October 17, 2004
October 10, 2004
October 3, 2004
Sept 26, 2004
Sept 19, 2004
Sept 12, 2004
Sept 6, 2004
August 29, 2004
August 22, 2004
August 15, 2004
August 8, 2004
August 1, 2004
July 25, 2004
July 18, 2004
July 11, 2004
July 5, 2004
June 27, 2004
June 20, 2004
June 13, 2004
June 6, 2004
May 30, 2004
May 23, 2004
May 16, 2004
May 9, 2004
May 2, 2004
April 25, 2004
April 18, 2004
April 11, 2004
April 4, 2004
March 28, 2004
March 21, 2004
March 14, 2004
March 7, 2004
February 29, 2004
February 22, 2004
February 16, 2004
February 8, 2004
February 1, 2004
January 25, 2004
January 19, 2004
January 11, 2004
January 4, 2004
Dec 28, 2003
Dec 21, 2003
Dec 14, 2003
Dec 7, 2003


..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..Emanuel Levy
..David Poland
..Doug Pratt
..Ray Pride





Weekend Estimates
Top Worldwide Grosses
Market Share

Very Hard Feelings

It wasn't much of a grudge match as the Americanization of Japan's popular horror series The Grudge easily commanded weekend movie going with an estimated $40.3 million. The frame's other national opener Surviving Christmas won't wither Thanksgiving with a poor $4.3 million debut. It was also a hectic span in the specialized arena with the quirky comedy Sideways generating a near $52,000 theater average and Venice fest winner Vera Drake posting an excellent gross of close to $300,000.

The Grudge could well prove to be 2004's acquisition highlight with weekend box office covering Sony's acquisition and marketing costs. Expectations for the film were upbeat but more in line with a gross in the low to mid-$20 million range. The studio has been experiencing a Halloween season with the current film riding the coat tails of The Forgotten and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

It was definitely a weekend of extremes with the entry of the early seasonal comedy Surviving Christmas unwrapping a stocking full of coal. Its $4.3 million performance was shy of a $1,160 theater average and has many in the industry questioning Ben Affleck's career choices and bankability.

Despite the strong showing at the top the weekend's roughly $108 million overall gross repped an 18% decline from 2003 when Scary Movie 3 bowed to $48 million and Radio tuned into third spot with its $13.3 million opening performance. Business did get a nice 11% bump from last weekend.

Last weekend's freshmen saw Team America taking a sharp downturn while Shall We Dance? added close to 700 theaters and held its place in the marketplace. I Huckabees expanded to a national profile and appears to have peaked commercially. Nonetheless, Fox Searchlight isn't deterred in its expectations for Sideways that debuted with a strength comparable to Huckabees of $207,000 from four screens. The offbeat upscale road comedy has generated some of the best reviews of the year.

Another critical favorite, the Brit period social drama Vera Drake, expanded from two to 46 engagements and posted an impressive $290,000 box office. It's banking on critic's top 10 lists and early award recognition to fuel its expansion. Also going that route is Being Julia which added 22 theaters in Canada and combined with American playdates doubled its debut weekend.

Once again the traffic in specialized and niche was crushing with about a dozen new pictures engaged in a brutal Darwinian struggle. Halloween magic brushed off on the nightmarish The Machinist that grossed out about $63,000 from three sweatshops.


The rest of the pack had performances ranging from OK to DOA. The politically themed Celsius 41.11 (get it?) managed to sign up 117 theaters but had a decidedly different scale response of about $92,000. The Southern Gothic Undertow dragged up a lethargic $22,300 from six bayous while the musical doc Lightning in a Bottle struck once with $5,500 from two screens and Stella Street was going one way with $2,800 from 10 disengagements.


- by Leonard Klady


Weekend Estimates - October 22-24, 2004

Title
Distributor
Gross (average)
% change
Theaters
Cume
The Grudge
Sony
40.3 (12,430)
-
3245
40.3
Shark Tale
DreamWorks
14.4  (3,950)
-34%
3656
137.1
Shall We Dance
Miramax
8.5 (3,530)
-28%
2419
24.3
Friday Night Lights
Uni
7.2 (2,420)
-39%
2969
47.5
Team America: World Police
Par
6.5 (2,470)
-47%
2620
22.2
Ladder 49
BV
5.5 (1,960)
-36%
2802
61.5
Surviving Christmas
DreamWorks
4.3 (1,580)
2750
4.3
Taxi
Fox
3.9 (1,650)
-51%
2357
29.5
The Forgotten
Sony
3.5 (1,540)
-42%
2253
62.2
I Heart Huckabees
Fox Searchlight
2.8 (3,540)
204%
785
5.7
The Motorcycle Diaries
Focus
1.4 (5,500)
-19%
260
7.8
Raise Your Voice
New Line
1.1 (740)
-59%
1509
8.5
Woman Thou Are Loosed
Magnolia
.71 (1,360)
3%
521
6
Napoleon Dynamite
Fox Searchlight
.68 (1,420)
-23%
479
41.3
Shaun of the Dead
Focus
.63 (1,120)
-6%
564
12.3
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow
Par
.58 (660)
-52%
872
36.8
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films)
$102.00
% Change (Last Year)
-18%
% Change (Last Week)
11%
Also Debuting/Expanding
Vera Drake
New Line
.29 (6,370)
615%
46
0.39
Being Julia
Sony Class/Think
.24 (6,810)
101%
36
0.41
Sideways
Fox Searchlight
.21 (51,800)
4
0.21
Les Choristes
Alliance
.18 (3,850)
-36%
47
1.1
Stage Beauty
Lions Gate
.17 (2,920)
93%
59
0.35
Final Cut
Lions Gate
.13 (1,130)
-42%
117
0.44
Celsius 41.11
Citizens United
92,500 (790)
-
117
0.09
The Machinist
Par Classics
62,600 (20,900)
-
3
0.06
Luther
Equinoxe
44,500 (900)
-
50
0.04
Undertow
MGM
22,300 (3,720)
-
6
0.02
The Manson Family
Dinssdale
8,800 (2,200)
-
4
0.01
Lightning in a Bottle
Sony Classics
5,500 (2,750)
-
2
0.01
Stella Street
Strand
2,800 (280)
-
10
0.01

Top Worldwide Grosses: January 1 - October 21, 2004

Title
Distributor
Gross
Shrek 2
DmWks
878,870,992
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
WB
787,999,275
Spider-Man 2
Sony
781,666,521
The Passion of the Christ
Newmarket/Icon
623,489,009
Lord of Rings: Return of the King *
New Line
545,355,621
The Day After Tomorrow
Fox
539,417,282
Troy
WB
496,578,423
I, Robot
Fox 
330,625,216
The Last Samurai *
WB
322,311,224
Van Helsing
Uni
300,225,681
The Bourne Supremacy
Uni
255,981,918
The Village
BV
240,542,642
Fahrenheit 9/11
LGF/Wild Bunch
218,347,647
Something's Gotta Give *
Sony/WB
200,716,230
50 First Dates
Sony
195,416,861
King Arthur
BV
193,104,897
Garfield
Fox
188,855,165
Shark Tale
DmWks
187,745,727
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
WB
179,386,070
Along Came Polly
Uni
171,090,969
* does not include 2003 box office

Domestic Market Share: January 1 - October 21, 2004

Distributor (releases)
Gross (millions)
Percentage
Sony (20)
1093.4
14.60%
Warner Bros. (28)
923.3
12.40%
DreamWorks (10)
886.5
11.90%
Fox (16)
877.2
11.80%
Buena Vista (23)
728.1
9.70%
Universal (15)
626.5
8.40%
Paramount (14)
428.8
5.70%
Newmarket (5)
406.4
5.40%
New Line (14)
350.9
4.70%
Miramax (19)
285.9
3.80%
Lions Gate (23)
222.7
3.00%
MGM (13)
198.1
2.70%
Fox Searchlight (9)
130.9
1.80%
Focus (8)
96.9
1.30%
Alliance (17)
51.8
0.70%
Other * (203)
159.2
2.10%
* none greater than .5%
7466.6
100%

 

 

 

 

 


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