..Gary
Dretzka
..Leonard
Klady
..David
Poland
..Doug
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
Put Up Your Dukes
August 7 , 2005
Weekend Estimates
The first weekend of August is generally considered the last opportunity to open a major summer release and still get ample box office juice. That spot was filled by the big screen translation of bygone television favorite The Dukes of Hazzard and it translated into an estimated $30.3 million bow that easily led weekend viewing options.
The Dukes were the sole national opening and provided just enough horsepower to equal last year's weekend gross. However, there were other significant highlights, including the national expansion of March of the Penguins and potent regional and niche bows for Broken Flowers, 2046 and the Quebec romantic comedy L'Horloge Biologique.
Cracker humor, fast cars and buxom beauties were the hallmark of The Dukes of Hazzard on TV and all those elements were retained in its movie incarnation. Its $12 million opening day gross held out the promise of a $35 million plus frame but Saturday business fell sharply by 21 percent and estimates downshifted. And despite its lineage, exit polls revealed that there was little nostalgic interest with the film's prime appeal coming from teens and young 20s too young to have a first hand experience with Luke, Bo, Daisy and the rest of the Georgia clan.
The frame was dominated by films from Time-Warner companies with five of the top six movies distributed by Warner Bros., New Line or Warner Independent. While unconfirmed, it's believed to be a record.
Overall box office business weighed in with approximately $114 million to provide only the third instance of the summer in which a comparable or better gross was recorded in relation to 2004. There's been just one week during the season in which admissions exceeded the prior year.
Wedding Crashers once again had an excellent hold and if it continues on its present path will reach $200 million by Labor Day. Meanwhile, March of the Penguins opted to go full bore and expand to 1,875 theaters. Its $7.1 million weekend ranked sixth and pushed its cume to $27 million and the prospect of a $50 million finale.
August has also evolved as a period to debut specialized fare in hopes those pictures can sail through the fall and into awards season. The strategy provided a fast start for Cannes award winner Broken Flowers with Bill Murray that bowed at 27 theaters and generated close to $700,000. Another fest favorite, 2046 from Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, showed comparable strength but in just four situations.
Down a notch but still impressive was the Sundance-preemed Junebug with a $73,500 weekend at 10 locales. The human comedy bowed Wednesday, grossing an additional $25,000. The results for two other American indies were lackluster with the mockumentary My Date with Drew grossing about $82,000 from 58 venues and The Chumscrubber eking by with barely more than a $1,000 average in 28 exposures.
There was another excellent bow for a local production in Quebec with L'Horloge Biologique (The Biological Clock) stepping out with more than $500,000 from 88 playdates. The second weekend of the dirty joke chronicle The Aristocrats added five engagements bringing its total to nine with box office basically on par with its first salvo and its screen average still mighty.
Additionally, there was a fair opening for the South American hostage yarn Secuesto Express of $41,000 from eight screens and a passable $140,000 gross from 61 engagements for the U.S. bow of the Canadian family drama Saint Ralph. The latter film opened earlier this year in the Great White North and generated about $230,000.
Weekend Estimates - August 5-7, 2005
Title The Dukes of Hazzard Wedding Crashers Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Sky High Must Love Dogs March of the Penguins Stealth Fantastic Four War of the Worlds The Island The Bad News Bears Hustle & Flow Batman Begins The Devil's Rejects Mr. & Mrs. Smith Broken Flowers L'Horloge Biologique Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) % Change (Last Year) % Change (Last Week) Also Debuting/Expanding The Aristocrats Saint Ralph 2046 My Date with Drew Junebug Secuestro Express The Chumscrubber Domestic Market Share: To August 2, 2005
Company (releases) Percentage Fox (13) 19.80%
Warner Bros. (18) 15.50% Paramount (10) 10.90% Sony (15) 10.10% Universal (13) 9.30%
Buena Vista (16) 7.40% DreamWorks (4) 5.50% Miramax (14) 5.30%
New Line (12) 4.80% MGM (8) 3.40% Lions Gate (12) 2.60% Fox Searchlight (6) 1.20% Focus (5) 0.90% Sony Classics (18) 0.80%