Nov 21, 2004
Nov 14, 2004
Nov 7, 2004
October 31, 2004
October 24, 2004
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 Domestic Grosses
Market Share

Turkey, Gravy and the Trimmings

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.

 

- by Leonard Klady


Weekend Estimates - November 26-28, 2004

Title
Distrib
Weekend
% Change
Theaters
Cume
Wks
1
1
National Treasure
BV
32,156,917 -9% 3243 87,270,875
2
2
3
The Incredibles
BV
23,580,279 -11% 3453 214,294,035
4
3
New
Christmas with the Kranks
Sony
21,570,867 3393 30,818,212
1
4
4
The Polar Express
WB
19,389,297 24% 3650 81,479,861
3
5
2
The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie
Par
17,844,331 -44% 3307 58,793,169
2
6
New
Alexander
WB
13,687,087 2445 21,837,517
1
7
5
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Uni
6,231,960 -38% 2473 31,963,405
3
8
13
Finding Neverland
Miramax
4,670,177 448% 513 7,753,315
3
9
7
Ray
Uni
3,976,685 -13% 1495 65,126,870
5
10
6
After the Sunset
New Line
3,101,979 -39% 2309 24,320,526
3
11
12
Sideways
Fox Searchlight
2,912,836 59% 497 9,950,066
6
12
8
The Grudge
Sony
1,952,301 -49% 1486 107,778,950
6
13
10
Saw
Lions Gate
1,531,070 -47% 1043 53,199,019
5
14
11
Shall We Dance
Miramax
1,506,946 -36% 1054 54,719,257
7
15
9
Seed of Chucky
Focus
1,296,909 -60% 1047 15,692,277
3
16
16
Kinsey
Fox Searchlight
1,292,518 124% 188 2,545,366
3
17
15
The Motorcycle Diaries
Focus
657,028 6% 239 13,677,171
10
18
18
Veer-Zaara
Yash Raj
403,841 -26% 81 2,462,255
3
19
17
Shark Tale
DreamWorks
325,442 -44% 512 158,966,465
9
20
22
Being Julia
Sony Class/Think
324,394 -17% 206 2,674,051
7
21
19
Friday Night Lights
Uni
292,405 -46% 342 60,607,710
8
22
24
What the #$*! Do We Know
Lord of Wind/IDP
255,492 -5% 107 9,049,915
43
23
20
Nouvelle-France
Christal
253,337 -46% 83 921,364
2
24
New
The Work and the Glory
Excel
251,145 32 450,324
1
25
27
Napoleon Dynamite
Fox Searchlight
241,977 44% 193 43,447,097
25
26
23
I Heart Huckabees
Fox Searchlight
215,729 -27% 106 12,044,129
9
27
14
Alfie
Par
192,053 -74% 520 13,148,049
4
28
21
Ladder 49
BV
179,932 -54% 249 73,067,237
9
29
28
Without a Paddle
Par
152,211 -8% 196 57,736,910
15
30
29
Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
BV
144,179 -11% 262 94,903,904
16
31
30
Bad Education
Sony Classics
138,546 -6% 3 379,809
2
32
33
Surviving Christmas
DreamWorks
126,257 20% 202 11,367,149
6
33
26
Taxi
Fox
109,701 -40% 163 25,852,247
8
34
New
Hulchul
Rainbow Films
108,952 20 108,952
1
35
36
The Machinist
Par Classics
107,387 61% 35 537,701
6
36
New
A Very Long Engagement
WIP
101,749 4 101,749
1
37
RE
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Sony/Alliance
98,326 -46% 135 50,978,697
12
38
32
The Bourne Supremacy
Uni
95,910 -27% 137 176,049,130
19
39
25
Team America: World Police
Par
92,277 -57% 108 32,385,401
7
40
57
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Par
91,915 349% 191 37,635,325
11
41
31
Vera Drake
New Line
91,170 -34% 45 1,833,121
8
42
53
Santa vs. the Snowman
Imax
83,148 196% 16 4,430,463
106
43
43
Space Station
Imax
73,121 47% 14 55,771,951
137
44
62
Callas Forever
Regent
58,983 228% 14 171,414
4
45
34
Cellular
New Line
54,181 -38% 108 31,913,300
12
46
50
Bugs!
SK Film
49,417 46% 22 13,788,781
89
47
38
Garden State
Fox Searchlight
47,184 -21% 46 26,546,844
16
48
41
Spider-Man 2
Sony
43,826 -14% 59 373,524,485
21
49
42
Haunted Castle
nWave
42,500 -15% 5 9,905,505
197
50
35
The Forgotten
Sony
41,282 -49% 67 66,711,892
10
51
39
Les Choristes
Alliance
40,027 -32% 21 1,821,951
8
52
40
Hero
Miramax
38,046 -33% 62 53,652,140
14
53
55
Nascar: The Imax Experience
WB
35,451 45% 21 19,380,209
38
54
46
Enduring Love
Par Classics
32,174 -17% 50 300,204
5
55
52
Harry Potter & Prisoner of Azkaban
WB
31,880 7% 34 249,509,413
26
56
44
I, Robot
Fox
27,703 -44% 46 144,738,046
20
57
51
Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk
Giant Screen
27,458 -9% 11 8,768,834
109
58
45
Anacondas
Sony
25,590 -38% 37 32,206,382
12
59
37
Birth
New Line
24,623 -61% 28 4,661,214
5
60
47
Aitraaz
Zee TV
22,725 -41% 24 128,453
3
61
New
Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
Magnolia
22,444 4 22,444
1
62
48
Shaun of the Dead
Focus
21,377 -43% 52 13,464,388
10
63
New
Paper Clips
One Clip
21,148 5 21,148
1
64
79
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
Imax
21,081 85% 2 49,536,210
319
65
New
Mensonges et trahisons
Seville
19,288 7 19,288
1

 

November 26-28, 2004

Title
Distributor
Gross (average)
% change
Theaters
Cume
National Treasure
BV
32.7 (10,090)