Darth23
Dec 26th, 2001, 01:54:50 PM
Looks like FOTR averaged about 11 million on Monday and Tuesday. I wish I coudl see some charts, though. :[
From <a href=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com>Hollywoodreporter.com</a>:
First week for 'Lord of the Rings' nets $95 mil
There was one film that ruled them all at the boxoffice in North America this weekend as New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" debuted with an estimated $67.4 million during the five-day Christmas holiday. It is the largest December opening in boxoffice history. The fantasy adventure, the first in a trilogy of films directed by Peter Jackson and based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkein, played in 3,359 venues and conjured up a stunning estimate of $95.3 million in its first seven days of release, the third-highest-ever for a film released on a Wednesday. The only films released on a Wednesday that grossed more were 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," which racked up $124.7 million, followed by Paramount's "Mission: Impossible 2" with $96.3 million. What makes the sensational debut of "Lord of the Rings" all the more impressive is that "Rings" runs nearly an hour longer than either "Menace" or "M:I 2" as well as most of the films it topped. The longer running time means fewer shows per day. "We're thrilled beyond belief," said an elated David Tuckerman, president of domestic distribution for New Line. "Not only is this a Christmas present for New Line, it's a Christmas present for the country. "I still can't believe these numbers. People lose sight of the fact that this is a three hour movie." An additional Christmas present to the industry is that by the end of this week, the national boxoffice should be crossing the $8 billion mark for the first time in history.
In the shadow of "Lord of the Rings," four other films opened in wide release this crowded holiday weekend and met with varying degrees of interest from moviegoers, from encouraging to indifferent. Paramount's "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" was by far the most successful of the bunch as the CG animated film blasted off with an estimated $20 million from 3,139 sites in its first five days of release and landed in the third slot. Not surprisingly, the audience for the film, which was based on the popular TV series on Nickelodeon, was made up predominantly of families.
Universal's "How High," the Jersey Films- produced comedy starring Method Man and Redman, arrived in the fifth spot with an estimated $9 million from a relatively low 1,266 locations. Executives at the studio noted the film's debut at this time of the year was a counter-programming move, which in this case paid off handsomely as the comedy carried a negative cost of a relatively meager $12 million. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the weekend's other two wide releases. Despite the A-list pedigree of the film, Warner Bros.' "The Majestic," starring Jim Carrey and helmed by Frank Darabont, opened in 2,361 theaters and was met with a dismal $7.8 million during the five-day holiday frame to place seventh. The opening for the romantic drama was clearly disappointing and one of Carrey's lowest grossing to date. Warner Bros. attempted to put the best face on the weekend tally. "Exits were very positive, and hopefully our grosses will pick up starting today," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution. Other industry executives noted that it was a crowded marketplace for the adult demographic this weekend, which may have played a part in the poor showing for "Majestic." Fox's "Joe Somebody," starring Tim Allen and helmed by John Pasquin, also failed to connect with audiences as the comedy could only muster a bleak estimate of $5.2 million during the five days. The PG-13 rated film from New Regency and Kopelson Entertainment was in 2,503 houses and debuted in the 10th slot. Of the weekend's holdovers, Warner Bros.' "Ocean's Eleven" held up the best, landing in the second spot with an estimated $22.7 million. The cume to date for the ensemble drama is an estimated $103.6 million, marking the second $100 million-plus film for the distributor this year.
Paramount's "Vanilla Sky," starring Tom Cruise, didn't hold up as well as "Ocean's Eleven" as the drama took in an estimated $16 million during the five-day frame to place fourth. The Cameron Crowe-directed picture has garnered around $49 million so far. Debuting in limited release this weekend was Universal's "A Beautiful Mind." The Ron Howard helmed drama, starring Russell Crowe, was in 11 theaters and took in an estimated $463,000 from Friday through Monday, for a stellar per-theater average of $42,091. Studio executives said the film had strong exits, with 96% in the top two boxes and 79% definite recommends, while skewing older and slightly more female. The Imagine Entertainment produced film expanded to roughly 524 on Christmas Day, and goes wide on Jan. 4. Buena Vista's "The Royal Tenenbaums" continues to have and court favor with audiences as the ensemble comedy added 35 theaters, bringing the count to 40, and placed 12th with an estimated $2 million. The Wes Anderson directed picture generated a per-theater average of an impressive $50,000 and has collected approximately $2.5 million to date. "Our evening shows are selling out
everywhere," said an enthusiastic Chuck Viane, president of Buena Vista Pictures distribution. "We're really looking forward to this coming weekend," added Viane, commenting on "Tenenbaums" expansion to around 240 theaters in the top 25 markets.
As "Lord of the Rings" dominated the domestic marketplace this weekend, Tuckerman noted that "Rings" total international boxoffice was just slightly behind its North American counterpart, as the film went out day and date in many parts of the world. Tuckerman said that the distributor has high expectations for "Rings" international prospects. "We have a classic tale of good vs. evil. We always knew that we were going to get a great film from Peter, but this was beyond our expectations," said Tuckerman. "The real story is that Peter was able to keep the fans happy, and yet make the movie accessible to people that didn't know a Hobbitt from a Ringwrath," said Tuckerman. Tuckerman was confident about "Rings" future at the boxoffice. "This picture is going to have legs, we're already seeing repeat business on the film," which is crucial to reaching blockbuster status at the boxoffice. Demographically speaking, "Rings" was drawing well in all quadrants: males, females, the under 25 age group as well as the over 25 group.
Likewise, executives at Paramount were upbeat about the debut of "Jimmy Neutron." "We're thrilled with this opening," said Wayne Lewellen, president of distribution. "The picture should play very strong throughout the holiday. The exits were through the roof and it has great playability," he added. The CG-animated film was met with mostly favorable reviews and cost a relatively low $23 million to produce. Lewellen said the studio expects the film to do $70-$80 million by the end of its run. Overall, it was a solid weekend at the boxoffice as the estimated total for the top 12 films was $175.5 million. In comparing just the Friday through Sunday portion to last year's comparable period, the boxoffice was up 15%. For the week ending Dec. 20, the national boxoffice was down a slim 2% ($158.4 million vs. $161 million), while the year-to-date total is up 9% ($7.79 billion vs. $7.13 billion). Admissions for the year-to-date are holding steady with a 4% advantage on this time last year.
Other films in the top 10 this weekend included Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Sorcercer's Stone," which placed sixth with an estimated $8.1 million, bringing its cume to around $268.4 million, making it the top grossing release of the year. Sony's "Not Another Teen Movie" took a steep dive as it fell into the eighth slot with an estimated $6.6 million, upping its total to about $22.8 million. Buena Vista's "Monsters, Inc." caught a portion of the family audience as it moved into the ninth spot with an estimated $5.7 million in its eighth weekend of release. The CG animated comedy has generated approximately $226.4 million."