..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
The Cash in the Hat
Universal's Seussical Cat in the Hat pulled out an estimated $39.4 million to handily take the weekend box office crown. The frame also featured a record breaking debut for a Dark Castle movie and a couple of excellent limited bows of films with both eyes on awards season.
Expectations were high for the screen adaptation of the beloved children's book and at least critically speaking there were saucers full of sour milk from the nation's critics, technical virtues aside. However, that merely mirrored the response to the prior Seuss movie Grinch. It was nonetheless a solid debut for The Cat in the Hat, especially in light of the dynamic performance of the similarly appealing Elf.
Also off to a fast start was the eerie Gothika with Halle Berry in second spot with roughly $19.5 million. The latest in the Dark Castle franchise (and the first not adapted from a B horror title) had the series highest grossing debut and, to the amazement of Warner execs initial exit polls pegged its audience as dominantly female and ethnic.
Despite strong openers and relatively good holdovers, overall business appeared to be roughly 12% off 2002's pace and should ring up about $137 million in ticket sales. A year ago the Bond Die Another Day (also with Berry) shot out with $47 million and Friday After Next ranked third with $13 million. Weekend reviews got a small 3% hiccup from a week earlier.
Elf once again held its own in the marketplace, slipping a slim 27% to rank third just behind Gothika with $19.3 million. The other film that's maintaining position is the comedy ensemble Love Actually that added about 500 theaters and saw a 3% rise to $9 million and a $31 million cume.
Conversely, the family titles that are struggling and worse are Disney's animated Brother Bear and the mixed format Looney Toons: Back in Action. Bear took a 50% plus hit this weekend and is likely to be rocked back when Haunted Mansion bows on Thanksgiving Day for a final tally around $85 million. Toons took a comparable weekend knock but never had the initial momentum of its cel mate and the pricey package won't come close to grossing its P & A budget.
The other film in choppy commercial waters is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It's sophomore session had a 43% drop from opening weekend and that's worrisome to Fox execs that hoped for better sea legs following 4-star reviews and excellent word-of-mouth. Though confidence reigns that the picture will figure prominently when awards are doled out, it's headed into rough waters in the next month as other contenders are launched in the marketplace.
The frame also included a couple of toe dips for ballyhooed critical titles. Focus's 21 Grams with Sean Penn weighed in with a dynamic $280,000 from eight screens for an impressive per engagement gross of $34,500. It will continue to expand cautiously in hopes of translating critical honors into commercial appeal for the grim tale of fate.
There was also positive news for Miramax/Alliance's Cannes-prized The Barbarian Invasions from Quebec in its first forays among English-language viewers. The lively rumination on life and death grossed about $75,000 from six U.S. and Canadian engagements following exceptional returns from Quebec and France that have totaled more than $12 million.
Weekend Estimates - November 21-23, 2003
Title The Cat in the Hat 38,329,160 3464 38,329,160 Gothika 19,288,438 2382 19,288,438 Elf 18,715,992 -29% 3381 94,732,626 Master and Commander 15,213,896 -40% 3101 47,279,725 Love Actually 8,644,555 -1% 1690 30,436,985 Matrix Revolutions 7,032,216 -57% 3024 125,382,792 Brother Bear 5,345,869 -56% 2885 70,322,073 Looney Toons: Back in Action 4,215,236 -55% 2903 14,891,610 Scary Movie 3 3,135,252 -49% 2359 106,469,358 Radio 2,618,254 -46% 1925 47,079,714 Mystic River 2,017,394 -38% 1250 48,556,414 Runaway Jury 1,485,169 -47% 1061 46,802,900 Tupac: Resurrection 1,116,099 -76% 804 6,647,524 The School of Rock 1,004,640 -45% 780 77,727,217 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 919,197 -65% 945 79,196,630 The Human Stain 701,709 25% 388 3,944,212 Kill Bill Vol. 1 565,486 -60% 398 68,417,240 Lost in Translation 531,787 -24% 228 28,061,165 The Station Agent 430,851 17% 156 2,756,317 Pirates of the Caribbean 421,857 -30% 375 304,175,582 Shattered Glass 370,643 53% 176 1,035,023 21 Grams 274,454 8 274,454 The Gospel of John 271,365 -26% 105 2,327,165 Intolerable Cruelty 273,310 -46% 302 34,763,815 Pieces of April 257,437 4% 95 1,579,812 Under the Tuscan Sun 237,028 -47% 241 42,500,878 Out of Time 151,316 -44% 260 40,766,941 The Fighting Temptations 127,024 111% 181 29,956,324 Good Boy 126,554 -55% 369 37,441,926 Elephant 116,885 -26% 35 855,355 The Rundown 83,595 -18% 176 47,485,020 Seabiscuit 83,415 -20% 139 120,026,455 Secondhand Lions 83,126 -30% 149 41,756,426 The Barbarian Invasions 74,379 6 5,189,236 Luther 72,400 -56% 80 5,666,046 Sylvia 71,816 -31% 60 1,119,051 Space Station 66,512 25% 16 45,157,035 In the Cut 58,262 -74% 79 4,717,455 Finding Nemo 50,581 -51% 168 339,666,356 My Architect 43,248 14% 2 110,595 To Be and To Have (Etre et avoir) 40,025 81% 9 522,310 Haunted Castle 39,234 -29% 6 7,794,162 Bubba Ho-Tep 36,705 -16% 21 933,824 Out of Control 36,486 12 36,486 American Splendor 35,056 -11% 38 5,977,550 Freaky Friday 33,994 -42% 75 108,935,440 S.W.A.T. 33,766 -36% 69 116,877,597 The Singing Detective 29,322 -22% 46 255,033 Matchstick Men 27,435 -46% 70 36,873,198 Wonderland 25,316 -56% 31 1,031,087 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 24,926 102% 101 111,087,355 Jeepers Creepers 2 23,372 -28% 32 35,623,801 Anything But Love 22,845 -7% 15 58,739 Die Mommie Die! 22,631 -37% 11 216,498 Gloomy Sunday 21,793 -21% 6 223,827 Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion 21,003 52% 11 224,419 The Book of Mormon Movie 20,846 -24% 19 1,064,914 My Life Without Me 19,906 1% 15 432,360 Ghosts of the Abyss 19,870 24% 10 15,125,971 Mambo Italiano 18,322 -46% 17 5,305,062 The Secret Lives of Dentists 17,556 -28% 10 3,658,681 Estimates
Title The Cat in the Hat - 3464 34.9 Gothika - 2382 19.5 Elf -27% 3381 95.2 Master and Commander -43% 3101 46.4 Love Actually 3% 1690 30.8 Matrix Revolutions -59% 3024 125.1 Brother Bear -56% 2885 70.2 Looney Toons: Back in Action -55% 2903 14.9 Scary Movie 3 -48% 2359 106.5 Radio -44% 1925 47.1 Mystic River -39% 1250 48.5 The Runaway Jury -45% 1061 46.8 The School of Rock -39% 780 77.8 Tupac: Resurrection -78% 804 6.5 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre -65% 945 79.2 The Human Stain 14% 388 3.9 Kill Bill Vol. 1 -57% 398 68.5 Lost in Translation -36% 228 28.1 Pirates of the Caribbean -16% 391 304.3 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - % Change (Last Week) - Also Debuting/Expanding 21 Grams - 8 0.27 Pieces of April -1% 95 1.55 Shattered Glass -3% 176 0.9 The Barbarian Invasions - 6 5.2