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

March 26, 2006 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share Mr. Boxoffice Goes To Washington ... There was a Spike in the box office both literally and figuratively as Inside Man ascended to an estimated $29.2 million to lead weekend movie going. The frame also provided surprises for other national debuts with the teen thriller Stay Alive having more utz than expected and the big screen incarnation for Larry the Cable Guy not as well connected as had been anticipated. Overall it was still more than enough to register double-digit boosts from 2005 and bring box office revenues on par with last year. Riding on a crest of 4-star reviews, the twisty bank heist thriller Inside Man entered the frame with expectations for a weekend tally between $22 million and $25 million. However, it’s opening day gross of $9.8 million upped the ante for what’s turned out to be the most potent debut for a film directed by Spike Lee and its star Denzel Washington. The film also received a day-and-date launch in a spectrum of 15 international territories and topped the charts in most instances. Great Britain provided a $2.3 million gross while German revenues were about $1.6 million. It was also first choice in Hong Kong and Brazil but trailed The Shaggy Dog by a furry nose in Mexico. Absent the sort of graphic violence that’s figured into recent teen in jeopardy movies, Stay Alive had been largely written off as a non-starter. However, its roughly $11.3 million opening salvo close to doubled the pundit’s prognosis. Conversely, Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector was expected to draw a heftier sized audience for the small screen redneck character somewhere in the low double digits. Instead, it ranked seventh overall with a disappointing $6.7 million that should nonetheless propel the low-budget outing to sizable profits. The frame generated a brisk run of about $110 million for a tidy 5% upturn from last weekend. However, that also translated into a 13% increase from 2005 when the $20.7 million debut of Guess Who led the way. With domestic grosses for the year approaching $2 billion, box office was less than 1% off last year’s pace with expectations for the May onslaught to once again provide increases in revenues and attendance. Holdover titles generally experienced 30% to 40% drops with last week’s leader V for Vendetta to no one’s great surprise dropping 51% to place second in the charts with about $12.6 million in ticket sales. The indie satire Thank You for Smoking received a second week expansion of 49 theaters that generated an impressive near $1.1 million gross. There was nothing comparable potent among the session’s niche openers. The Bollywood entry Being Cyrus had a lackluster $66,580 frame from 30 outposts while the single screen Manhattan bow of the doc Beauty Academy of Kabul was better than encouraging at $10,500. There was OK response to Lonesome Jim with $14,600 from two sites and a passable $45,000 gate for the Cannes-prized L’Enfant in seven exposures. The negative side of the ledger embraced the rock ‘n roll bio Stoned with $15,800 from six screens and the indie American Gun nudging up to $10,000 from four chambers. - by Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - March 24-26, 2006 Title Distributor Gross (average)e) % change Theaters Cume Inside Man Uni 29.2 (10,350) - 2818 30.2 V for Vendetta WB 12.6 (3,740) -51% 3365 46.4 Failure to Launch Par 10.9 (3,400) -30% 3202 63.9 Stay Alive BV 11.3 (5,610) - 2009 11.3 The Shaggy Dog BV 9.2 (2,680) -32% 3421 48 She's the Man Par 7.4 (2,810) -31% 2631 20.4 Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector Lions Gate 6.7 (3,930) - 1710 6.7 The Hills Have Eyes Fox Searchlight 4.3 (1,750) -46% 2461 35.6 Eight Below BV 2.8 (1,320) -32% 2101 77.2 16 Blocks WB 2.2 (1,070) -53% 2066 34.