..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Weekend Finals
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Where there's a Will, there's a big time payoff.
I, Robot was a clinker with the critics but the film's estimated $51.2 million debut drowned out the cavil calls. It was a dynamic opening in a frame that also saw the distaff counter-programmed A Cinderella Story do a passable $13.7 million while most continuing titles were holding their own in the highly competitive marketplace.
The liberally adapted screen version of Isaac Asimov's short stories, I, Robot, had largely thwarted filmmaker's attempts at cinematic translation for decades. Time largely dictated a less than faithful approach to the source but that mattered little to a general public more familiar than conversant with the title. A $50 million bow was certainly the target for the Will Smith vehicle but tracking suggested it might come up slightly short of that mark.
Robot's initial success is the latest reversal of fortune for the Fox studio, coming on the heels of recent over achievers Garfield and Dodgeball. Regardless of final seasonal rankings, Fox and DreamWorks have to be considered the chief beneficiaries of summer movie going.
Obviously the production team at Warners has a soft spot for romantic comedies centered on young women, with A Cinderella Story following such studio fare as New York Minute and What a Girl Wants. While hardly a breakout title for that demographic its third place ranking and gross provides sufficient ammunition for continued development of a largely underserved audience sector.
Overall business should weigh in at roughly $150 million for the weekend for a modest 2% boost from the prior frame. The figure is roughly consistent with 2003 and the season itself, while slightly ahead of last year at the box office, appears to be trailing in ticket sales.
Spider-Man 2 added $24.2 million to its larder and slipped into second spot. The web master added another record to its resume as it crossed past $300 million Sunday in a lightning fast 23 days. The film continued to have enormous success overseas with debuts in such major territories as the U.K., France and Spain contributing to a $60 million plus international weekend and $200 million cume.
While the top the charts were dominated by youth driven titles, decidedly adult fare including Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Notebook remained the most sturdy commercially. The Michael Moore documentary is poised to exceed $100 million next weekend.
The span also had a number of robust limited releases including The Door in the Floor, adapted from the John Irving novel. It rang up $127,000 on Wednesday and Thursday from 47 screens and added $410,000 on the weekend. There was also excellent response for the Sundance-prized social thriller Maria Full of Grace with a $130,000 tally from just seven screens.
The gay-themed Touch of Pink bowed in 18 venues including 11 playdates in Canada where it was co-produced. Its $82,000 gross was sufficiently encouraging to indicate definite niche appeal but limited potential in securing crossover engagements.
Several upscale titles maintained slow roll outs to great effect including Warner Independent's Before Sunset and the Cole Porter homage De-Lovely. However, the seasonal surprise continues to be the Sundance acquisition Napoleon Dynamite that has grossed more than $4 million and has yet to exceed 200 playdates. The subdued teen comedy despite a lack of obvious commercial hooks has managed to develop momentum on word-of-mouth that's caused industry vets to be happily surprised.
Weekend Finals - July 16-18, 2004
Title I, Robot 52,179,887 3420 52,179,887 Spider-Man 2 24,775,450 -45% 4058 302,287,882 Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy 13,839,313 -51% 3104 56,956,256 A Cinderella Story 13,623,350 2625 13,623,350 Fahrenheit 9/11 7,175,674 -35% 2004 93,984,261 King Arthur 7,161,648 -53% 3086 38,110,849 The Notebook 5,651,212 -14% 2089 53,880,561 Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story 3,813,719 -33% 1945 105,165,752 White Chicks 3,436,328 -45% 1730 63,470,104 Shrek 2 3,230,786 -27% 1857 425,011,646 The Terminal 3,162,067 -37% 1804 71,210,710 Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban 2,758,045 -32% 1460 238,344,679 De-Lovely 1,493,593 338% 185 2,530,024 The Clearing 1,294,334 11% 449 3,718,329 Sleepover 1,170,307 -72% 2207 8,070,311 Garfield 1,057,301 -44% 1028 70,486,628 Napoleon Dynamite 750,491 35% 179 4,214,677 The Day After Tomorrow 617,208 -43% 487 183,304,973 Before Sunset 581,261 20% 123 1,709,920 Two Brothers 547,945 -56% 562 17,247,970 The Door in the Floor 456,876 47 584,171 Camping Sauvage 452,720 -30% 99 1,675,551 The Stepford Wives 434,666 -60% 522 57,809,251 The Chronicles of Riddick 287,850 -46% 303 56,329,545 Nascar: The Imax Experience 278,045 9% 54 15,573,079 Mean Girls 255,916 -23% 268 84,815,603 Riding Giants 195,317 45% 41 415,652 Bugs! 181,751 27% 31 10,711,492 13 Going on 30 169,318 537% 147 56,449,140 Van Helsing 167,075 -17% 217 119,596,370 Super Size Me 145,975 -16% 127 10,633,019 Control Room 139,881 -1% 56 1,687,384 Maria Full of Grace 139,066 7 139,066 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster 133,566 188% 23 204,149 Around the World in 80 Days 131,995 -62% 149 22,626,931 Troy 129,420 -42% 110 132,459,414 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 120,884 -10% 185 83,766,187 The Story of the Weeping Camel 119,065 6% 51 877,076 Space Station 118,115 -3% 9 52,602,677 The Corporation 111,239 60% 21 2,179,536 Man on Fire 109,591 -9% 145 77,564,559 Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk 101,733 -27% 17 7,155,797 Touch of Pink 78,018 16 78,018 Raising Helen 64,279 -40% 107 36,569,331 Kill Bill Vol. 2 58,747 -47% 149 66,074,034 Home on the Range 56,914 -34% 146 49,795,115 Flavors 56,000 14 56,000 What the #$*! Do We Know 53,697 32% 14 1,306,587 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey 52,154 -10% 8 7,011,625 Facing Windows 51,130 -10% 23 307,512 Soul Plane 44,782 13% 45 14,133,315 Saved! 44,072 -55% 60 8,786,715 Breakin' All the Rules 43,110 -45% 69 12,178,644 Elvis Gratton XXX 43,078 -42% 51 1,753,797 Coffee and Cigarettes 38,028 -29% 45 1,971,135 T-Rex: Back to the Cretacious 36,299 -12% 5 48,672,016 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead 34,541 -33% 16 212,359 Seducing Dr. Lewis 31,047 121% 9 86,031 The Mother 30,033 -49% 27 755,489 Johnson Family Vacation 25,018 -33% 35 31,081,528 The Hunting of the President 24,977 240% 8 121,571 Ella Enchanted 24,760 1% 44 22,859,592 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 23,495 17% 27 34,328,429 Zhou Yu's Train 22,933 6 22,933 Godsend 21,811 59 14,361,361 Godzilla (reissue) 20,453 250% 3 332,382 The Punisher 18,082 -45% 29 33,781,011
Estimates - July 16-18, 2004
Title I, Robot - 3420 51.5 Spider-Man 2 -47% 4058 301.5 A Cinderella Story - 2625 13.7 Anchorman -53% 3104 56.5 Fahrenheit 9/11 -36% 2004 93.8 King Arthur -56% 3086 37.7 The Notebook -16% 2089 53.7 White Chicks -44% 1730 63.5 Dodgeball: A True Underdog's Story -42% 1945 104.7 The Terminal -37% 1804 71.2 Shrek 2 -30% 1857 424.9 Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban -36% 1460 238.2 De-Lovely 296% 185 2.4 The Clearing 1% 449 3.7 Sleepover -73% 2207 8 Garfield -55% 1028 70.3 Napoleon Dynamite 24% 179 4.2 Camping Sauvage