| January 4, 2004 |
| Dec 28, 2003 |
| Dec 21, 2003 |
| Dec 14, 2003 |
| Dec 7, 2003 |
..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Polly Wolly Doodle All Weekend
Along Came Polly and the rest followed. The Ben Stiller-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy arrived in theaters Friday to reviews that ranged from tepid to vitriolic and the public flocked to get a dose of low brow humor. The film was a clear winner with an estimated $32.8 million for the four-day Martin Luther King holiday frame.
The debut was the biggest for a January arrival and that, sadly, tells a lot about the sort of films that traditionally open at the start of a new year. It also once again underlines the old saw about movie going being product driven and how a popular title will perform regardless of its position on the calendar.
However, despite its heady bow and in light of two other disappointing national arrivals, overall business declined by roughly 9% from 2003 when Just Married led the field with a $17.5 million weekend. The holiday span should generate about $137 million and that's roughly 9% better than last weekend's ticket sales.
Second spot was a much closer tussle between The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kings and Big Fish with early estimates favoring the former by a whisker and at $12.6 million. Actuals could well tell a different tale Tuesday.
Torque was neither fast nor furious as it entered the marketplace lapped by the competition with an estimated $11.8 million weekend. It was uninspired programmer fare with dim hopes of recreating the commercial potency of films that inspired its production. Still it functioned on a couple of pistons which is a demonstrably better fate than was accorded Disney's animated Teacher's Pet that sputtered into an unlucky 13th place finish with $3.2 million. It was a grim fate for the family imprimatur that has experienced lower than anticipated response to its most recent in-house productions.
The period also saw a trio of films - Something's Gotta Give, The Last Samurai, The Cat in the Hat - climb past $100 million. But only the Keaton-Nicholson romantic comedy has the utz of a commercial success. A recent piece on Samurai outlined how the film would make back its money and quoted Warner Bros.' pictures co-president Alan Horn as characterizing its domestic theatrical performance as "disappointing." Cat also came with the sort of hefty price tag that makes its box office not quite enough and ancillary revenues all important.
The weekend also provided a couple of niche newcomers in limited openings. The Japanese anime Tokyo Godfathers grossed about $36,000 from eight engagements while Crimson Gold from Iran rendered $17,500 from two screens. Both results were respectable if undistinguished.
Continuing limited release titles appeared to be biding time until the announcement of Oscar nominees on January 27. Films including In America, House of Sand and Fog and 21 Grams are all in that precarious state of a virtual death sentence should they be excluded from the party and no guarantee of a second wind at the box office even if they corral nominations in key categories. However, if audience interest is any sort of bellwether, the makers of Monster and Girl with a Pearl Earring have the best reason to be optimistic about the future.
A Few Notes About Foreign Gross
Unlike the domestic marketplace, tracking the rest of the world's film business is less precise. The reasons are not simply acquiring accurate figures for such problematic territories as India, Russia and China though it's a significant factor in calculations.
Tracking North American box office has evolved in the past decade from being able to profile 95% of activity to a near perfect 99% handle on business. There's no question that identifying revenues from international markets has also improved demonstrably but the survey from which current assessments are made likely represents between 88% and 90% of overseas box office. As a result, comparisons are based on comparable annual samplings and whereas 2003 domestic revenues increased less than 1%, foreign box office improved by better than 5%.
International business is still only slightly better than in the U.S. and Canada and there's little indication that the gap between the two will grow more than a couple of percent on an annual basis. The Hollywood majors dominate worldwide with only Japan, India, South Korea and France demonstrating competitive and on-going strength at home. International sales companies including Intermedia, Lakeshore and Summit continue to live and die based on annual slates that continue to erode as a result of studios increasingly partnering with other studios.
It should also be noted that figures for both Buena Vista and Warner Bros. International tend to blur because of activity by their respective sisters Miramax and New Line. Both parents distribute films from their affiliates in key territories but for purposes of divvying up market share, the chart generally credits revenues on the basis of which company serves as the sales agent. It is admittedly imperfect and other methods could result in individual market shares varying by as much as +/- 2%.
Weekend Finals - January 16-19, 2004
Title Weekend % Change Theaters Cume Along Came Polly 32,450,825 - 2984 32,450,825 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 12,447,761 -28% 3003 329,040,393 Big Fish 12,336,971 -25% 2514 39,888,222 Cheaper by the Dozen 11,873,331 -24% 3025 115,075,464 Torque 11,442,203 - 2463 11,442,203 Cold Mountain 7,945,318 -14% 2836 65,965,857 Something's Gotta Give 6,721,767 -25% 2502 101,683,127 My Baby's Daddy 4,433,788 -51% 1448 13,174,496 Calendar Girls 3,864,120 -15% 967 18,002,429 The Last Samurai 3,707,472 -31% 1403 102,583,643 Disney's Teacher's Pet 3,602,245 - 2027 3,602,245 Chasing Liberty 3,453,487 -54% 2400 10,677,289 Peter Pan 3,149,590 -47% 1649 43,968,270 Paycheck 2,967,416 -51% 1984 50,894,692 Mona Lisa Smile 2,553,361 -51% 1836 60,913,606 Monster 1,805,095 79% 221 3,562,736 The Cooler 1,330,763 267% 396 3,751,701 21 Grams 1,278,497 -15% 411 10,934,562 House of Sand and Fog 1,227,002 -27% 598 9,261,494 In America 1,027,209 -6% 286 8,001,848 Lost in Translation 927,762 3% 366 33,748,834 The Haunted Mansion 612,055 -55% 446 72,529,828 Master and Commander 576,187 -23% 306 84,823,203 The Young Black Stallion 558,912 14% 51 3,463,344 Girl with a Pearl Earring 544,225 42% 51 1,947,052 Mystic River 403,122 1% 133 55,315,693 Stuck on You 348,588 -71% 579 33,156,824 Love Actually 330,825 -34% 238 58,613,490 Brother Bear 303,584 -23% 327 84,063,654 The Cat in the Hat 302,365 -35% 334 100,253,365 Elf 287,520 -56% 273 172,132,026 Bad Santa 276,341 -77% 389 59,230,390 Love Don't Cost a Thing 240,798 -64% 265 21,404,278 Matrix Revolutions 234,434 88% 319 138,737,892 Honey 218,960 -48% 238 29,709,220 The Company 204,260 163% 43 647,720 The Legend of Johnny Lingo 196,196 -27% 19 1,673,997 The School of Rock 194,362 -24% 182 80,791,630 The Triplets of Belleville 192,290 -1% 36 2,782,629 Radio 148,471 -11% 148 52,173,361 Gothika 137,649 -43% 137 58,771,320 Timeline 128,952 557% 165 19,277,033 The Station Agent 119,499 13% 67 5,141,328 The Fog of War 93,701 17% 9 500,542 Scary Movie 3 92,329 -28% 140 109,838,872 The Battle of Algiers (reissue) 83,645 -1% 7 188,820 Looney Toons: Back in Action 78,375 -41% 162 20,904,494 The Missing 77,832 -6% 96 26,327,890 Alexander's Project 76,657 -31% 29 474,254 Space Station 76,381 -5% 15 46,627,163 Runaway Jury 73,352 -22% 106 49,238,110 The Gospel of John 58,766 557% 28 3,169,753 The Statement 56,935 -29% 51 461,486 Bugs! 50,403 -26% 15 4,541,259 My Architect 46,642 -25% 6 502,754 Nez rouge 45,093 -52% 36 2,004,814 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 39,908 2% 57 80,390,022 Under the Tuscan Sun 37,968 -53% 68 43,540,269 Tokyo Godfathers 37,127 - 8 37,127 The Barbarian Invasions 36,270 -31% 12 6,040,762 Kill Bill Vol. 1 33,797 -13% 30 69,764,145 Japanese Story 30,661 83% 5 94,287 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over 26,544 5% 32 111,733,000 The Home Teachers 26,185 -45% 19 91,820 Shattered Glass 21,924 -17% 25 2,183,309 Gloomy Sunday 21,305 -1 8 481,207 Annie Brocoli dans les fonds marin 19,280 -42% 33 374,360
Estimates - January 16-19, 2004
Title % change Theaters Cume Along Came Polly - 2984 32.8 Lord of the Rings: Return of King -28% 3003 329.2 Big Fish -22% 2514 40 Torque - 2463 11.8 Cheaper By the Dozen -22% 3025 114.1 Cold Mountain -14% 2802 66 Something's Gotta Give -20% 2502 101.8 My Baby's Daddy -50% 1448 13.1 Calendar Girls -14% 967 17.9 The Last Samurai -32% 1403 102.6 Chasing Liberty -54% 2400 10.5 Paycheck -44% 1984 51.2 Teacher's Pet - 2027 3.2 Peter Pan -46% 1659 43.5 Mona Lisa Smile -49% 1836 60.9 Monster 71% 214 3.5 21 Grams -13% 411 10.9 The Cooler 251% 396 3.7 House of Sand and Fog -28% 598 9.2 In America -11% 286 8.1 Lost in Translation -5% 366 33.7 Master and Commander -7% 306 84.8 Girl with a Pearl Earring 29% 51 1.9 Haunted Mansion -45% 446 72.4 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - % Change (Last Week)