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

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That's
Incredibles
Animating
what's likely to be Disney's biggest three-day opening, Pixar's
The Incredibles crushed the competition with an estimated
$72.2 million. The spoof of comic strip superheroes attracted
roughly half of all weekend ticket sales and left the rest of
the field struggling for poor seconds including the national bow
of Alfie. Apart from a couple of good holds, the only other
bright note came from the expansion of the critically lauded Sideways
that retained a per screen average of close to $15,000.
Disney had
hoped to surpass the $70.3 million benchmark established by the
summer 2003 debut of Finding Nemo. The Incredibles'
Friday box office of $20.8 million certainly put that goal within
reach if the film could attract a significant adult audience.
Company insiders said the film needed a roughly 40% boost on Saturday
and sampling showed the box office rising by 44%. The Mouse House's
official estimate is $70.7 million and when one is dealing on
such stratospheric revenue levels a variance of a couple of percentage
points can translates into as much as $3 million in the final
tally.
The frame's
only other major release was Alfie, based on the play by
Bill Naughton and the 1966 film that made Michael Caine
a star. It had a soft landing of $6.5 million that ranked it fifth
overall and doesn't bode well in the coming weeks as competition
stiffens from films going after major holiday coin.
Spurred by
the record breaking animated debut business ballooned by about
49% from seven days earlier, recording roughly $150 million in
sales. However, it was still 5% shy of the 2003 level when Matrix
Revolutions and Elf openings led the period with respective
grosses of $48.5 million and $31.1 million.
Holdover titles
saw strong second week returns for both Ray and Saw
with the former edging out The Grudge by about $500,000
for second spot with an estimated $13.8 million. Also holding
steady was Shall We Dance with $5.7 million and a cume
of $42.2 million. It had initially been set for a summer bow and
its dominant appeal to adults suggests it might have posted revenues
comparable to The Notebook had it maintained the earlier
berth.
Adding 50
theaters to its run, the expansion of the quirky upscale comedy
Sideways was maintaining its vintage with a $1 million weekend.
Hoping for critic list kudos to sustain and boost its box office,
Fox Searchlight is keeping a slow roll out strategy to avoid the
quick burn it experienced with Huckabees. Other films on a similar
track that appears to be working include Being Julia and
Vera Drake.
Among incoming
specialized fare, Fade to Black on rapper Jay Z
grossed about $500,000 from 170 venues and should quickly transition
from theatrical to home video for the holidays.
Franco
Zeffirelli's biopic Callas Forever with Fanny Ardent
as the legendary diva apparently debuted in 24 locations but
data was only available from four sites. Based on those playdates,
the film should generate a weekend tally of about $21,000. The
French sci-fi opus Immortal (Ad Vitam) demonstrated slightly
better momentum with a $38,000 box office from five screens in
Quebec. Single screen outings for Brother to Brother and
Bear Cub were inclusive with respective grosses of $9,800
and $7,800.
- by Leonard
Klady
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