..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Shootout at the OK Bijou
While the outcome of the match up between Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Punisher was never in doubt, the fact that both films fared better than anticipated only fuels the pressing question of the weekend: Why were these two films going head to head? The finale of the Quentin Tarantino revenge saga topped the frame with close to $25 million with second spot clinched by the vengeful Marvel comic hero with roughly $14 million.
It's already been well reported that The Punisher had locked down its release date six months ago and only recently found itself in competition with Kill Bill 2 - initially scheduled for February. While the precise reasons for the latter move by Miramax remains fuzzy, Lions Gate's decision to maintain the 4/16 launch wasn't simply stubbornness. The company didn't have a lot of wiggle room with its next release Godsend just two weeks away and with the number of national releases running more than 20% ahead of 2003 there really aren't a lot of 'good" dates for any distributor and especially an independent.
The consensus entering the frame was that Kill Bill 2 would gross around $20 million and The Punisher would trail with $10 million. Both films clearly had their sights on males under the age of 25 and that's exactly the group that bought tickets for both films. And while exit polls indicate that The Punisher remained competitive with KB2 among black and Hispanic audiences, the edge for the latter came from white and Asian men. The toe-to-toe stand literally cost each film millions and that's a particularly tough pill for LGF to swallow.
Overall weekend business of close to $105 million was flat with last weekend's Easter celebration and off 10% from 2003. Last year's comparable calendar date fell on Easter weekend when the second weekend of Anger Management led the field.
The current span also saw the national debut of Connie and Carla bow to a disappointing $3.4 million and rank 13th overall. There was considerably more interest from the press than the public as to whether star and writer Nia Vardolos would have a second big fat commercial helping and despite grudgingly positive reviews the answer was a big fat "no."
The other surprise was that the anticipated drop in business for The Passion of The Christ was even more severe than expected. While pundits foresaw its box office tumbling in half, the controversy of 2004 sank by more than 70% and now appears to be out of range of a $400 million domestic gross.
Less surprising was the 55% hit experienced by The Alamo. The film has already entered the lore of movie catastrophes and spawned countless jokes including one that has a Disney relaunch capitalizing on favorable reviews for actor Billy Bob Thornton and the new title: Bad Santa Anna.
In the specialized arena, Sony Classic's had no appreciable resistance to its NC-17 rated Young Adam that grossed a respectable $51,000 from nine venues. Also opening to OK results were Prime Media's thriller Close Call with about $12,000 from four screens and a single screen return of $5,600 for Small Planet's Gypsy 83.
Holdover titles generally had post-Easter blues that translated into declines between one-third and one-half of holiday sales. The brighter end of the spectrum was repped by Johnson Family Vacation, Home on the Range and Ella Enchanted while second weekends of both The Whole Ten Yards and The Girl Next Door were harder hit.
Weekend Finals - April 16-18, 2004
Title Kill Bill Vol. 2 25,104,949 2971 25,104,949 The Punisher 13,834,527 2649 13,834,527 Johnson Family Vacation 5,950,280 -37% 1326 20,977,918 Hellboy 5,652,030 -48% 2897 50,308,617 Home on the Range 5,507,064 -32% 2735 37,782,081 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 5,227,232 -35% 2810 72,307,969 Walking Tall 4,601,007 -46% 2444 36,634,257 Ella Enchanted 4,241,089 -31% 1939 13,579,980 The Alamo 4,138,571 -55% 2609 16,402,427 The Passion of the Christ 4,051,112 -73% 2848 360,761,619 The Whole Ten Yards 3,585,434 -46% 2654 12,488,847 The Prince & Me 3,344,157 -38% 2059 24,316,910 Connie and Carla 3,254,940 1014 3,254,940 The Girl Next Door 2,757,145 -54% 2142 11,016,963 The Ladykillers 2,482,856 -46% 1534 34,455,415 Jersey Girl 1,462,007 -51% 1428 23,530,359 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 1,367,316 -44% 575 28,106,424 Starsky & Hutch 824,379 -38% 702 86,035,421 Dawn of the Dead 729,265 -62% 688 56,965,120 Hidalgo 648,739 -42% 532 64,065,370 Taking Lives 644,459 -58% 492 31,663,637 Nascar: The Imax Experience 547,325 -29% 72 8,392,446 Dans une galaxie pres de chez vous 348,952 -46% 73 1,365,706 Secret Window 346,294 -62% 298 46,902,635 Mystic River 337,030 455% 408 89,419,875 Barbershop 2: Back in Business 242,373 9% 384 63,525,406 Good Bye, Lenin! 229,083 -16% 106 2,131,098 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 227,321 -21% 295 376,058,551 Monsieur Ibrahim 170,852 -14% 92 1,967,391 50 First Dates 155,846 -43% 166 119,067,547 Dogville 148,813 -27% 63 719,234 Bon Voyage 142,809 29% 41 488,493 Agent Cody Banks: Destination London 139,042 -30% 334 23,222,861 Bugs! 127,817 2% 25 6,841,696 Cheaper by the Dozen 110,265 -24% 165 138,344,908 Space Station 108,003 2% 16 49,480,501 Touching the Void 105,582 -14% 89 3,929,360 Confessions of Teenage Drama Queen 95,156 -25% 189 29,058,170 Intermission 88,218 -25% 69 579,085 Masti 85,674 -47% 29 267,023 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring … 66,288 36% 13 202,395 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey 64,148 -5% 12 6,198,695 My Baby's Daddy 63,071 -13% 44 17,504,586 The Butterfly Effect 60,082 -18% 121 57,761,854 The Triplets of Belleville 59,472 -42% 57 7,006,502 Miracle 59,204 -43% 142 64,256,646 Girl with a Pearl Earring 59,111 -15% 59 11,505,906 My Architect 54,594 -31% 30 2,312,542 Never Die Alone 53,141 -68% 71 5,531,230 Big Fish 53,083 -31% 86 66,619,233 Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights 50,671 72% 127 14,140,215 Young Adam 50,278 9 50,278 I'm Not Scared 48,080 -1% 5 109,425 You Got Served 45,271 -48% 72 40,153,474 La Grande seduction 44,281 -25% 14 7,492,625 Osama 43,489 -20% 36 1,202,628 T-Rex: Back to the Cretacious 38,704 -4% 4 47,807,536 Master and Commander 37,145 -34% 65 93,864,607 Le Dernier Tunnel 37,106 -46% 37 1,251,647 The Fog of War 36,803 -29% 42 4,052,471 The United States of Leland 36,764 -69% 80 273,411 Monster 34,580 -27% 85 34,336,951 Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion 33,263 9 547,367 The Corporation 28,338 13% 8 983,824 The Best Two Years 27,236 68% 15 650,469 Broken Wings 26,202 -12% 14 175,522 The Barbarian Invasions 24,887 -52% 38 8,536,190 Mayor of the Sunset Strip 24,363 -34% 17 141,447 Ghosts of the Abyss 23,835 -35% 9 15,829,241 Shaolin Soccer 21,936 -36% 6 129,514 Greendale 20,072 142% 6 147,356 Latter Days 20,598 -48% 13 660,425 Haunted Castle 19,245 4% 5 8,307,611 Tais-toi 18,839 -45% 14 312,824
Weekend Estimates - April 16-18, 2004
Title Kill Bill Vol. 2 - 2971 24.9 The Punisher - 2649 14.1 Johnson Family Vacation -35% 1326 21.1 Home on the Range -32% 2735 37.8 Hellboy -50% 2897 50 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed -34% 2810 72.4 Walking Tall -47% 2444 36.5 The Passion of the Christ -71% 2848 361.1 Ella Enchanted -30% 1939 13.7 The Alamo -55% 2609 16.3 The Prince & Me -32% 2059 24.6 The Whole Ten Yards -46% 2654 12.5 Connie and Carla - 1014 3.4 The Girl Next Door -54% 2148 11 The Ladykillers -47%