Top 10 for July 14-16, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
Disney's juggernaut rum-runners Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest continued to tear through the box office at a record clip, slipping a sizeable but actually better than expected 54% to $62.3 million while sending several more records to Davy Jones's Locker. In ten days the $225 million budgeted sequel has garnered a jaw-dropping $258.2 million, becoming the biggest ten-day opening of all-time (surpassing Episode III's $236.9 million) as well as the fastest film to hit $250 million (Episode III took 11 days). In each of its ten days Dead Man's Chest has broken consecutive day records, and already ranks as the 34th highest grossing film in history, just ahead of 2001's Disney-Pixar collaboration Monsters, Inc. with $255.9 million.
Averaging another stellar $15,084 in 4,133 theaters, the Johnny Depp-Keira Knightley starrer also posted the third biggest second-weekend outing ever, behind only Shrek 2's $72.2 million sophomore frame in 2004, and 2002's Spider-Man with $71.4 million. Both of those smash hits surpassed $400 million domestically (Shrek 2 with $436m and Spider-Man with $403.7m), but they also showed more shallow sophomore drops than Pirates which indicates weaker word of mouth for this second of a scheduled three films (the third is set to debut in May 2007).
Given the unprecendented fast start to Dead Man's Chest (the film will surpass $300 million by next weekend), there is a very good chance that the high-seas adventure pic could surpass Episode III's $380.2 million domestic take and become just the seventh film in history to break $400 million. And if there's one thing we've learned over the past ten days, it's that you don't bet against Capt. Jack Sparrow.
Battling it out for distant second were two poorly-received comedy debuts, Sony's Little Man and Universal's You, Me, and Dupree. Budgeted at $64 million, Sony's Wayan Bros. comedy Little Man is the official winner, posting a strong $21.6 million. Starring Marlon and Shawn Wayans and directed by elder brother Keenan Ivory Wayans, Little Man averaged a surprisingly strong $8,532 from 2,533 theaters, bucking poor reviews thanks to strong support from the Under 25 demographic. That was also the case with their last effort White Chicks, which debuted with $19.7 million on its way to a strong $70.8 million domestically.
According to estimates, Universal's comedy debut You, Me and Dupree finished a close third with $21.5 million, averaging a solid $6,874 from 3,131 theaters. Starring Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson, the poorly-reviewed film carried a reported budget of $54 million, and will likely have a hard time breaking even domestically.
After being crushed in its sophomore frame thanks to some wiley pirates, Warner's tentpole summer flick Superman Returns found some level ground falling 44% to $12.2 million. That pushes the $260 million budgeted superhero pic to $164.3 million in 19 days. If the film continues to post similar declines for the remainder of the summer, expect Returns to finish with just over $190 million domestically. That would pose quite a dilemma for beleaguered studio execs at Warner, who've already dealt with the box office distaster that was Poseidon in mid-May. Rumors are swirling that a sixth Superman film won't be made unless Superman Returns hits $200 million, a number that seems further out of reach with every passing week.
Holding strong in fifth was Fox's book adaptation The Devil Wears Prada, slipping just 30% to an estimated $10.4 million. Budgeted at a modest $35 million, the film's three week total is now a very impressive $83.5 million, and seems a sure bet to surpass $100 million domestically.
For the third straight weekend Pixar-Disney's Cars posted the smallest drop in the top ten, falling 27% to $7.8 million. In six weeks the computer-animated blockbuster has grossed $220 million, and seems headed to atleast $250 million domestically. It is already the third highest grossing film this year, surpassing The Da Vinci Code's $214.8 million, and behind only Pirates' $258 million and X-Men: The Last Stand's $231.8 million. Though it is running 6% behind 2004's The Incredibles, Cars is trending higher week over week, meaning the film may wind up beating the $261.4 million domestic total of Pixar's last smash hit.
Warner Independent's animated drama A Scanner Darkly expanded from 17 to 216 theaters, bringing the Richard Linklater release into the top ten for the first time with an estimated $1.2 million. Carrying an R-rating, the film averaged a healthy $5,486 per theater.
Despite the massive second outing from Pirates, the top ten films grossed an estimated $146.1 million, down 4% from last year's comparable frame when Johnny Depp's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory debuted at No. 1 with $56.2 million.
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