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7 articles from 2005

15 March 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Twentieth Century Fox's Robots invaded the box office over the weekend, and although it didn't exactly represent the kind of shock and awe that some analysts had predicted, the $36 million that it took in nevertheless turned out to be the second-highest gross for any film opening in March, behind another Fox animated hit, 2002's Ice Age, which took in $46.3 million. Several analysts noted that, unlike the previous film, Robots had to compete against another successful family film, Disney's The Pacifier, starring Vin Diesel, which recorded $18.2 million in its second weekend. MGM's Be Cool, with John Travolta, cooled down considerably in its second weekend, but its $10.3 million was nevertheless enough to land it in third place, slightly ahead of Miramax's Hostage, starring Bruce Willis, which debuted with $10.2 million. Sony's Hitch rounded out the top five with $8.8 million.The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Robots, 20th Century Fox, $36,045,301, (New); 2. The Pacifier, Disney, $18,152,357, 2 Wks. ($54,477,697); 3. Be Cool, MGM, $10,250,128, 2 Wks. ($38,375,714); 4. Hostage, Miramax, $10,214,734, (New); 5. Hitch, Sony, $8,786,575, 5 Wks. ($149,840,901); 6. Million Dollar Baby, Warner Bros., $5,153,356, 13 Wks. ($84,054,207); 7. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Lions Gate, $4,876,399, 3 Wks. ($44,019,656); 8. Constantine, Warner Bros., $3,838,380, 4 Wks. ($66,518,726); 9. Man of the House, Sony, $1,770,456, 3 Wks. ($16,523,056); 10. Cursed, Miramax/Dimension, $1,564,363, 3 Wks. ($17,759,198).

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14 March 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

If it hadn't been for Vin Diesel, Robots would have overrun the box office over the weekend. Twentieth Century Fox's animated feature debuted with an estimated $36.5 million, but analysts agreed that it would have taken in a good deal more if it had not been forced to compete with Diesel's hit family flick The Pacifier, which earned some $18.1 million, down about 40 percent from last week. In 10 days, the movie has grossed $54.4 million. The John Travolta starrer Be Cool dropped 56 percent from its debut weekend last week to place third with $10.3 million, placing it just ahead of the premiering Hostage, starring Bruce Willis, which took in $9.8 million. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the poor showing of the toned-down version of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which opened in about 1,000 virtually empty theaters with just $239,850. That works out to an average of 10 tickets sold per theater per day. By contrast, the indie film Millions from director Danny Boyle grossed $73,000 in its debut in just 5 theaters.The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Robots, $36.5 million; 2. The Pacifier, $18.1 million; 3. Be Cool, $10.3 million; 4. Hostage, $9.8 million; 5. Hitch, $8.7 million; 6. Million Dollar Baby, $5.1 million; 7. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $5 million; 8. Constantine, $3.7 million; 9. Man of the House, $1.8 million; 10. Cursed, $1.6 million.

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8 March 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Vin Diesel's family film The Pacifier defied analysts' forecasts and raked in $30.6 million in ticket sales over the weekend. The film was expected to finish a distant second to John Travolta's Be Cool. The tables were turned, however, as the Travolta movie wound up with $23.5 million, which nevertheless was the biggest opening-weekend gross ever for a Travolta movie. In an interview with the Associated Press, Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian remarked, "Pacifier did better than anyone expected, but you can't underestimate the family audience. ... I think people like to see a fish-out-of-water story -- an action star in a very unexpected role." The romantic comedy Hitch finished in third place with $12.1 million, while last week's top film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, tumbled to fourth with $11 million. Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby nabbed fifth place with $8.1 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Pacifier, Disney, $30,552,694, (New); 2. Be Cool, MGM, $23,450,212, (New); 3. Hitch, Sony, $12,118,263, 4 Wks. ($138,004,437); 4. Diary of A Mad Black Woman, Lions Gate, $11,026,195, 2 Wks. ($37,077,829); 5. Million Dollar Baby, Warner Bros. $8,135,421, 12 Wks. ($76,600,008); 6. Constantine, Warner Bros. $6,127,173, 3 Wks. ($60,653,370); 7. Cursed, Miramax/Dimension, $3,867,052, 2 Wks. ($15,281,069); 8. Man of The House, Sony, $3,506,726, 2 Wks. ($13,982,619); 9. Because of Winn-Dixie, 20th Century Fox, $3,200,236, 3 Wks. ($26,777,812); 10. The Jacket, Warner Bros. $2,723,682, (New).

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7 March 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Clobbered by almost universally poor reviews, MGM's Be Cool turned out to be not so hot at the box office over the weekend. The film, in which John Travolta reprised his role of Chili Palmer from 1995's Get Shorty, grossed an estimated $23.5 million. Analysts figured it would do something between $25 million and $30 million. Still, if the figure holds (it's only off by 100,000 people from last weekend), it will still represent Travolta's biggest opening ever. First place went to The Pacifier, with Vin Diesel, which produced far-better-than-expected results. A third newcomer, Warner's The Jacket, tanked, coming in tenth and earning just $2.67 million. Last week's winner, Diary of a Mad Black Woman dropped 45 percent to number 10, with $12 million. Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby appeared to be the only film to get a boost in ticket sales, as it took in $12 million to place fourth. Total ticket sales for the top 12 films came in at $110.8 million, 16 percent below the comparable week a year ago.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. The Pacifier, $30.2 million; 2. Be Cool, $23.5 million; 3. Hitch, $12.5 million; 4. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $12 million; 5. Million Dollar Baby, $8.5 million; 6. Constantine, $6 million; 7. Cursed, $3.9 million; 8. Man of the House, $3.5 million; 9. Because of Winn-Dixie, $3.4 million; 10. The Jacket, $2.7 million.

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1 March 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

If, as Oscar host Chris Rock had maintained, no straight black man watches the Oscars, the weekend box office provided a clue to what he did instead -- watched Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The Lions Gate film, which played on only 1,483 screens concentrated heavily in inner-city areas, took in $21.9 million and averaged an astonishing $14,771 per screen, well above analysts' predictions. The results contrasted sharply with those for the third week of Sony's Hitch, which analysts had favored to win the weekend. It played on 3,571 screens, taking in $20.4 million, or an average of $5,719 per screen. It dropped only 35 percent from the previous week and became the first film of the year to cross the $100-million level. By contrast, the Keanu Reeves thriller Constantine, from Warner Bros., dropped 60 percent to tally $12 million at 3,006 screens, or $4,007 per screen. Miramax-Dimension's Cursed opened in fourth place with a disappointing $9.6 million on $2,805 screens, while another new film, Sony's Man of the House, rounded out the top five with $8.9 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Lions Gate, $21,905,089, (New); 2. Hitch, Sony, $20,420,799, 3 Wks. ($121,429,017); 3. Constantine, Warner Bros., $12,046,452, 2 Wks. ($50,977,992); 4. Cursed, Miramax/Dimension, $9,633,085, (New); 5. Man of the House, Sony, $8,917,251, (New); 6. Million Dollar Baby, Warner Bros., $7,344,390, 11 Wks. ($64,851,738); 7. Because of Winn-Dixie,20th Century Fox, $6,823,980, 2 Wks. ($22,275,661); 8. Are We There Yet?, Sony, $4,111,030, 6 Wks. ($76,477,479); 9. Son of the Mask, New Line, $3,822,241, 2 Wks. ($14,018,767); 10. The Aviator, Miramax, $3,739,037, 11 Wks. ($93,643,789).

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28 February 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Box office analysts and movie critics were no doubt commiserating with one another at the water cooler this morning over word that Diary of a Mad Black Woman was the top film over the weekend, earning $22.7 million. The Lions Gate film, which debuted to devastating reviews, was not even expected to place among the top three. "Every once in a while there is a film that comes out of nowhere and grabs the No. 1 spot and certainly Diary of a Mad Black Woman has done that," Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told the Associated Press. The romantic comedy Hitch, starring Will Smith, which had been expected to repeat a third time as box-office champ, wound up in second place with about $21 million, to bring its total to $122 million and make it the first film of the year to pass the $100-million mark. The Keanu Reeves thriller Constantine followed in third place with $11.8 million, while the Wes Craven horror film Cursed, which some analysts thought had a chance to debut in the lead, only managed to come in fourth, with $9.6 million, slightly ahead of another new film, Man of the House, which opened with $9 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $22.7 million; 2. Hitch, $21 million; 3. Constantine, $11.8 million; 4. Cursed, $9.6 million; 5. Man of the House, $9 million; 6. Million Dollar Baby, $7.2 million; 7. Because of Winn-Dixie, $6.8 million; 8. Are We There Yet?, $4 million; 9. The Aviator, $3.9 million; 10. Son of the Mask, $3.8 million.

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25 February 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The movie industry, which will be competing with itself this weekend when the Oscar presentations are staged, is dumping three new films in theaters -- one of them utterly trashed by critics, the other two, withheld from them altogether. Most analysts predict that the lack of strong competition will enable Sony's Hitch to score a third box-office victory. But others figure that Wes Craven's werewolf movie Cursed, starring Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg, could pull an upset win. (Horror films dominated the box office in January and the first part of February.) Not much hope is held for the other two films, Man of the House, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Cedric the Entertainer, and Diary of a Mad Black Woman, starring Tyler Perry, who also wrote the script.

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7 articles from 2005