..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Grin and Bear It
The Uprising at the box office wasn't simply a Matrix revolution, though Matrix Revolutions estimated weekend gross of $50.3 million accounted for about one-third of North American moviegoing. Also working a considerable amount of box office magic were the debuts of Elf and Love Actually and generally very good holds for the most popular films in the marketplace.
Matrix Revolutions had a jump start on the weekend, debuting Wednesday in most of the world and grossing $35.3 million domestically in its first two days. Industry expectations were that the final chapter of the trilogy would ring up $100 million but Warner Bros.' execs had more modest expectations based on tracking and previews and are hoping Revolutions will perform at about a 75% level to Reloaded and creep to a $200 million box office in North America by the end of the year, and generate more than $1 billion worldwide for the two films.
Similarly, international estimates should tally to $119 million for the five days.
"I'm just floored by the efforts and results," said producer Joel Silver. "Certainly part of the reason we opened this wide was to put a crimp on piracy and it looks to have been very effective."
WB domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said he wasn't aware of any camcorder versions of the film in circulation yet, though there have been at least four instances of people caught attempting to record off the screen. He said the company will pursue criminal lawsuits as a result.
Internationally, Matrix Revolutions has proved more potent, just as Reloaded ultimately outpaced domestic by 60%. Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, international distribution president, said that it is both the widest (109 territories) and largest grossing day-and-date debut in history including the first simultaneous bow in China and the widest opening for a film in Russia.
Warner sister New Line more than made up for any marginal Matrix slack with considerably better than impish returns of $31.8 million for the holiday comedy Elf. Tracking was solid on the fairy tale but ticket sales were considerably greater than anticipated, suggesting that the film is playing to a pre-teen crowd it was uncertain would kick in on the opening weekend. The presence of Disney's animated Brother Bear was seen as siphoning off a younger audience but both films played well with the latter movie corralling about $18.4 million for a solid hold in its second weekend of wide release.
Also unexpectedly above projections was Universal's Love Actually with $6.6 million and a theater average of $11,500. Studio tracking and past performances of similar fare had prognosticators shooting for an engagement average of $7,500 to $8,000 that would have translated into a $4.5 million debut.
Overall business shot up considerably from last weekend with ticket sales of close to $160 million. That would translate into a 56% boost and grosses 8% better than in 2002. A year ago, 8 Mile bowed to a staggering $51.2 million but lacked the support of other strong freshmen titles.
Among the continuing fare, it's clear that last month's savage assault of violent pix are experiencing the harshest cuts. Nonetheless, Scary Movie 3's humorous edge will translate into a $120 million plus gross and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will push toward $90 million. Kill Bill Vol. 1 could also slice off a $75 million box office and, if it conforms to recent trends, will be hard pressed to deliver better than $60 million for Vol. 2 in February.
Both Mystic River and Runaway Jury have proven themselves resilient to date but the coming weeks are likely to take a toll as titles with comparable appeal become more prevalent and eat away at each film's print count. Thus far, the adult crowd hasn't twigged to Beyond Borders, In the Cut and The Human Stain that all appear to be early casualties of awards season.
Anticipating a Matrix deluge, the frame was light for both niche premieres and expansions in that arena. The nascent distrib Arenaplex offered up the non-fiction Billabong Odyssey on 27 screens and rendered a dull $51,500 response while Menemsha opened the Hungarian Gloomy Sunday in four locations for a fair $12,200, following a single run in a Chicago suburb that generated in excess of $130,000.
Among expansions, the Cannes-prized Elephant added 25 playdates and theater averages of close to $6,000 while the ethically challenged Shattered Glass expanded from 8 to 35 venues and had a $4,500 theater average.
Weekend Finals - November 7-9, 2003
Title Matrix Revolutions 48,475,154 - 3502 83,790,000 Elf 31,113,501 - 3337 31,113,501 Brother Bear 18,526,927 -5% 3030 44,022,400 Scary Movie 3 10,812,152 -46% 3288 93,057,613 Radio 7,215,307 -25% 2811 33,514,880 Love Actually 6,886,080 - 576 6,886,080 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4,939,582 -54% 2378 73,361,552 Mystic River 4,787,247 -23% 1581 40,435,817 Runaway Jury 4,671,818 -28% 2133 39,996,753 The School of Rock 3,026,851 -33% 1982 73,472,323 Kill Bill Vol. 1 2,322,779 -49% 1681 64,797,396 In the Cut 971,409 -53% 825 3,937,912 Lost in Translation 942,992 -24% 380 26,244,243 Intolerable Cruelty 913,915 -63% 672 33,514,880 Under the Tuscan Sun 820,909 -52% 574 41,258,112 Good Boy 763,070 -66% 1274 36,585,101 The Human Stain 762,379 -24% 187 2,177,471 Pirates of the Caribbean 664,433 53% 472 302,609,731 Out of Time 451,422 -58% 506 40,092,217 The Gospel of John 347,745 111% 92 1,398,681 The Station Agent 331,368 -2% 101 1,700,667 Secondhand Lions 301,883 -55% 355 41,407,470 Pieces of April 254,855 9% 82 892,598 Alien: The Director's Cut 254,715 -75% 331 1,798,175 Luther 246,620 -41% 190 5,216,282 Elephant 182,042 221% 31 408,262 Finding Nemo 180,158 -38% 266 339,424,646 Sylvia 161,507 -27% 95 813,280 Shattered Glass 157,853 103% 35 269,898 Seabiscuit 133,590 -6% 183 119,749,905 The Rundown 124,835 -75% 240 47,199,970 Beyond Borders 124,454 -88% 756 4,275,208 Matchstick Men 94,071 -37% 201 36,729,823 The Fighting Temptations 83,558 -58% 104 29,732,109 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star 78,504 1023% 156 22,646,648 Cold Creek Manor 77,820 -40% 168 21,256,619 Space Station 70,412 17% 20 44,779,895 Haunted Castle 67,305 2% 6 7,649,668 S.W.A.T. 65,758 -28% 117 116,741,990 Wonderland 62,606 -12% 86 879,048 Sur le seuil 57,441 -31% 48 1,581,800 The Singing Detective 56,857 93% 44 138,915 Freaky Friday 55,583 -24% 106 108,802,092 Billabong Odyssey 54,000 - 27 54,000 Bubba Ho-Tep 51,698 -18% 21 808,104 Freddy vs. Jason 45,160 -51% 70 82,556,855 Die Mommie Die! 45,111 -17% 10 123,381 House of the Dead 39,899 -81% 79 10,199,354 Cabin Fever 38,992 -58% 70 21,065,169 Jeepers Creepers 2 38,642 -49% 67 35,545,127 Veronica Guerin 38,476 -58% 51 1,511,180 Open Range 37,000 -39% 74 58,260,046 American Splendor 34,636 -8% 63 5,863,478 Underworld 34,220 -92% 116 51,604,860 Mambo Italiano 29,094 -53% 39 5,223,306 My Life Without Me 27,812 8% 26 345,067 Dirty Pretty Things 27,719 -7% 23 7,953,388 Winged Migration 27,320 -16% 28 9,605,106 Bruce Almighty 27,101 -15% 42 242,743,849 Bad Boys II 23,905 -32% 49 138,579,054 Party Monster 22,495 135% 13 669,859 The Revolution Will Not Be Telecast 22,309 38% 4 42,432 To Be and To Have (Etre et avoir) 21,126 21% 6 438,694 Once Upon a Time in Mexico 20,988 -57% 32 55,961,988 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 20,003 2% 7 46,370,222 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 18,423 -5% 48 111,035,662 La Face cachee de la lune 17,759 -14% 7 118,164 Weekend Estimates - November 7-9, 2003
Title % change Theaters Cume Matrix Revolutions - 3502 85.6 Elf - 3337 31.8 Brother Bear -5% 3030 43.7 Scary Movie 3 -47% 3286 92.9 Radio -27% 3074 25.9 Love Actually -- 576 6.6 Mystic River -23% 1581 40.4 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -56% 2378 73.2 The Runaway Jury -28% 2133 40 The School of Rock -26%