..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Estimates
My Kingdom for a Trojan Horse
Troy, the movie, may not have launched 1000 ships but it did command the playing field with an estimated $45.5 million while the second weekend of Van Helsing took a sharp 60% downturn to rank second with $20.5 million. The only other national release was the niche-targeted Jamie Foxx comedy Breakin' All the Rules that slotted fourth overall with roughly $5.3 million.
The marketplace was on the lethargic side with movie going dipping about 2% from one weekend earlier and a significant 33% off the pace of 2003. A year ago Matrix Reloaded got a jump on the weekend with a Wednesday debut that generated $134.3 million ($91.8 for the 3-day span) with the counter-programming of Down with Love turning in a lackluster $7 million.
In addition to its domestic tally, Troy will add roughly $55 million from 47 overseas markets for a global gross approaching $100 million. Figures were dribbling in Sunday but early reports had the historic Greek epic eyeing roughly $8 million in Germany, $7 million in Australia and $6 million from Spain. France should finish close to $5 million with Mexico adding about $2.5 million. The film also had excellent previews in the U.K but has yet to open in Japan, Italy or Russia.
Troy rang in with an opening day figure of $17.5 million that was slightly off the pace of Van Helsing's bow last weekend and like the vampire hunter saw no improvement at the Saturday box office. Outward appearance would suggest the audience is skewing toward a male crowd but Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman says exit polls indicate the film is pretty close to a 50/50 gender split.
The Burbank crew is putting the best face on the launch citing it among the best openers for an R-rated non-sequel. It ranks second to 8 Mile ($51.2 million) and significantly ahead of Gladiator ($34.8 million). However, those films opened outside of summer. Overseas it's tracking better than either The Last Samurai or Van Helsing. Still, one senses a degree of disappointment, or at least frustration that they were unable to crack $50 million or better for the 160 minute spectacle.
Initial results overseas for Van Helsing's second weekend also experienced sharp drops but still not as severe as in the U.S.
While Breakin' All the Rules held no great sway in the marketplace, a couple of niche releases were attracting potent business. Televisa's controversial satire A Day Without a Mexican connected with better than $500,000 from 55 theaters that bodes well for expansion into non-Latino markets. Also ringing up impressive numbers was the quirky omnibus yarn Coffee and Cigarettes with a weekend gross of slightly more than $100,000 from five screens.
Additionally, the documentary Super Size Me roughly doubled its playdates to 89 engagements and got a 43% jump to $740,000. Never to receive a McDonald's tie-in, the film is demonstrating the same sort of commercial fire as Bowling for Columbine but will require careful expansion and clever promotion if it hopes to generate comparable commercial returns. The marketplaces other super sizer - the 1954 Japanese version of Godzilla - planted its paw on L.A. and continued to breathe monster grosses on a couple of screens.
The frame was also awash with specialized openers with the French import Strayed tallying up a quite strong with about $20,000 from two Manhattan venues. Another French title, Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare) bowed in 16 locations in Quebec but figures were unavailable Sunday morning. Hector Babenco's prison comedy-drama Carandiru locked up a disappointing $17,000 plus from six cells and a couple of American indies had mixed results. The streetwise After Freedom looked respectable with $11,200 from two sites but the oddball drama A Slipping Down Life sank with slightly less than $10,000 from five theaters.
Weekend Finals - May 14-16, 2004
Title Weekend % Chang Theaters Cume Troy 46,865,412 3411 46,865,412 Van Helsing 20,727,515 -60% 3580 85,095,305 Mean Girls 10,182,766 -26% 3015 55,400,970 Man on Fire 5,101,128 -38% 2650 64,169,492 Breakin' All the Rules 5,088,577 1318 5,088,577 13 Going on 30 4,107,023 -29% 2656 48,522,282 New York Minute 3,814,307 -36% 3006 10,783,723 Laws of Attraction 2,009,380 -45% 2003 15,301,189 Kill Bill Vol. 2 1,628,802 -46% 1401 60,836,074 Envy 1,042,949 -58% 1417 11,899,458 Godsend 1,027,015 -63% 1291 13,417,297 Super Size Me 759,182 47% 113 1,525,154 Home on the Range 734,638 -41% 865 48,299,899 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 643,454 -36% 667 81,874,116 A Day Without a Mexican 629,817 56 629,817 Johnson Family Vacation 617,226 -39% 562 29,648,953 Walking Tall 581,050 6% 871 44,517,210 Ella Enchanted 517,381 -38% 831 21,555,941 The Passion of the Christ 500,606 -36% 1206 368,894,610 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 413,483 -27% 294 32,399,781 Nascar: The Imax Experience 394,811 -6% 73 11,066,386 The Punisher 371,355 -67% 539 32,977,040 Barbershop 2: Back in Business 305,371 55% 517 64,651,195 Main Hoon Na 200,895 -52% 66 1,578,377 Dawn of the Dead 189,060 -4% 274 58,580,400 The Ladykillers 174,332 -47% 240 38,799,959 Hidalgo 167,843 -30% 199 65,768,346 Bon Voyage 158,350 -5% 73 1,301,584 Hellboy 150,625 -73% 268 58,924,661 Good Bye, Lenin! 141,372 -18% 116 3,271,908 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring … 139,914 -10% 59 914,087 Bugs! 136,554 7% 25 8,014,137 Connie and Carla 129,575 -50% 175 7,864,615 Monica la mitraille 127,166 -34% 68 1,048,926 Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius 125,594 -76% 190 2,536,460 I'm Not Scared 124,729 -25% 60 840,516 The Alamo 115,462 -61% 232 22,035,363 Secret Window 104,742 -24% 179 47,781,388 Coffee and Cigarettes 99,162 5 99,162 Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 92,571 -11% 153 376,853,002 The Girl Next Door 86,632 -35% 159 14,346,778 The Prince & Me 85,628 -31% 150 27,500,691 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey 75,421 10% 14 6,491,273 Starsky & Hutch 73,526 28% 115 87,221,948 Monsieur Ibrahim 71,991 -10% 51 2,497,525 Space Station 68,920 1% 18 50,287,082 Mickey 68,586 -15% 71 250,525 Taking Lives 67,803 -20% 203 32,549,015 The Saddest Music in the World 66,816 25% 26 211,462 Clifford's Really Big Movie 64,366 -38% 59 2,782,548 Dans une galaxie pres de chez vous 57,781 -22% 49 2,121,552 50 First Dates 53,337 -27% 67 119,614,568 Young Adam 52,817 -21% 40 393,337 The Boston Red Sox Movie 52,499 -43% 24 164,442 Dogville 51,196 -32% 53 1,300,647 Agent Cody Banks: Destination London 50,585 14% 126 23,514,247 Godzilla (1954) 48,704 28% 4 111,904 Touching the Void 45,087 -28% 63 4,409,298 L'Incomparable Mademoiselle C 44,166 -19% 52 493,905 The Life of Brian (reissue) 40,886 -4% 13 137,783 Shaolin Soccer 39,867 -29% 42 385,245 The Whole Ten Yards 39,473 -37% 73 16,092,006 My Architect 37,270 -5% 29 2,586,765 The Corporation 35,731 -2% 16 1,304,885 Mystic River 32,993 -26% 81 90,102,772 Broken Wings 30,892 16% 24 330,580 Since Otar Left 30,766 94% 10 75,043 The Twilight Samurai 28,858 54% 10 101,937 Silmido 28,558 -39% 8 298,347 La Grande seduction 27,577 -33% 16 7,713,955 Twisted 27,052 -10% 38 25,181,490 Ghosts of the Abyss 26,741 12% 9 15,994,564 Jersey Girl 25,667 -59% 53 25,015,964 The Butterfly Effect 24,687 26% 41 57,924,679 The Triplets of Belleville 21,814 -38% 27 7,301,288 Confessions of Teenage Drama Queen 21,742 -20% 68 29,302,097 Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself 20,901 3% 15 171,110 T-Rex: Back to the Cretacious 20,506 15% 5 48,007,990 Strayed 19,531 2 19,531
Estimates - May 14-16, 2004
Title Troy - 3411 45.5 Van Helsing -60% 3580 84.9 Mean Girls -27% 3015 55.2 Breakin' All the Rules - 1318 5.3 Man on Fire -38% 2650 64.1 13 Going on 30