WEEKEND BOX OFFICE 3/14: Robots Rule!

Glaring drop off for this week is "Terminator III" which even world wide is falling short of expectations and IV now looks like an unlikely bet, especially considering the star may have other responsities. Running Calfornia into bankruptcy like he did with Planet Hollywood?

what is this week's update? (you linked me back here from the Pirates thread - but the last numbers are from August 9th)

The heading topic is changed as of August 26th to the latest figures -- I haven't always gotten to it on Mondays as I am not working and often off gallivanting around the beach areas (not to sunbathe as I've already done enough of that when I was younger and now visiting my dermatologist twice a year to take care of the aftermath of years of suntanning.)

ahhhh - it's the first post, not the most recent.

I started to update in the replies but decided it should be like the other two info-threads and be updated at the lead post.

Those are always national figures so I would guess that "Pirates" could end up at over 500M world wide.

Movies that do that well almost always have to appeal to the Saturday matinee crowd, the Friday night daters and a more discerning and smaller minority of movie buffs who will always find time to enjoy a good popcorn flick. Now let's see if Eddie Murphy and the gang can do it with "The Haunted Mansion." It will have to be unshackled with the silly gimmicks of "13 Ghosts" and the remake of "The Haunting," both bad movies that didn't do much box office. Even the average movie goer demands a good story well told or the movie will fail. "Pirates" had all the right action in all the right places and had a good storyline. Sure, it's not the most memorable in all of film history but it served its purpose and the telling test is would you like to see it again on home video? I would even if it isn't one I'd likely return to year by year.

Okay, gang, I've expanded this to include a calendar of events in the movie industry -- you might find a premiere, a film festival or other special event in your neighborhood! Let me know how you like this feature -- our own A2K version of Variety. (Abbreviated of course as you're all busy I realize on the Political threads taking no prisoners!)

Ahnold's "Terminator III" is barely at $150M -- again, not the hit that was expected, falling well short of the anticipated $300M. Ahnold may be on hold until March for the governor's race. Does anyone think he will be racing back to the studio to make "Terminator IV." III was basically a rehash of II. How much more can anyone believe they can milk out of this failed franchise? Cameron's II was a piece of incredibal filmmaking in the genre. Don't send a boy to do a man's job.

Looking down the list, there are certainly a long list of flops -- the Merchant/Ivore "Le Divorce" is dying a dismal death at the box office. Any other that stand out for you? Anyone see any of the turkeys? I realize that some fine independent and foreign films are not going to rack up big box office and I wish that they would as it would be hope for the serious film buff.

Tarantino' first film in about a decade is doing well at the box office and critics either love it or hate it (two thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper). I know this filmmaker certainly isn't for everyone with his comic books almost slapstick violence and I'm not rushing out to the theater to see it. There's a thread elsewhere on the boards about the film.

It was all treats, no tricks this weekend for Scary Movie 3, which frightened away the competition with a humongous $49.7 million debut - easily the biggest October opening ever, and the seventh best of 2003. SM3's summer-style opening - which bested the three-day takes of such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean, Bad Boys II and Terminator 3 and handily outdid October champ Red Dragon's $36.5 million - was far better than anticipated, thanks primarily to the movie's PG-13 rating and lack of comedy competition save School of Rock. The $14,189 per site average was the biggest since Bad Boys II's $14,602, and just shy of the original Scary Movie's $14,542 per site back in 2000 (though SM3 did best the original's $42.3 mil opening, becoming Miramax's biggest opening ever). With no competition coming next weekend, SM3 has the field all to itself until The Matrix Revolutions comes along, and should easily be on its way to $100 million before the Wachowski brothers' new opus arrives, and if it has the staying power of the original, could exceed Scary Movie's $157 mil cumulative. Anna Faris - we think a raise is in the offing!


# 1 # 2 # 3
Title Monday Gross
Scary Movie 3 $2.56M $50.7M
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre $1.17M $52.1M
Radio $854K $14.2M
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 $669K $54.7M
Runaway Jury $663K $24.7M
Mystic River $647K $25.4M
The School of Rock $325K $63.7M
Intolerable Cruelty $274K $28.5M
Good Boy! $234K $32.3M
Under the Tuscan Sun $196K $37.4M

Okay -- what does anyone think has happened to "Master and Commander?" It looks to me like it will be lucky to make its cost and can only hope for DVD returns. Is Russell Crowe going to run for Governor of California?

interesting

Interestingly dissapointing -- perhaps too much intellectualizing in a dramatic sea epic for American audiences? I'll check to see how it's doing internationally but don't know if it is released in Europe (where it should do very well as it has the essence of an English flick -- perhaps a mistake for the box office draw). The final "Return of the King" out in seven days is going to trounce everything anyway.

I really enjoyed Seabisquit - and wanna get it on DVD - soon as possible

"In America" appears to be another contender -- I'll post an "Oscar Watch" right after the first of the year.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298845/

"The Last Samurai" is slowly climbing to meet its cost despite critical success. Of course, LOTR ROTK is bringing in astounding box office and a 96% critical approval. One has to consider the uniqueness of the few films that do this well at the box office and also impress the critics -- and some of the most stringent amonst them!

Thanks for keeping that first page updated, Lightwizard.

I was a bit remiss during the Holidays but back on track. Most are more interested in the "In Production," I'm sure which is from the trades and IMDb Pro. Thanks for your enthusiasm -- do you refer to the other two updated permanent features -- Ebert and new DVD's?

Boxoffice preview: Sony going 'Fish'-ing for a 'King'
9 Jan 2004 12:39pm EST - By Gregg Kilday
As the first weekend of the 2004 boxoffice year looms, the question is whether New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will continue to reign as it has for the past three weekends. There is no question, though, that Peter Jackson's epic wrap-up to his J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy will cruise past the $300 million mark today. And heading into its fourth weekend, it's running about $30 million ahead of where its predecessor, The Two Towers, was at the same point in its life cycle. Towers dropped by 41% in its fourth weekend. A comparable decline for King, which took in $28.2 million last weekend, would mean that its upcoming boxoffice should amount to about $17 million. But that could still make it tough for a new contender to ascend to the throne. And if King performs more like the first film in the series, The Fellowship of the Ring, which fell only 30% in its fourth weekend, it could effectively lock out any challengers. The film with the best potential to rise to the occasion is Sony Pictures' Big Fish, director Tim Burton's PG-13 fable about a father-son reunion. Last weekend, playing in only 125 theaters, the film pulled in $2.5 million for a compelling per-theater average of $20,355. This weekend, it expands to 2,400 theaters. With its multigenerational cast including Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Billy Crudup, Fish is playing to a broad demographic and could find itself swimming in the $12 million-$15 million pool. Visit HollywoodReporter.com for more ...

How annoying is this ...






Movies with Jennifer Aniston and Ice Cube ahead of LOTR? <shudder>

"The Return of the King" will continue to knock off the box office figures despite the laws of attrition. I think those who return to see it a second and third time will occur a bit slower than the other two films. It's international box office is awesome. One moment and I'll bring in those figures.