..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..Emanuel
Levy
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Turkey, Gravy and the Trimmings
Weekend Estimates
There was certainly a fair amount to be grateful for as the Thanksgiving holiday provided a box office bounty that exceeded the 2003 feast by 8% for a marginal boost in Turkey time admissions. Led by outstanding holds for both National Treasure and The Incredibles, the frame also provided for an excellent debut of Christmas with the Kranks, solid expansions of Finding Neverland, Sideways and Kinsey and a potent exclusive launch of A Very Long Engagement. The only sour note was the lackluster premiere of Alexander with a not so great $13.5 million weekend.
National Treasure led the field with an estimated $32.7 million and a marginal decline of 7% for a 10-day cume just shy of $88 million. The Incredibles was also comparably steadfast as its cume climbed to $215 million. The other family favorite that was holding its own was The Polar Express that ranked fourth with $19.3 million and surpassed its prior weekend box office by 23%. The film has been particular strong in 61 large screen 3-D outings that have generated more than $10 million three weeks ago.
The holiday spirit was infused by the low brow comedy Christmas with the Kranks that launched with $22.4 million and $31.7 million since its Wednesday premiere. It was a strong showing in light of heavy competition and in the wake of the immediate, ironically titled Surviving Christmas.
The box office gods were considerably less kind to the epic, lengthy Alexander that also bowed Wednesday and ranked sixth. The industry was abuzz Sunday with news that the normally generous CinemaScore gave it a D+ based on polling exiting movie goers. The critics also unleashed their slings and arrows and its on-going commercial prospects might best be described as a one-way ticket to Palookaville.
Overall business should clock in with close to $175 million for a 14% boost from the immediate prior weekend. A year ago Cat in the Hat edged out the opening of Haunted Mansion by $200,000 with a $24.5 million tally. There was also an unexpectedly strong $12.3 million debut for Bad Santa.
On the money train, both Disney and Warner Bros. passed $1 billion domestically during the Thanksgiving gorge. The two companies are expected to further narrow Sony's $200 million edge and compete for bragging rights come December 31.
The major cautionary note is a current light compliment of national releases and that could result in a significant box office drop next weekend when the biggest opener will be the drama Closer with a 500 theater first wave. A week later the big guns will be Blade: Trinity and Ocean's Twelve.
There was a fair amount of muttering early last week when Miramax abruptly scaled back its expansion of Finding Neverland from an anticipated 900 runs to 513. Considering the potent $9,200 average it generated, the sagacity of the move was being heavily debated. It's generally been felt that specialized titles have been expanded too quickly this year and flamed out and caution would appear to be the operative word for such current titles as Sideways, The Motorcycle Diaries and Kinsey. For those titles and a handful of others the announcements of winners by The National Board of Review, the Los Angeles and New York Film Critics and Golden Globe nominees cannot come too soon.
Another contendor, French period drama A Very Long Engagement, had a strong start of slightly better than $100,000 from four screens. There was also a potent hold for Bad Education that grossed $120,000 from three locations.
Other debuting fare included an OK $140,000, 20-screen launch of the oft-filmed Hulchul on the Bollywood circuit. The religiously themed The Work and the Glory proved potent with a $330,000 gross at 25 venues. A pair of documentaries generated good to fair response. Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst scored with $25,000 from three screens while the Holocaust-themed Paper Clips did $18,600 at five locations.
Exclusive engagements proved largely unremarkable with the potent social drama A Fond Kiss generating about $9,100 from two screens and Jean-Luc Godard's rumination Our Music scoring $7,100 from a single outlet. The thriller Straight-Jacket eked out roughly $5,500 at three locations.
Weekend Estimates - November 26-28, 2004
Title National Treasure 32,156,917 -9% 3243 87,270,875 The Incredibles 23,580,279 -11% 3453 214,294,035 Christmas with the Kranks 21,570,867 3393 30,818,212 The Polar Express 19,389,297 24% 3650 81,479,861 The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie 17,844,331 -44% 3307 58,793,169 Alexander 13,687,087 2445 21,837,517 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason 6,231,960 -38% 2473 31,963,405 Finding Neverland 4,670,177 448% 513 7,753,315 Ray 3,976,685 -13% 1495 65,126,870 After the Sunset 3,101,979 -39% 2309 24,320,526 Sideways 2,912,836 59% 497 9,950,066 The Grudge 1,952,301 -49% 1486 107,778,950 Saw 1,531,070 -47% 1043 53,199,019 Shall We Dance 1,506,946 -36% 1054 54,719,257 Seed of Chucky 1,296,909 -60% 1047 15,692,277 Kinsey 1,292,518 124% 188 2,545,366 The Motorcycle Diaries 657,028 6% 239 13,677,171 Veer-Zaara 403,841 -26% 81 2,462,255 Shark Tale 325,442 -44% 512 158,966,465 Being Julia 324,394 -17% 206 2,674,051 Friday Night Lights 292,405 -46% 342 60,607,710 What the #$*! Do We Know 255,492 -5% 107 9,049,915 Nouvelle-France 253,337 -46% 83 921,364 The Work and the Glory 251,145 32 450,324 Napoleon Dynamite 241,977 44% 193 43,447,097 I Heart Huckabees 215,729 -27% 106 12,044,129 Alfie 192,053 -74% 520 13,148,049 Ladder 49 179,932 -54% 249 73,067,237 Without a Paddle 152,211 -8% 196 57,736,910 Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 144,179 -11% 262 94,903,904 Bad Education 138,546 -6% 3 379,809 Surviving Christmas 126,257 20% 202 11,367,149 Taxi 109,701 -40% 163 25,852,247 Hulchul 108,952 20 108,952 The Machinist 107,387 61% 35 537,701 A Very Long Engagement 101,749 4 101,749 Resident Evil: Apocalypse 98,326 -46% 135 50,978,697 The Bourne Supremacy 95,910 -27% 137 176,049,130 Team America: World Police 92,277 -57% 108 32,385,401 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 91,915 349% 191 37,635,325 Vera Drake 91,170 -34% 45 1,833,121 Santa vs. the Snowman 83,148 196% 16 4,430,463 Space Station 73,121 47% 14 55,771,951 Callas Forever 58,983 228% 14 171,414 Cellular 54,181 -38% 108 31,913,300 Bugs! 49,417 46% 22 13,788,781 Garden State 47,184 -21% 46 26,546,844 Spider-Man 2 43,826 -14% 59 373,524,485 Haunted Castle 42,500 -15% 5 9,905,505 The Forgotten 41,282 -49% 67 66,711,892 Les Choristes 40,027 -32% 21 1,821,951 Hero 38,046 -33% 62 53,652,140 Nascar: The Imax Experience 35,451 45% 21 19,380,209 Enduring Love 32,174 -17% 50 300,204 Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban 31,880 7% 34 249,509,413 I, Robot 27,703 -44% 46 144,738,046 Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk 27,458 -9% 11 8,768,834 Anacondas 25,590 -38% 37 32,206,382 Birth 24,623 -61% 28 4,661,214 Aitraaz 22,725 -41% 24 128,453 Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst 22,444 4 22,444 Shaun of the Dead 21,377 -43% 52 13,464,388 Paper Clips 21,148 5 21,148 T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous 21,081 85% 2 49,536,210 Mensonges et trahisons 19,288 7 19,288
November 26-28, 2004
Title National Treasure