The Weekend Report - by Leonard Klady

Weekend Finals
2003 Canada Grosses & Market Share
2003 International Boxoffice Grosses
2003 Domestic Boxoffice

Holy &^%$*!

There was no need for a Monkees revival - The Passion of the Christ truly had the film community singing "I’m a Believer" as it flailed weekend movie going with an estimated $76.9 million gross. Toss in its $41 million box office from Wednesday and Thursday and it added up to $118.3 million.

It was a record February debut and stormed to $100 million faster than all but four prior movies including Spider-Man and the most recent episode of The Lord of the Rings. In its first five days of release one can also take note that it has become the second biggest domestic grosser for a sub-titled film as well as the biggest film in Latin ever and the best opening for a film with a religious theme.

While tracking leading up to its Wednesday bow was potent, no one anticipated the film would do more than $75 million for its first five days. The question now is how sharply and rapidly will the film ease off in the coming weeks. There can be no doubt that it’s impossible to replicate the initial business and even a modest decline should result in a second weekend of more than $50 million. Should its weekend tally continue strong, there’s every possibility the film can gross between $250 million and $300 million in North America.

Mel Gibson’s Passion also grossed a phenomenal $4 million in its first four days in Australia and New Zealand and will shortly bow in Europe.

It was divine inspiration for film going as ticket sales ballooned to roughly $150 million of which slightly more than half were acquired for the top performer. Business literally went from the slowest to most brisk in seven days as the marketplace arose by 63%. It also represented a 45% rise from 2003 when the top grosser was the $16.5 million launch of Cradle 2 the Grave.

Not surprisingly even thing else - including three other national debuts - paled by comparison. The romantic comedy 50 First Dates trailed in second spot with a still formidable $12.9 million and there were good second week holds for both Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Eurotrip.

Best of the new entries was the psychological thriller Twisted that ranked third with an estimated $9.1 million. It was largely pilloried by critics and is not expected to hold well in the marketplace. In fifth position, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights had a tepid $5.9 million bow and Broken Lizard’s Club Dread horror spoof sputtered to $3.1 million as its vitality dropped daily throughout the three days.

There also wasn’t a great deal of new specialized activity. European Award winner Good Bye, Lenin! From Germany had an OK $65,000 debut on six screens but the political satire about the end of the Cold War is having difficulty capturing American fancy. Neil Young’s Greendale grossed a disappointing $12,700 from three venues bolstered by personal appearances by the artist. The unusual musical has been warmly but not enthusiastically received.

With the Oscar telecast looming hours away, the last gasp prior to opened envelopes provided few surprises. The Passion of the Christ encroached upon all films, regardless of pedigree, but one could still say that was less felt by Academy contenders. Monster, Mystic River, The Return of the King and others remained competitive and hopeful that some Sunday night attention would add to their commercial longevity. The Return of the King has mapped out an expansion for next weekend that could increase significantly based upon the number and categories in which it receives truly golden statuettes.

- by Leonard Klady

Weekend Finals - February 27-29, 2004

Title
Distrib

Weekend

% Change

Theaters

Cume

Wks

1

New
The Passion of the Christ
Newmarket

83,848,082

3043

125,185,971

1

2

1
50 First Dates
Sony

12,565,729

-39%

3450

86,149,245

3

3

New
Twisted
Par

8,901,299

2703

8,901,299

1

4

2
Confessions of Teenage Drama Queen
BV

6,346,941

-32%

2536

16,905,932

2

5

New
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Lions Gate

5,811,325

2042

5,811,325

1

6

3
Miracle
BV

4,469,617

-43%

2222

56,328,330

4

7

5
Eurotrip
DreamWorks

4,051,428

-40%

2544

12,758,176

2

8

4
Welcome to Mooseport
Fox

3,279,764

-52%

2868

11,539,863

2

9

6
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
MGM

3,215,636

-50%

1524

57,575,543

4

10

New
Broken Lizard's Club Dread
Fox Searchlight

3,035,688

1807

3,035,688

1

11

10
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
New Line

2,174,665

-24%

1112

364,115,612

11

12

7
Mystic River
WB

2,085,463

-33%

1125

82,234,706

21

13

12
Monster
Newmarket

2,006,422

-21%

968

26,815,006

10

14

13
Cold Mountain
Miramax

1,333,182

-41%

1113

92,685,850

10

15

8
Against the Ropes
Par

1,333,157

-56%

1601

5,104,925

2

16

9
The Butterfly Effect
New Line

1,254,484

-58%

1035

55,377,579

6

17

11
You Got Served
Sony

1,226,543

-55%

816

38,145,620

5

18

16
Something's Gotta Give
Sony

811,412

-49%

672

122,736,489

12

19

14
Along Came Polly
Uni

690,560

-68%

664

86,149,245

7

20

21
In America
Fox Searchlight

514,012

-24%

202

14,058,905

14

21

20
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Lions Gate

464,648

-36%

238

9,298,540

12

22

15
Catch That Kid
Fox

462,489

-74%

517

15,832,628

4

23

18
Lost in Translation
Focus

432,129

-47%

291

43,871,278

25

24

17
Big Fish
Sony

354,677

-70%

371

65,815,103

12

25

22
Master and Commander
Fox

324,195

-44%

233

92,569,819

16

26

19
Cheaper by the Dozen
Fox

315,886

-57%

376

135,905,795

10

27

24
The Triplets of Belleville
Sony Class/Allian

305,736

-36%

200

5,091,605

15

28

26
The Haunted Mansion
BV

301,310

-23%

347

74,714,949

14

29

36
The Fog of War
Sony Classics

286,643

37%

157

2,249,523

11

30

28
21 Grams
Focus

270,679

-29%

146

15,792,712

15

31

29
Touching the Void
IFC

255,303

-31%

67

1,649,706

6

32

25
The Dreamers
Fox Searchlight

218,307

-47%

102

1,615,508

4

33

30
City of God
Miramax

208,603

-38%

89

6,814,830

59

34

23
Calendar Girls
BV

207,615

-58%

266

30,035,277

11

35

32
House of Sand and Fog
DreamWorks

207,263

-18%

152

12,544,025

11

36

96
Bad Santa
Miramax

182,408

183

59,707,598

14

37

31
The Cooler
Lions Gate

179,102

-36%

120

7,855,973

14

38

34
The Young Black Stallion
BV

164,018

-24%

51

5,520,854

10

39

48
The Barbarian Invasions
Alliance/Miramax

161,650

88%

85

6,858,762

43

40

35
Peter Pan
Uni

152,490

-30%

299

47,785,570

10

41

27
The Last Samurai
WB

151,370

-61%

136

110,330,124

12

42

33
The Blue Butterfly
Alliance

140,771

-38%

70

490,169

2

43

37
My Architect
New York/Mongl

124,818

-16%

37

1,287,185

15

44

76
Paycheck
Par

122,480

386%

208

53,557,367

10

45

46
Space Station
Imax

101,575

9%

24

47,685,370

98

46

39
Osama
MGM/TVA

96,369

-25%

21

311,017

4

47

New
Decoys
Lions Gate

84,733

55

84,733

1

48

47
The Best Two Years
HaleStone

81,843

-12%

23

221,039

2

49

55
Bugs!
SK Film

70,650

22%

16

5,098,524

51

50

42
The Company
Sony Classics

69,546

-30%

44

1,788,595

11

51

49
Brother Bear
BV

65,684

-23%

139

85,005,561

19

52

38
Mona Lisa Smile
Sony

60,170

-59%

117

63,803,100

11

53

New
Good Bye, Lenin!
Sony Classics

57,968

6

57,968

1

54

45
Elf
New Line

51,403

-45%

121

173,381,405

17

55

43
Gothika
WB

49,537

-48%

145

59,537,388

14

56

57
Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey
Giant Screen

48,437

-7%

12

5,768,610

72

57

54
Love Don't Cost a Thing
WB

41,546

-35%

73

21,861,424

12

58

44
The Gospel of John
Thinkfilm

36,170

-62%

40

3,939,256

23

59

51
The Cat in the Hat
Uni

34,365

-54%

91

101,018,283

15

60

56
The Station Agent
Miramax/Alliance

31,770

-44%

24

5,853,099

22

61

40
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton
DreamWorks

31,559

-74%

84

16,964,743

6

62

58
Monsieur Ibrahim
Sony Classics

31,311

-37%

6

207,748

12

63

61
The Corporation
Mongrel

30,969

-26%

9

605,710

7

64

68
Ghosts of the Abyss
BV

30,109

-13%

8

15,553,850

47

65

73
My Baby's Daddy
Miramax

27,171

-1%

25

17,293,505

8

66

65
The Battle of Algiers (reissue)
Rialto

25,061

-32%

6

509,774

8

67

72
La Grande Seduction
Alliance

24,793

-24%

17

7,119,126

34

68

59
Kitchen Stories
IFC

23,950

-50%

9

91,218

2

69

64
Effroyables jardins
Cristal

23,856

-38%

12

78,668

2

70

60
Stuck on You
Fox

23,849

-47%

60

33,797,950

12

71

66
Latter Days
TLA

23,201

-35%

6

256,612

5

72

67
The Return
Kino

22,942

-34%

11

150,602

4

73

63
Love Actually
Uni

22,745

-44%

37

59,472,278

17

74

70
Wooly B