independents began to send out video copies of award consideration films as a hedge against exclusion.

In the subsequent decade and a half two significant things have altered the awards landscape. The number of films released annually in the U.S. has increased by more than 30% and those prestige films that used to open in September and October have occurred less often as more and more have migrated into the last eight weeks of the calendar.

I doubt very seriously whether a studio bean counter accurately weighed the potential money diverted from pirates to legitimate dealers as a result of the MPAA action. And, by implication, no accounting was made of the revenues lost by films that were likely to benefit from award recognition but, in the absence of exposure and accessibility, will get lost in the shuffle.

Personally, I cannot truthfully claim that the absence of screeners will mean that come the middle of December, I will be unprepared to vote for the best film achievements of the year as a LAFCA member. However, listening to the situation of other members, I believe them when they assert that without screeners they cannot meet that deadline.

Certainly in the past decade I've fallen into a routine that begins right about now in which I examine all the films that have been released commercially. Invariably, there may be as many as a dozen movies that I missed in theaters but based on reviews and recommendations feel compelled to see for possible voting consideration. The next step had been to phone distributors and request screening copies and, in the past, it's happened with dispatch. But, as of this writing, I will have to change my routine.

From my perspective, the MPAA has had a great triumph. It has brought the issue of intellectual piracy into the consciousness of the industry and public. It's also managed to simultaneously bend the noses of many potential allies out of joint. The final test of its mettle is whether it will be able to arrive at a Solomon-like decision that continues to address the concerns of casual or even unintentional theft and satisfy the real and emotional needs of people to see the important films of the year in a timely fashion.

The dialogue continues, so stay tuned.

- by Leonard Klady


Weekend Finals - October 17 - 19, 2003

Title
Distrib
Weekend
% Change
Theaters
Cume
Wks
1
New
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
New Line
28,094,014 - 3016 28,094,014
1
2
1
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Miramax
12,424,841 -44% 3102 43,235,778
2
3
New
Runaway Jury
Fox
11,836,705 - 2815 11,836,705
1
4
2
The School of Rock
Par
11,006,233 -29% 2951 54,898,025
3
5
17
Mystic River
WB
10,445,547 1530% 1467 13,532,943
2
6
3
Good Boy
MGM
8,932,472 -32% 3225 25,713,653
2
7
4
Intolerable Cruelty
Uni
6,515,010 -48% 2570 22,720,755
2
8
5
Out of Time
MGM
4,002,023 -53% 2344 35,230,719
3
9
8
Under the Tuscan Sun
BV
3,379,245 -31% 1663 33,657,195
3
10
7
The Rundown
Uni
2,780,695 -47% 2099 44,518,785
4
11
10
Lost in Translation
Focus
1,903,194 -32% 771 20,964,443
6
12
9
Secondhand Lions
New Line
1,884,995 -43% 1610 38,406,515
5
13
6
House of the Dead
Artisan
1,763,212 -69% 1540 8,811,768
2
14
12
The Fighting Temptations
Par
1,034,764 -46% 867 28,773,229
5
15
11
Underworld
Sony
900,869 -61% 904 50,503,172
5
16
15
Pirates of the Caribbean
BV
653,715 -36% 493 300,557,571
15
17
New
Veronica Guerin
BV
611,276 - 472 611,276
1
18
19
Finding Nemo
BV
511,514 -18% 455 338,163,432
21
19
20
Luther
RS Entertainment
378,213 -33% 219 3,731,329
4
20
13
Cold Creek Manor
BV
280,113 -74% 480 20,825,290
5
21
14
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Sony
275,780 -74% 288 55,677,591
6
22
51
The Station Agent
Miramax/Alliance
237,399 313% 54 436,785
3
23
22
Seabiscuit
Uni
220,215 -30% 277 119,091,925
12
24
16
Matchstick Men
WB
203,178 -77% 314 36,260,522
6
25
39
Freddy vs. Jason
New Line
190,248 98% 190 82,163,317
10
26
27
S.W.A.T.
Sony
168,472 -27% 197 116,357,927
11
27
23
Freaky Friday
BV
153,121 -48% 259 108,485,036
11
28
21
Cabin Fever
Lions Gate
149,684 -59% 172 20,820,830
6
29
25
Sur le seuil
Alliance
146,638 -39% 61 1,164,524
3
30
53
Wonderland
Lions Gate
145,647 174% 79 353,159
3
31
26
Mambo Italiano
Equinox/IDP
139,736 -43% 84 4,967,094
19
32
18
Duplex
Miramax
127,541 -80% 201 9,517,362
4
33
24
Baghban
Eros
126,327 -51% 45 826,298
3
34
41
The Gospel of John
Thinkfilm
117,495 28% 31 511,730
4
35
40
Bubba Ho-Tep
Vitagraph
109,865 19% 22 515,123
5
36
33
Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life
Par
102,416 -17% 177 65,460,388
13
37
56
Space Station
Imax
93,240 108% 20 44,255,071
79
38
37
American Wedding
Uni
87,835 -15% 144 104,354,205
12
39
28
Jeepers Creepers 2
MGM
87,114 -58% 137 35,296,200
8
40
34
Bad Boys II
Sony
84,647 -23% 128 138,396,624
14
41
31
Open Range
BV
82,179 -44% 160 57,893,764
10
42
44
The Matrix Reloaded
WB
65,126 -17% 32 281,414,042
23
43
43
Bruce Almighty
Uni
62,335 -24% 91 242,589,580
22
44
36
Whale Rider
Newmarket
60,904 -42% 130 20,596,685
20
45
30
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Par
60,448 -61% 280 22,523,270
7
46
New
Sylvia
Focus
58,940 - 3 58,940
1
47
32
Thirteen
Fox Searchlight
57,819 -60% 78 4,428,906
9
48
38
Dirty Pretty Things
Miramax
57,199 -43% 56 7,803,048
14
49
42
Step Into Liquid
Artisan
56,940 -33% 60 3,520,689
11
50
97
My Boss's Daughter
Miramax
55,974 662% 133 15,494,983
9
51
29
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
Miramax
55,860 -72% 122 110,945,022
13
52
35
American Splendor
Fine Line
54,973 -49% 86 5,688,932
10
53
55
The Book of Mormon Movie
Morman Movie
54,823 9% 29 739,172
6
54
47
Uptown Girls
MGM
54,714 -26% 112 37,002,125
9
55
59
My Life Without Me
Sony Classics
52,675 43% 39 200,852
4
56
New
Pieces of April
MGM
48,422 - 6 48,422
1
57
50
Ghosts of the Abyss
BV
46,839 -24% 20 14,908,385
28
58
New
Bon Voyage
TVA
38,682 - 16 38,682
1
59
49
The Italian Job
Par
38,408 -40% 69 106,073,964
20
60
62
Haunted Castle
nWave
36,221 18% 4 7,362,992
139
61
48
The Magdalene Sisters
Alliance/Miramax
36,179 -47% 62 4,745,995
14
62
46
Casa de los Babys
IFC
35,423 -52% 52 378,281
5
63
54
Daddy Day Care
Sony
32,714 -35% 74 104,148,781
24
64
76
Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure
WGBH
30,139 86% 7 15,356,728
141
65
52
Winged Migration
Sony Classics
29,869 -47% 39 9,458,265
27
66
New
Returner
IDP
29,214 - 13 29,214
1
67
64
La Grande Seduction
Alliance
29,207 -3% 17 6,568,229
14
68
57
The Medallion
Sony
26,330 -39% 63 22,108,977
9
69
71
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
Imax
24,292 26% 6 46,226,517
260
70
82
Girls Will Be Girls
IFC
22,038 53% 11