..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..Emanuel Levy
..David Poland
..Doug Pratt
..Ray Pride

Weekend Estimates 2005 Domestic Market Share 2004 International Boxoffice 2004 Domestic Boxoffice 2004 Market Share Date From Hell The anticipation was enormous and the results impressive but the final estimated tally of $35.1 million for the supernatural thriller Constantine still lagged slightly behind Hitch, which took weekend box office honors with slightly more than $37 million. Modest results for several other debuts during the four-day Presidents holiday frame pushed business to about $160 million for a tidy 11% increase from 2004. Constantine, based on a popular graphic novel, was aggressively promoted and had all the elements to ensure a big opening number that many predicted in the area of $40 million to $45 million. Critical response, though tepid, did not deter a solid $10.5 million opening day. However, business barely budged Saturday and its lead quickly was overtaken by Hitch that subsided just 27% from its opening salvo (% comparisons are 3-day to 3-day). The frame's other freshmen titles were targeted to kids and willing adults. The sentimental Because of Winn-Dixie with a cute dog and tykes ranked third with roughly $13 million and Son of the Mask opted to play to the youngest viewer demographic and that translated into almost $10 million. The former result bodes well for Winn-Dixie's ancillary life but the Mask sequel has to be considered a disappointment in light of the popularity of the original and year's of failed attempts to spawn a new yarn with or without Jim Carrey. The dynamism of the top ranked titles, combined with a continuing interest in Oscar nominated movies, fueled the frame, providing a 19% boost from seven days earlier. Last year's holiday saw the bow of 50 First Dates leading the pack with $45.3 million with the second weekend of Miracle trailing with $17 million. Overall domestic box office crossed $1 billion last week on the 44th day of 2005. Movie going in general is off to a fast start with grosses up 12% from the prior year. The frame was also dotted with quite a number of new specialized titles in limited exposure. Most impressive was Downfall, Germany's Oscar submission starring Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler during the last days of the Second World War. It grossed about $24,000 from a single Manhattan venue. The Kurdish Turtles Can't Fly registered a strong $30,500 from four screens but other debuts ranged from fair to poor. The American indie Bigger Than the Sky opened to $18,600 at nine locations and the French import Vipere au poing did $28,400 from 10 theaters in Quebec. There was good news for a couple of niche holdovers especially the Bollywood-inspired Bride and Prejudice that maintained a $12,800 average from 32 engagements. Also good was Inside Deep Throat with 15 added and a roughly $150,000 weekend. Best picture contenders Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator and Sideways all ranked in the top 10 with both Finding Neverland and Hotel Rwanda also benefiting from the award spotlight. However, the biggest second wind comparatively speaking belong to Being Julia that's been able to secure hundreds of new playdates since the Oscar announcement for Annette Bening and generated $710,000 over the holiday span. - by Leonard Klady

Weekend Estimates - February 18-21, 2005

Title	Distributor	Gross (average)	% change	Theaters	Cume
Hitch	Sony	37.1 (10,390)	-27%	3575	95.4
Constantine	WB	35.1 (11,680)	-	3006	35.1
Because of Winn-Dixie	Fox	13.0 (4,090)	-	3188	13
Son of the Mask	New Line	9.9 (3,340)	-	2966	9.9
Are We There Yet?	Sony	8.2 (3,260)	-22%	2519	71.2
Million Dollar Baby	WB	8.0 (3,790)	-10%	2105	55.5
Boogeyman	Sony	6.4 (2,500)	-46%	2572	42.1
Pooh's Heffelump Movie	BV	5.2 (2,040)	-28%	2529	12.4
The Aviator	Miramax/WB	4.8 (2,790)	-16%	1710	88.8
Sideways	Fox Searchlight	4.7 (3,580)	-15%	1300	58.9
The Wedding Date	Uni/Equinoxe	4.6 (2,940)	-30%	1569	26
Hide and Seek	Fox	3.2 (1,790)	-51%	1779	48.5
Meet the Fockers	Uni	2.4 (1,840)	-42%	1289	273.5
Finding Neverland	Miramax	2.3 (2,690)	-17%	860	45.7
Hotel Rwanda	MGM	2.1 (3,360)	-14%	630	17.1
Racing Stripes	WB	1.7 (1,210)	-51%	1420	46.1
Coach Carter	Par	1.5 (1,520)	-52%	965	65.1
Phantom of the Opera	WB	1.3 (1,420)	-43%	902	47.7
Ong-Bak	Magnolia/Alliance	.92 (2,550)	-46%	361	2.8
In Good Company	Uni	.77 (1,490)	-48%	518	44.7
Being Julia	Sony Classics	.71 (3,060)	81%	232	5.9
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films)	-	$153.90	-	-	-
% Change (Last Year)	-	11%	-	-	-
% Change (Last Week)	-	19%	-	-	-
Also Debuting/Expanding
Aliens of the Deep	BV	.49 (18,150)	3%	27	2.2
Bride and Prejudice	Miramax	.41 (12,810)	-17%	32	0.91
Inside Deep Throat	Uni	.15 (5,630)	35%	27	0.28
Turtles Can't Fly	IFC	30,500 (7,630)	-	4	0.03
Vipere au poing	Seville	28,400 (2,840)	-	10	0.03
Downfall	Newmarket	24,300 (24,300)	-	1	0.02
Bigger Than the Sky	MGM	18,600 (2,063)	-	9	0.02
Schultze Gets the Blues	Par Classics	17,500 (4,360)	-	4	0.02
Agents secrets	Alliance	9,250 (1,850)	-	5	0.01

Domestic Market Share: To February 3, 2005

Distributor (Titles)	Gross (Millions)	Percentage
Universal (6)	218.8	28.00%
Warner Bros. (8)	131.2	16.80%
Paramount (5)	89.9	11.50%
Fox (5)	77.5	9.90%
Sony (6)	67.5	8.60%
Miramax (4)	64.5	8.30%
Buena Vista (6)	40.5	5.20%
Fox Searchlight (4)	24.5	3.10%
Focus (3)	17.3	2.20%
Sony Classics (4)	9.8	1.30%
Lions Gate (4)	8.7	1.10%
MGM (1)	8.6	1.10%
New Line (5)	7.6	1.00%
Other * (30)	15	1.90%
* none greater than .6%	781.4	100.00%