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

November 13, 2005 Weekend Estimates Worldwide Grosses Domestic Market Share Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Reports that Disney's animation unit was moribund fell on deaf ears as Chicken Little again left the competition choking on the dust with a weekend estimate of $32.7 million. Its closest competition came from Zathura, another family friendly offering that debuted with $14.1 million. Two other national debuts posted no better than OK response though the limited launch of Pride and Prejudice was solid. Overall business again lagged behind 2004 and registered a slight decline from the immediate prior weekend. Chicken Little's fear that the sky was falling proved unfounded as it registered a mere 18% drop from its opening weekend. The film actually saw Friday-to-Friday business increase by 9% and easily stave off expectations of drops anticipated to be between 30% and 35%. Its $81 cume provides a nice cushion for the anticipated boffo debut of the fourth Harry Potter installment next week. Conversely, a black cloud hovered over Zathura, a quasi-sequel to Jumanji. Wedged between the two kid tilted dynamos, the well reviewed movie felt the squeeze and can only hope that good word-of-mouth will sustain it through the holiday period much in the manner of last year's The Polar Express. Chicken Little has had a decided adverse effect on other family fare in the marketplace and the Thanksgiving bow of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is expected to have an even more severe box office vacuum effect. The frame's other national bows are also off to shaky starts. The somewhat autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin' jump started the weekend with a Wednesday bow and recorded $5.7 million. The 50 cent vehicle added $12.3 million and while the initial box office translated into excellent per theater averages, signs of rapid erosion are already evident. Derailed, the maiden release of the Weinstein Company, neither charmed the critics nor audiences with a $12.2 million opening salvo. The distributor is reporting a significantly higher bow but they are the outfit famous for inflating box office. Weekend revenues should climb to more than $130 million that translates to a 2% decline from seven days earlier. It's also 11% behind last year's box office but hopes are strong that Thanksgiving could provide a positive upturn in a year filled with doom and gloom. The new screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice had a pedigree premiere of $2.9 million from 215 venues. The film has already opened in a handful of territories overseas and grossed an impressive $40 million. Other upscale entries including Capote, The Squid and the Whale and Good Night, and Good Luck continue to hold their own in the marketplace. The mixed bag of limited release preems was highlighted by an excellent response to the concert film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic. The film recorded a $19,000 plus per engagement average from seven outings for a $130,000 gross. The family drama Bee Season had a comparable gross but on three times as many screens that translated into anxiety about the Richard Gere film's expansion prospects. Other limited bows were undistinguished including Ellie Parker's $8,800 box office from six venues and Toronto award-winning mockumentary The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico with $4,400 from four locations. - by Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - November 11-13, 2005 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume Chicken Little BV 32.7 (8,950) -18% 3658 81.5 Zathura Sony 14.1 (4,370) - 3223 14.1 Jarhead Uni 12.4 (5,060) -55% 2448 47.2 Get Rich or Die Tryin' Par 12.3 (7,460) - 1652 18 Derailed Wein Co 12.2 (4,990) - 2441 12.2 Saw II Lions Gate 9.3 (3,160) -45% 2949 74.1 The Legend of Zorro Sony 6.7 (2,190) -33% 3053 32.89 Prime Uni 4.1 (2,280) -21% 1781 19.1 Dreamer DreamWorks 3.9 (1,440) -18% 2735 29.1 Pride and Prejudice Focus 2.9 (13,360) - 215 2.9 Good Night, and Good Luck WIP 2.6 (3,920) -15% 668 14.6 Shopgirl BV 1.9 (3,790) -26% 493 6.2 The Weather Man Par 1.8 (1,420) -38% 1250 11.4 Flightplan BV 1.7 (1,610) -27% 1041 86.7 Capote Sony Classics 1.2 (4,450) 15% 263 6.5 Wallace & Gromit: Curse of Were-Rabbit DreamWorks 1.1 (1,120) -46% 1012 54.5 The Fog Sony 1.0 (1,160) -48% 888 29.4 North Country WB 1.0 (980) -53% 1044 17.4 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang WB .88 (5,190) 111% 169 2.2 Elizabethtown Par .74 (1,010) -55% 730 26.4 Doom Uni .72 (1,030) -64% 700 27.7 In Her Shoes Fox .66 (1,360) -40% 486 32.1 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $125.90 - - % Change (Last Year) -11% - - - % Change (Last Week) -2% - - - Also Debuting/Expanding The Squid and the Whale IDP .41 (4,530) 2% 90 2.4 Water Mongrel .28 (7,080) 84% 39 0.48 Paradise Now WIP .15 (3,290) 48% 45 0.36 Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic IDP .13 (19,210) - 7 0.13 Bee Season Fox Searchlight .13 (6,280) - 21 0.13 Ellie Parker Strand 8,800 (1,470) - 6 0.01 Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico Odeon 4,400 (1,110) - 4 0.01 Top Worldwide Grossers - To November 10, 2005 Title Distributor Gross Star Wars: Epi III - Revenge of the Sith Fox 846,378,603 War of the Worlds Par/UIP 588,494,593 Madagascar DmWks 525,048,490 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory WB 468,382,437 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Fox/Regency 427,712,480 Meet the Fockers * Uni 372,804,625 Batman Begins WB 370,789,960 Hitch Sony 367,964,803 Fantastic Four Fox 327,156,805 Wedding Crashers New Line 282,018,713 Robots Fox 259,591,326 Constantine WB 229,853,022 Million Dollar Baby * WB/Lakeshore 216,048,335 Kingdom of Heaven Fox/Pathe 211,046,553 The Pacifier BV 198,267,140 The Aviator * Miramax/Initial 190,313,237 The Longest Yard Par/Sony 189,902,121 Ocean's Twelve * WB 176,849,785 Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit DmWks/UIP 163,987,583 The Ring Two DmWks/UIP 161,236,352 * does not include 2004 box office Domestic Market Share - To November 10, 2005 Distributor (releases) Gross Percentage Fox (18) 1173.9 16.00% Distributor (releases) 1140.5 15.60% Universal (20) 784.4 10.70% Sony (23) 769.6 10.50% Paramount (14) 727.7 9.90% Buena Vista (21) 618.1 8.40% DreamWorks (9) 492.9 6.70% New Line (15) 391.4 5.30% Miramax (22) 360.4 4.90% Lions Gate (18) 252.1 3.40% MGM (8) 182.6 2.50% Focus (8) 104.7 1.40% Fox Searchlight (8) 83.4 1.10% Sony Classics (24) 55.7 0.80% Other * (221) 199.7 2.70% * none greater than .05% 7337.1 100.00%