..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Is That a Bushido Blade in Your Pocket … ?
The Last Samurai cut a neat swath estimated at $23.9 million to claim the weekend box office crown. It wasn't quite the potent entry expected within the industry, whether one factored in Eastern seaboard snowstorms or not. Still, it was a record bow for a post-Thanksgiving/early December that traditionally is among the handful of worst business weekends of the year.
The frame also saw the national bow of Honey to an excellent result of $14.4 million to rank second overall, and a couple of specialized debuts. However, the post-holiday box office blahs are one tough tradition to break. Current and past efforts to prop up the DMZ between Thanksgiving and Christmas have never produced a type of commercial breakout that would encourage situating vaunted movies early in the month.
Superficially, the period epic Last Samurai shaped up as a film with the potential to open to more than $30 million. It has size, action and a film star with close to a pristine commercial record. However, early previews and tracking surveys indicated that neither the response nor the anticipation was anywhere close to blockbuster level. Warner Bros. decided to do national sneak previews to bolster interest and appeared to have successfully set in motion very positive word-of-mouth.
It's difficult to precisely pinpoint the resistance to the Tom Cruise vehicle, but there is a knee-jerk negative response among core viewers to period pieces and the actor's distaff fans were wary of the film's quotient of violence. Add to that inclement weather that likely translated into $2 million to $3 million in lost revenue and the likely result is that a concerted effort will be necessary to push the film to a $100 million domestic gross.
Honey, the latest feel good female empowerment yarn, had more modest and successful aspirations. It targeted a specific, currently under served, audience and rang up impressive business. The gross of the Universal release, along with Cat in the Hat and Love Actually propelled the studio to 2003 revenues of more than $1 billion on Saturday. Universal is the fourth studio to record 10-figure domestic theatrical revenues this year and it's the first time that many majors have reached that vaunted level.
Weekend business experienced a sharp 40% drop from Thanksgiving and should wind up with a record first weekend December tally of roughly $98 million. It's a 15% improvement on 2002 when the third weekend of Die Another Day led the field with a $12.8 box office and the top freshmen were Analyze That with $11 million and $6.3 million for fourth ranked Empire.
Virtually all holdover titles experienced box office erosion of between 60% and 70%. The comparative bright spot was Bad Santa with a 44% drop that placed it sixth overall and positioned the mean-spirited, profane and disarmingly comic tale as the alternative viewing choice at the multiplex.
Saturday sneak previews of the adult comedy Something's Gotta Give with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson were "excellent" in every way according to a Sony rep. The sneaks drew an 80% plus overall capacity and a predominantly 25 and older audience that gave a two thumbs verdict regardless of gender.
Paving the way for the final installment of The Lord of the Rings, New Line unfurled the expanded first episode for a locked week run in 126 theaters and a not too shabby $430,000 weekend. Sony Classics' Oscar qualifying run of Monsieur Ibrahim with Omar Sharif was just fair with a $13,100 gross from two venues.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mukasey's decision in favor of the plaintiffs against the Motion Picture Association of America screener embargo may well be the hollowest of victories for the so-called independent movement.
For starters MPAA president Jack Valenti has stated that the organization will appeal the decision and that's resulted in a state of stasis at several of the majors. Officers of the Los Angeles Film Critics, attempting to find out whether they would receive screeners as a result of the decision, were largely met with "discussions are taking place" responses and call back on Monday.
Anecdote and rumor were the order of the day. Reports of deliveries to members of several critics groups of films handled by Sony Classics and Focus were reported. The indication was that a number of distributors were in the process of having encoded VHS tapes produced and that members of the Hollywood Foreign Press would be given top priority as the copies rolled off the assembly line.
There were also unsubstantiated tales of the majors preparing deliveries of high profile titles as a defense against the animus that's grown since the September 30 edict. And that several specialized divisions eager to have videos of their award worthy movies have been told from the highest levels to curb their enthusiasm at least for the moment.
The screener ban may have begun as an easy means of swatting a fly but can now be classified as an epic saga that easily surpasses the entire Rings trilogy in length, complexity and hideous characters.
Regardless of outcome, a couple of things have emerged as inarguable. Heading the list is something that can only be described as a crisis in management. The people with supreme authority are exerting it often without consultation and the resulting acrimony doesn't paint a particularly harmonious picture of life in a time of media giants. There are even tales of division among the member reps of the MPAA and its clear several consider this method of combating piracy to be ultimately more detrimental than beneficial to the way business is conducted in Hollywood.
It can also be argued that the preservation and health of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been given a priority status. The MPAA concession to the Academy may have initially been perceived as a means of resolving a sticky situation. However, it evolved into quite a different scenario when groups and organizations stepped up ready to make comparable arrangements and found themselves ultimately rebuffed on the most spurious of reasons. Again, the MPAA proved itself tactically inept.
The area where the MPAA has been successful, albeit unintentionally, is in the creation of an elaborate smoke screen. Lost in the sturm und drang of the screener debate is the fact that there is little on a quality level worth this sort of fight. The individual titles potentially most vulnerable to piracy are not likely to be among the most honored movies of 2003. Granted, the studios can ill afford to send out that signal by absenting them from "for your consideration" mailings. So, limiting their exposure or creating an environment in which decisions can be made on an emotional and possibly irrational basis may indeed serve the best interests of the film industry.
Weekend Finals - December 5-7, 2003
Title The Last Samurai 24,271,354 - 2908 24,271,354 Honey 12,856,040 - 1942 12,856,040 The Haunted Mansion 9,394,185 -61% 3122 45,974,409 Elf 8,026,797 -63% 3119 139,527,719 The Cat in the Hat 7,141,855 -71% 3409 85,297,270 Bad Santa 7,014,010 -43% 2091 27,138,311 Gothika 5,250,356 -59% 2382 49,545,578 The Missing 4,034,563 -63% 2756 21,805,272 Master and Commander 3,722,008 -69% 2344 72,555,668 Love Actually 3,561,360 -57% 1672 48,743,275 Timeline 2,729,568 -68% 2787 16,797,982 Matrix Revolutions 1,352,380 -72% 1257 135,673,369 Brother Bear 1,259,466 -74% 1616 79,475,621 Mystic River 622,480 -61% 505 51,900,754 Looney Toons: Back in Action 531,429 -79% 1010 19,435,770 21 Grams 502,327 -49% 74 2,388,710 Fellowship of the Ring (reissue) 473,463 - 126 313,837,577 Radio 401,494 -76% 515 50,607,991 Kal Ho Naa Ho 303,623 -60% 51 1,468,203 Lost in Translation 283,758 -48% 156 29,310,562 The Station Agent 282,859 -38% 209 3,754,896 Runaway Jury 241,346 -66% 337 48,424,561 Scary Movie 3 218,739 -80% 473 108,874,375 Nez rouge 195,725 -27% 90 610,206 The Human Stain 188,290 -63% 233 5,061,094 Freaky Friday 186,638 -36% 276 109,554,473 Pirates of the Caribbean 165,101 -62% 283 305,132,644 Shattered Glass 154,266 -60% 142 1,780,704 The School of Rock 146,742 -71% 302 78,875,072 In America 143,380 -30% 11 471,347 The Gospel of John 126,628 -37% 99 2,849,613 Kill Bill Vol. 1 124,871 -62% 147 69,272,523 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 111,347 -60% 195 79,952,260 Pieces of April 108,865 -57% 94 2,122,525 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 93,295 -39% 227 111,404,029 The Cooler 75,699 -41% 11 291,603 The Legend of Johnny Lingo 72,963 - 10 827,627 Under the Tuscan Sun 67,797 -57% 119 42,867,889 Intolerable Cruelty 64,350 -54% 143 35,096,190 Once Upon a Time in Mexico 60,021 -40% 124 56,228,670 The Triplets of Belleville 57,907 -46% 6 233,655 Space Station 56,549 -38% 17 45,481,306 Bubba Ho-Tep 51,670 17% 25 1,048,196 The Fighting Temptations 51,184 -48% 99 30,173,739 Elephant 50,841 -36% 36 1,075,386 The Barbarian Invasions 50,125 -24% 10 5,366,721 Tupac: Resurrection 50,041 -87% 106 7,646,264 Secondhand Lions 42,416 -40% 108 41,935,765 Pride & Prejudice 32,329 - 18 32,329 Out of Time 31,306 -60% 81 40,950,861 The Rundown 30,318 -54% 71 47,641,743 To Be and To Have (Etre et avoir) 27,670 -37% 10 628,885 Haunted Castle 27,500 -17% 5 7,877,886 Seabiscuit 26,528 -63% 61 120,197,488 My Architect 25,617 -27% 3 221,220 Sylvia 22,041 -45% 33 1,235,406 Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion 21,062 -29% 13 296,752 Good Boy 20,103 -74% 103 37,603,336 Gloomy Sunday 18,228 -4% 7 277,423
Weekend Estimates - December 5-7, 2003
Title Distributor % change Theaters Cume The Last Samurai WB - 2908 23.9 Honey Uni - 1942 14.4 Haunted Mansion BV -62% 3122 45.9 Elf New Line -63% 3119 139.4 The Cat in the Hat Uni -70% 3409 85.5 Bad Santa Miramax -44% 2091 27 Gothika WB -59% 2205 49.5 The Missing Sony -61% 2756 21.9 Master and Commander Fox -68% 2344 72.6 Love Actually Uni -56% 1672 48.8 Timeline Par -68% 2787 16.8 Matrix Revolutions WB -69% 1257 135.8 Brother Bear BV -76% 1616 79.4 Mystic River WB -57% 505 52 Looney Toons: Back in Action WB -79% 1010 19.4 21 Grams Focus -48% 74 2.4 - Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - - % Change (Last Week) - - Also Debuting/Expanding - Lord of the Rings: Fellowship New Line - 126 313.7 Nez Rouge Cristal -28% 93 0.61 In America Fox Searchlight -28% 11 0.47 Monsieur Ibrahim Sony Classics - 2 0.01
Top Worldwide Releases - January 1- December 4, 2003
Title Gross The Matrix Reloaded 735,805,554 Pirates of the Caribbean