..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Three Day Finals
A Stepford in the Right Direction
Harry Potter remained lord of the box office realm but a trio of new films debuted with unexpected commercial strength that provided a big bounce to domestic movie going. It also contributed to propelling the year's gross past $4 billion - five days faster than that mark was hit in 2003.
While Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban rang in with an estimated $34.4 million weekend, the third installment took a sharp 63% drop from its debut frame. The summer placement is likely to provide a faster burn factor in the picture's box office life though that same factor contributed to greater opening strength. Those commercial pluses and minuses will likely even out with the film's ultimate domestic tally on par with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret's $262 million tally.
The Chronicles of Riddick, the follow up to the 2000 Pitch Black that set Van Diesel's career on the ascendant, bowed in second spot with $24.8 million. The sci-fi opus has a glossier sheen than the original at the expense of the nitty gritty quality that gave the first outing a cult following and $40 million North American gross.
Riddick performed to expectations but both the reconceived The Stepford Wives and the screen version of comic strip feline Garfield exceeded what tracking studies had forecast. Neither titles was expected to climb out of the teens, particularly the latter film that was bumping up against both Harry Potter and Shrek 2.
The Stepford Wives, based on Ira Levin's dark, foreboding novel, was translated with relative earnestness in 1975. The new version has refashioned its humor from black to broad comic and appears to have hit a nerve with contemporary audiences. Its $22.2 million bow ranked fourth in the lineup, a whisker ahead of Garfield's $21.6 million meow.
The top five said a great deal about recycling with three sequels, a remake and an adaptation fueling ticket sales of slightly better than $160 million. It provided that rare instance of five titles each with better than a $20 million gross. Overall, that was 33% better than 2003 when a trio of new films - Rugrats Go Wild, Hollywood Homicide, Dumb and Dumberer - performed below expectations.
New Line sneaked its four hankie The Notebook Saturday in roughly 1,200 locations and reported average capacities of 80%. Exit polls on the adaptation of the bestselling novel pulled 92% favorable response and as expected the film's audience was predominantly female though the company said response from women under the age of 25 was stronger than expected. It opens theatrically on June 25.
The weekend also provided good news for MGM's irreverent comedy Saved! as it expanded into major markets and grossed $2.6 million and a solid $4,450 theater average. The indie acquisition is earning its theaters as it bucks the seasonal trend of big event movies.
In a more limited but no less impressive fashion, Control Room added 31 screens to its exclusive Manhattan run for a healthy $120,000 frame. The documentary on the Al Jazeera network and the invasion of Iraq benefited from strong reviews and the pre-release attention accorded Fahrenheit 9/11 that opens in two weeks.
The majority of niche titles entering the marketplace bowed to disappointing response with the major exception of Napoleon Dynamite. The offbeat comedy that debuted at Sundance opened at six theaters with an impressive per engagement average of more than $17,000. Single screen preems in Los Angeles were unimpressive with the portrait film My Sister Maria grossing $3,500 and the long-delayed political drama Imagining Argentina eking by $2,300.
Weekend Finals - June 11-13, 2004
Title Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban 34,910,393 -63% 3855 157,975,042 The Chronicles of Riddick 24,289,165 2757 24,289,165 Shrek 2 23,316,920 -39% 3843 353,333,317 Garfield 21,727,611 3094 21,727,611 The Stepford Wives 21,406,781 3057 21,406,781 The Day After Tomorrow 14,538,226 -48% 3210 153,144,814 Raising Helen 3,705,336 -43% 2103 31,284,112 Troy 3,417,016 -43% 2003 125,604,418 Saved! 2,535,013 645% 589 3,717,375 Mean Girls 1,486,032 -49% 944 81,303,696 Van Helsing 1,194,255 -51% 1034 116,989,795 Soul Plane 933,068 -66% 783 13,009,074 Super Size Me 820,686 -3% 230 7,533,912 Man on Fire 452,980 -57% 402 76,293,464 Kill Bill Vol. 2 221,512 -33% 201 65,075,745 Nascar: The Imax Experience 213,014 10% 45 13,742,209 A Day Without a Mexican 189,403 -47% 73 2,832,595 13 Going on 30 180,276 -50% 193 55,664,410 Coffee and Cigarettes 156,703 -21% 46 1,362,068 The Ladykillers 146,368 246% 231 39,349,265 Control Room 141,070 457% 41 290,174 Ella Enchanted 140,479 90% 262 22,382,179 Hidalgo 128,719 -25% 233 66,862,696 50 First Dates 127,642 -3% 151 120,616,191 Starsky & Hutch 123,139 -25% 212 88,019,197 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 121,790 -43% 138 82,654,491 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 119,120 -36% 98 33,971,672 Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk 118,223 7% 15 6,538,416 Napoleon Dynamite 116,666 6 116,666 Breakin' All the Rules 111,566 -63% 109 11,740,428 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring … 110,830 -24% 71 1,741,051 Bugs! 105,761 -2% 14 9,052,352 Johnson Family Vacation 97,924 -17% 113 30,644,575 Space Station 88,133 1% 20 51,151,681 Dev 84,728 35 84,728 Bon Voyage 80,948 -35% 70 2,164,387 The Corporation 66,579 51% 15 1,569,940 Love Me If You Dare/Jeux d'enfants 65,288 -30% 57 419,571 Walking Tall 63,467 -34% 103 46,213,824 The Passion of the Christ 63,467 -35% 208 370,025,697 The Mother 59,356 -23% 17 268,116 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey 56,594 8% 8 6,730,267 Baadasssss! 51,944 5% 41 202,798 Hum Tum 51,732 -64% 26 640,437 New York Minute 51,410 -42% 58 13,742,209 Jersey Girl 51,170 -45% 135 25,197,718 The Prince & Me 51,116 -39% 91 28,108,440 Laws of Attraction 48,084 -49% 122 17,848,322 What the #$*! Do We Know 46,201 -19% 14 807,220 Strayed 46,107 -18% 29 344,193 I'm Not Scared 44,244 -40% 46 1,368,170 Home on the Range 42,318 -16% 137 48,963,935 Good Bye, Lenin! 41,031 -41% 57 3,841,470 The Story of the Weeping Camel 38,792 78% 7 72,926 Young Adam 33,025 -15% 31 668,585 The Saddest Music in the World 30,419 -35% 24 583,883 Cold Mountain 28,389 -34% 59 95,589,607 The Life of Brian (reissue) 28,151 -35% 20 464,295 Since Otar Left 27,817 -14% 16 311,177 Imelda 27,617 6 27,617 The Twilight Samurai 26,109 -29% 11 322,422 Bukowski: Born Into This 25,788 -6% 8 126,471 Dawn of the Dead 25,134 -32% 33 58,990,765 T-Rex: Back to the Cretacious 24,845 -21% 6 48,268,425 Twist 22,341 123% 6 50,968 My Architect 22,145 -34% 21 2,822,522 Envy 20,751 -78% 18 13,548,322 The Whole Ten Yards 20,391 -62% 93 16,302,288 Monsieur Ibrahim 20,334 -57% 24 2,809,405 Ghosts of the Abyss 19,534 30% 11 16,185,352 The Punisher 19,397 -25% 41 33,462,241 Carandiru 19,161 -28% 14 159,723
Estimates - June 11-13, 2004
Title Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban -63% 3855 157.5 The Chronicles of Riddick - 2757 24.8 Shrek 2 -37% 3843 353.8 The Stepford Wives - 3057 22.2 Garfield - 3094 21.6 The Day After Tomorrow -47% 3210 153.4 Raising Helen -42% 2103 31.4 Troy -41% 2003 125.7 Saved! 670% 589 3.8 Mean Girls -44% 944 81.5 Van Helsing -52% 1034 117 Soul Plane -66% 783 13 Super Size Me 3% 230 7.6 Man on Fire -58% 402 76.3 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - % Change (Last Year) - % C