Monday, 28 Jul 2003
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There was a whole new dimension to the box-office race this weekend.
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over was clearly number one in overall dollars, with an estimated $32.5 million.
However its per screen average at 3,344 sites was only $9,719. That meant that in the per screen average run-off among wide release movies the equine saga Seabiscuit could claim a short head win with $10,809 from just 1,989 locations, although overall it only finished in fifth place with $21.5 million. a d v e r t i s e m e n t
The success of both movies and the continued buoyancy of the high seas romp Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which remained in second place for a second week with $22.4 million, was bad news for the ass-kicking video game chick. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life failed to rock, earning only $21.7 million in fourth place from a $6,754 per screen average at 3,222 locations, apparently placing it behind Bad Boys II which dropped sharply, but is estimated to have taken $22 million in third place in its second week of release.
The industry is speculating that the race to place - second, third, fourth and fifth - is so close it's a virtual photo finish, and the order may shift when final figures close the book Monday.
But despite those odds, No 1. will still be Spy Kids 3-D, which pushes the now adolescent Cortez kids and their family and friends into a three dimension video game and requires audiences to pop on 3-D specs in order view the pop-out-at-you-action. It attracted 22.3 percent of audiences checking out the top 12 movies this weekend. The PG Dimension release, which filmmaker Robert Rodriguez says in the last in the franchise, scored better than both of his previous kid friendly adventures. It topped the $26.5 million opening weekend in 2001 of the original Spy Kids, which has so far grossed $112.6 million, and easily beat the $18.7 million debut in 2002 of the sequel Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, which has so far grossed $85.5 million.
Universal's PG-13 rated Seabiscuit, based on true racing legend facts detailed in Laura Hillenbrand's best selling book, drew 14.8 percent of the audience to watch Gary Ross' version of the Depression era career of the four legged phenom, enacted by a bunch of modern gees-gees, alongside Jeff Bridges, William H. Macy, Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper, and real life jockey Gary Stevens. Universal is naturally claiming the movie has legs. "The picture is in for the long distance" the studio's distribution chief, Nikki Rocco told the Associated Press.
Angelina Jolie's tough action girl Lara Croft opened with half the impact of the original Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which debuted in 2001 with $47.7 million and has so far racked up $131.1 million. The new adventure wasn't even able to pull a curve on Bad Boys II even though Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's flick suffered the fate that has been the hallmark of many of this summer's brief headline grabbers. The buddy cop action sequel dropped a very bad 53 percent from its first place opening last week, down to the third place, for a $6,871 per screen average at 3,202 sites and has so far grossed $88.4 million.
In contrast Johnny Depp's pirate lark, based on Disney's theme park ride, only fell 34 percent in its third week, plundering a $6,557 per screen average at 3,416 sites. It has grossed $176.1 million so far.
A bunch of movies opened in limited release. Attracting the most interest was Masked and Anonymous, starring Bob Dylan, alongside a clutch of actors including Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges, in a rambling fable about troubled times. The Sony Pictures Classic release, which opened Thursday, averaged $8,042 per screen at just four sites for $32,167.
The long delayed Miramax release Buffalo Soldiers, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scott Glenn and Ed Harris, in a story of angst and corruption in the army, finally debuted in six locations where it averaged $4,833 per screen for $29,000.
Fox Search Light's import Lucia, Lucia, starring Cecilia Roth as a woman embroiled in a mid-life romance crisis, averaged only $1,353 at 49 sites for $66,302. Lions Gate's import Mondays in the Sun, about a Spanish shipbuilder, played by Javier Bardem, suffering a mid-life work crisis, averaged a considerably better $3,143 at just seven sites for $22,000.
Overall the top 12 movies for this 31st weekend of the box-office year grossed $145.5 million, estimated to be 5.2 percent more than last weekend, and 9.9 percent up on this time last year.
Until the release of those final figures on Monday, Exhibitor Relations Inc., the company that keeps tallies, estimates the top 10 this way.
1. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, $32.5 million
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, $22.4 million
3. Bad Boys II, $22 million
4. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, $21.7 million
5. Seabiscuit, $21.5 million
6. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, $5 million
7. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, $4.8 million
8. Johnny English, $4.3 million
9. Finding Nemo, $4 million
10. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, $2.8 million
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