..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

Ray (of Sunshine) … See, Saw, Sewn and Other Scary Stuff Despite some formidable competition and a significant second weekend drop in business, The Grudge remained American's top viewing choice with an estimated $22.4 million. However, right behind the scare fare were the bows of biopic Ray and the gorefest Saw with excellent respective openers of $20.1 million and $17.6 million. The frame also marked continued excellent response to Sideways in limited release and both Vera Drake and Being Julia held up as they entered new markets. Though there was strength among the top choices, there wasn't much length behind them and that adds up to weekend tally that appears headed toward about $103 million. That reps a 5% decline from a week earlier and a slight 1% drop from 2003. However, the incline gets steeper when one notes that last year had no major openers and the gross figure translates into fewer actual admissions. The Grudge continued to fan the flames of horror movie appeal appropriate to any Halloween weekend. Still, it provided an unexpected boost for Saw that entered theaters with a campaign that effectively suggested a graphic thrill ride with beaucoup body parts splayed across the screen. The film opened in England three weeks ago where its been a box office dynamo with $9 million in the bank already. The momentum for the Ray Charles movie was inarguable, building up considerable buzz from Jamie Foxx's transcendent performance. While some pundits felt the movie could lead the weekend, that prospect was muted by the fact that Ray debuted in 40% fewer theaters than The Grudge. Its $10,000 per engagement average spoke volumes about its commercial potency and it's significant that the top three marketplace titles are all movies developed outside the system and acquired by majors. The weekend also featured a national launch with limited exposure for the offbeat dramatic thriller Birth. Its middling $1.7 million, $3,180 average doesn't bode well for the Nicole Kidman vehicle's future. Admittedly a difficult film to market because of unusual and unsettling material, it needs to maintain at least 75% of opening returns next week if it hopes for mainstream crossover. The niche and limited release arena was dominated by holdovers rather than debuting titles. Sideways, the quirky road movie with the nutty vintage, expanded from four to 13 venues and maintained a full bodied $30,000 average. While by no means as hearty, both Vera Drake and Being Julia added theaters without seriously carving into respective box office potency. Vera and Julia are banking on awards and nominations for their title performers to provide second waves in December and January. Among debuting alternative titles the best of this weekend's unremarkable class was the dark and obsessed saga Enduring Love. It bowed in five situations to slightly more than $35,000. Other new fare generated considerably more mundane results with the documentary Voices of Iraq grossing roughly $29,000 from 11 exposures; the Mexican social drama Perfume de Violetas posting $8,500 from six screens; and It's All About Love eking out $2,400 from two venues. - by Leonard Klady