..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Stuck in the Middle
Something's Gotta Give, the adult comedy starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, ascended to the top of weekend movie going with an estimated $16.6 million. The frame also saw a better than anticipated hold for The Last Samurai and fair debuts for a couple of national releases and encouraging limited bows of Oscar hopefuls.
Overall box office had that traditional mid-December sluggishness that could have only been relieved by the premiere of a major seasonal nugget. The frame's final tally should ring up slightly more than $90 million for a slight decline of 5% from the immediate prior weekend. Business was down 11% from 2002 when top spot was a battle between freshmen entries Maid in Manhattan and Star Trek: Nemesis with the former edging ahead by $200,000 with $18.7 million.
Something's Gotta Give, not surprisingly, drew a plus 25 audience that was predominantly female. Its strength was accentuated by the absence of any other film targeted to that demographic and bodes well for the sort of success As Good As It Gets had at this time of year in 1997. Despite the traditional distractions and obligations this time of year brings, it's adult appeal movies that are sustaining best in the marketplace. The inarguable holiday surprise has been Bad Santa that started out as a sophisticated draw and has since captured the attention of a younger crowd.
The $10 million debut of the Farrelly Brothers eccentric comedy Stuck on You was unremarkable, suggesting the film could easily get lost in the barrage of new movies arriving before the end of the year. The urban comedy Love Don't Cost a Thing was also undistinguished, grossing $6.8 million and likely to be in and out of theaters by the end of the year.
Though expected to take a 50% hit, The Last Samurai had still been given a slight edge on the Nicholson-Keaton comedy. It declined by 41% to rank second with $14.4 million and has a 10-day gross of $47 million. Warner Bros. will have to maintain an aggressive campaign to keep it on track for a $100 million box office and push hard for major Oscar attention.
New Line's re-issue of the second installment of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers that paves the way for next week's finale proved a bit more potent than last weekend's chapter one redux. It grossed about $660,000 from 126 engagements. Advance response and media coverage of The Return of the King certainly bodes well for it becoming the seasonal box office champion. It's also fair to say that sentiment favors the film to take home the Oscar and the company has shrewdly positioned its awards campaign to take in the full achievement of all three films.
The frame also saw a very good six screen bow for Big Fish that also hopes to cover itself in award glory. A Wednesday opener, the emotional shaggy dog yarn grossed $74,000 going into the weekend and added $212,000 for a $35,300 weekend average.
Lions Gate's bow of Girl with a Pearl Earring was also positive with a $91,000 B.O. from seven easels. However, The Statement starring Michael Caine was very soft with a $33,000 tally from six screens.
The seasonally themed family film Blizzard debuted in Canada with not enough ho-ho heft at $130,000 at 106 theaters. The live-action, animated combo tale is centered around a new recruit for Santa's team of reindeer.
Weekend Finals - December 12-14, 2003
Title Weekend Something's Gotta Give 16,064,723 - 2677 16,064,723 The Last Samurai 14,087,074 -42% 2908 46,874,330 Stuck on You 9,411,055 - 3003 9,411,055 Love Don't Cost a Thing 6,315,311 - 1844 6,315,311 The Haunted Mansion 6,139,023 -35% 3001 53,749,464 Elf 6,017,341 -25% 2876 147,507,398 Bad Santa 6,012,550 -14% 2540 35,715,007 Honey 4,860,975 -62% 1972 19,776,370 The Cat in the Hat 4,166,590 -42% 2955 90,728,185 Gothika 2,725,221 -48% 2382 53,933,915 Master and Commander 2,381,479 -36% 1623 76,192,090 Love Actually 2,114,095 -41% 1566 52,171,570 The Missing 1,516,818 -62% 2083 24,680,041 Timeline 869,644 -68% 1915 18,519,185 Lord of the Rings: Two Towers 727,645 - 126 340,478,898 Matrix Revolutions 722,041 -47% 633 136,924,212 Brother Bear 655,405 -48% 1031 80,460,136 Mystic River 397,403 -36% 410 52,526,351 21 Grams 322,069 -36% 74 2,906,214 In America 275,435 92% 47 803,254 Santa vs. the Snowman 244,019 - 44 1,491,673 Looney Toons: Back in Action 231,252 -57% 455 19,757,206 Lost in Translation 217,008 -24% 148 29,649,058 The Station Agent 211,189 -25% 195 4,087,365 Big Fish 207,377 - 6 281,795 Kal Ho Naa Ho 160,832 -47% 43 1,653,338 Radio 155,279 -61% 285 50,861,262 Nez rouge 150,596 -23% 76 860,906 Freaky Friday 149,447 -20% 244 109,748,438 Blizzard 145,525 - 136 145,525 Runaway Jury 124,865 -48% 257 48,636,984 Girl with a Pearl Earring 89,079 - 7 89,079 Shattered Glass 88,079 -43% 123 1,926,071 The School of Rock 85,135 -42% 152 79,003,723 Pirates of the Caribbean 84,836 -49% 213 305,267,970 Scary Movie 3 83,206 -62% 228 109,006,565 The Human Stain 83,183 -56% 144 5,230,216 Kill Bill Vol. 1 80,433 -36% 113 69,422,663 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 73,644 -34% 165 80,060,859 Pieces of April 71,030 -35% 101 2,235,467 The Gospel of John 69,153 -45% 80 2,984,378 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 65,093 -30% 208 111,489,436 The Legend of Johnny Lingo 55,770 -24% 6 938,044 Intolerable Cruelty 49,450 -23% 157 35,168,575 Space Station 46,652 -18% 18 45,611,296 The Cooler 45,419 -40% 11 372,020 The Triplets of Belleville 44,805 -23% 6 305,219 Duplex 39,992 - 113 9,652,000 Elephant 38,348 -25% 36 1,140,604 The Barbarian Invasions 37,822 -25% 12 5,428,189 Secondhand Lions 36,927 -13% 103 41,988,596 Once Upon a Time in Mexico 35,997 -40% 94 56,292,921 Under the Tuscan Sun 35,327 -48% 95 42,934,744 The Statement 34,128 - 7 34,128 Bubba Ho-Tep 29,002 -44% 19 1,102,082 Out of Time 27,446 -12% 58 40,998,687 The Fighting Temptations 25,943 -49% 69 30,213,026 Pride & Prejudice 25,828 -20% 18 81,351 Gloomy Sunday 25,232 38% 15 312,133 The Rundown 25,197 -17% 42 47,678,160 My Architect 22,830 -11% 2 250,718 Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion 22,688 8% 15 328,637 Sylvia 22,343 1% 41 1,273,754 Haunted Castle 21,750 -21% 5 7,910,536 Weekend Estimates - December 12-14, 2003
Title % change Theaters Cume Something's Gotta Give = 2677 16.6 The Last Samurai -41% 2908 47.2 Stuck on You = 3003 10 Love Don't Cost a Thing = 1844 6.8 Haunted Mansion -32% 3001 54 Bad Santa -11% 2540 36 Elf -25% 2876 147.5 Honey -61% 1972 20 The Cat in the Hat -40% 2955 90.9 Gothika -46% 1806 54 Master and Commander -35% 1623 76.2 Love Actually -35% 1566 52.4 The Missing -63% 2083 24.7 Timeline -67% 1915 18.5 Matrix Revolutions -40% 633 137 Lord of Rings: Two Towers (reiss = 126 0.66 Brother Bear -49% 1031 80.5 = Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) = % Change (Last Year) = % Change (Last Week) = = Also Debuting/Expanding = In America 89% 47 0.8 Big Fish = 6 0.28 Bl