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Scary Movies 3: Mansion, Cat, Santa
It was definitely
good to be a family film as Haunted Mansion, The Cat in the
Hat and Elf dominated weekend movie going over the
Thanksgiving holiday frame. Together the trio accounted for more
than $100 million over the five-day period to corral roughly 46%
of total ticket sales for the span.
Though shy
of the record 2000 tally, the five days should generate roughly
$230 million with close to $170 million coming from the Friday
through Saturday portion. Overall that would represent an approximate
10% boost from 2002 when the top three were repped by sequels
to Harry Potter, James Bond and The Santa Clause
and the top freshman titles, Treasure Planet and 8 Crazy
Nights bowed with $12.1 million and $9.4 million respectively.
The holiday
was generally less kind to more adult fare, though the curmudgeonly
Bad Santa definitely hit a commercial nerve. There were
also strong first platform showings for a number of titles including
In America, a sturdy regional debut of Nez Rouge
in Quebec and the best Hindi bow of 2003 with Kal Ho Naa Ho.
The bow of
Disney's theme park derived film Haunted Mansion definitely
appeared to have a slight box office edge over Dr. Seuss's Cat
and the season's surprise blockbuster Elf. All three films
grossed between $22 million and $26 million during the conventional
weekend with Elf's cume rising to $130 million following
its weekend 16% sales increase.
Traditionally
family films tend to top the holiday period but in the past there's
also always been room for older appeal genre movies and that simply
wasn't in evidence this year. Neither the critically ravaged sci-fi
antics of Timeline nor positive reviews for the throwback
oater The Missing - both debuting Wednesday - managed to
gain an audience toe hold. The western corralled $11.6 million
and the time travel yarn trailed with $8.4 million.
Both movies
were bettered by the profane, mean spirited Bad Santa with
a $12.4 million gross from more than 700 fewer theaters. The film
is definitely shaping up as the alternative seasonal entry, generating
the type of diffuse response that could be a real commercial asset.
Other adult
oriented fare that was weathering the wave of new entries well
included Master and Command that slipped a modest 18% and
Love Actually with a slight 2% upturn in business.
The weekend
also saw excellent response to sneak previews for both The
Last Samurai and Cheaper by the Dozen. Samurai, opening
next weekend, had a record capacity attendance of 95% for a Warner
Bros. title and strong recommends in exit polls. Dozen also scored
high in both areas.
Second weekend
results for award contender 21 Grams were also positive
with the addition of 65 venues and a $1 million box office and
$13,660 engagement average.
Emerging from
a generally fallow year, the Hindi circuit appeared to have a
major winner in Kal Ho Naa Ho, a Manhattan-set musical
drama centered on a family of mixed religious beliefs. It was
eying close to $600,000 from 52 theaters. Nez Rouge's (Red
Nose) $350,000 opener in Quebec is a strong candidate to be the
fifth $1 million local grosser in the province - an unprecedented
feat. The romantic comedy also has a Christmas theme.
Following
a year long run on the festival circuit, Jim Sheridan's
critically lauded In America bowed on 11 screens and had
an impressive $190,000 weekend gross. Also dynamic was the adult
animated Triplets of Belleville that was a surprise success
at Cannes. It grossed $110,000 from six venues. Bowing to thumbs
up reviews, The Cooler was a torrid contender with $130,000
from 11 screens and the Oscar short listed documentary My Flesh
and Blood had fair response of $16,440 from five engagements.
- by Leonard
Klady
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