..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Estimates
Grin and Bear It
Scary Movie 3 once again led the weekend box office with an estimated $21.3 million but the most chilling element for the frame was the detrimental impact of Halloween falling on a Friday evening. Business took a nose dive Friday and more than doubled the next day.
Though likely to be less affected than films targeting older audiences, Disney's animated Brother Bear decided to hold off its national debut until Saturday and thundered in with $11 million and a weekend estimated at $19.8 million. It was the sole new movie to debut in the nation though there were plenty of titles that bowed with limited exposure and several niche titles that had significant expansions.
Despite the speed bumps (including unseasonably warm weather on the East Coast), overall business should exceed $106 million for a comparatively small decline of 18% from last weekend. It's also off a slim 6% from 2002 when The Santa Clause 2 bowed to $23 million and the first weekend of I Spy claimed third spot with a disappointing $12.7 million.
It's been six years since Halloween fell on a Friday and in 1997 the new pictures in the marketplace were MGM's Red Corner and Switchback from Paramount. While much has changed in film going, the industry collectively braced itself for a soft Friday. Scary experienced a 75% drop Friday to Friday but Saturday to Saturday business declined by 44%. Similarly, the second weekend of Radio was down by 54% on comparative Fridays but declined just 10% on its second Saturday.
Apart from the impressive roar of Brother Bear, the top 10 movies remained consistent. The best of the limited releases was the launch of The Human Stain in key cities on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis that generated a respectable $1.1 million for a theater average of close to $6,700. Based on the numbers, the film's future will have to be very strategic, linked to awards and nominations from various organizations.
The reissue of 1979's Alien in a "Director's Version" for the fright fest holiday seemed a very canny move with appeal to young audiences and a film savvy crowd. It bowed Wednesday and grossed about $260,000 entering the weekend and added another $1 million from 347 engagements that should pave the way for upbeat DVD sales.
Another horror title, First Look's Suspended Animation curiously bowed on just three screens with virtually no advertising. While the distrib might have felt the picture's main appeal was on tape, the quality genre piece squandered its theatrical potential at a time when there was room for it in the marketplace.
Lions Gate's Shattered Glass stepped out in eight locations and grossed an encouraging $75,000 while the Sundance series' last entry, Die Mommie Die, was eyeing roughly $52,000 from 10 outings. It's the best bow of the Sundance quartet but overall the experiment has to be considered a major failure. Sundance is apparently committed to at least one more cycle and will have to seriously rethink selections and locations if it hopes to turn a corner.
The weekend's other major expansion - the Jane Campion-Meg Ryan thriller In the Cut - hit the wall with $2.2 million and an unprepossessing $2,700 theater average. The film never quite worked for either a mainstream or upscale crowd despite myriad commercial hooks for both audiences.
Weekend Estimates - October 31 - November 2, 2003
Scary Movie 3 -56% 3503 77.4 Brother Bear - 3030 20.2 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -22% 2970 66.6 Radio -22% 3074 26.9 The Runaway Jury -20% 2736 33.5 Mystic River -19% 1551 33.6 Kill Bill Vol. 1 -21% 2429 61.5 The School of Rock -26% 2786 69.6 Intolerable Cruelty -27% 1657 32.1 Good Boy -57% 2565 35.2 In the Cut - 825 2.1 Under the Tuscan Sun -25% 1142 39.9 Lost in Translation -18% 522 24.8 Beyond Borders -47% 1798 3.9 Out of Time -30% 1096 39.3 The Human Stain - 160 1.1 Alien: Director's Cut - 347 1.3 Secondand Lions -28% 794 41 The Rundown -44% 578 47 Underworld 146% 1351 52.6 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - % Change (Last Week) - Also Debuting/Expanding Pieces of April 47% 57 0.59 Sylvia 41% 109 0.54 Shattered Glass - 8 0.07 Die Mommie Die - 10 0.05 Suspended Animation - 3 0.01
Top Domestic Grossers - January 1- October 30, 2003
Title Finding Nemo 338,870,064 Pirates of the Caribbean 301,390,093 The Matrix Reloaded 281,519,061 Bruce Almighty 242,669,472 X2: X-Men United 214,949,694 Chicago * 167,542,538 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 150,371,112 Bad Boys II 138,505,637 Anger Management 135,645,823 Bringing Down the House 132,716,677 The Hulk 132,177,234 2 Fast 2 Furious 127,154,901 Lord of the Rings: Two Towers * 121,155,348 Seabiscuit 119,422,430 S.W.A.T. 116,569,118 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 110,993,481 Freaky Friday 108,651,627 The Italian Job 106,118,351 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 105,813,373 American Wedding 104,465,679 * does not include 2002 box office
Domestic Market Share - January 1- October 30, 2003
Distributor (releases) Buena vista (26) 18.40% Sony (24) 13.80% Universal (13) 11.60% Warner Bros. (18) 11.30% Fox (15) 7.90% Paramount (17) 7.90% Miramax (27) 7.30% New Line (14) 6.70% MGM (20) 4.90% DreamWorks (9) 3.70% Fox Searchlight (10) 1.60% Focus (8) 1.20% Lions Gate (17) 0.70% Other * (220) 3.00% 100.00% * none greater than .5%
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