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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
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