Top 10 for October 6-8, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
Martin Scorsese delivered the biggest opening of his career as his critically acclaimed film The Departed debuted with $26.8 million from the Friday-Sunday portion of the Columbus Day holiday weekend. Released by Warner Bros., a studio coming off one of its worst summers in recent years, the $90 million budgeted remake of the Hong Kong cop thriller hit "Infernal Affairs" averaged a tremendous $8,912 from 3,017 theaters, thanks to a strong marketing campaign, heavyweight cast, and some of the best reviews for any film this year.
The $27 million bow surpassed Scorsese's 1991 thriller "Cape Fear," which opened to $10.3 million. Part of the discrepancy in opening weekend is due to the fact that The Departed is the director's first film to debut in more than 2,000 theaters (his last pic "The Aviator" debuted in late 2004 in 1,796 theaters). Starring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark Wahlberg, the violent R-rated drama-thriller saw an impressive 23% increase in ticket sales from Friday to Saturday ($8.5m on Friday to $10.5m on Saturday), meaning word of mouth should be very strong in the coming weeks.
New Line's $16 million budgeted prequel Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning took in a strong $18.5 million in second, averaging $6,563 in 2,820 theaters despite being slaughtered by critics. The debut still fell far short of its predecessor "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," which debuted in 2003 to $28.1 million on its way to $80.6 million domestically.
The weekend's only other major opening was LionsGate's Employee of the Month, which debuted in fourth with an estimated $11.4 million, averaging a solid $4,077 in 2,579 theaters. Budgeted at $12 million, the poorly reviewed comedy stars Jessica Simpson and standup comedian Dane Cook in his first headlining role.
Among holdovers, Sony's computer-animated comedy Open Season fell just 32% in its sophomore frame to $15.6 million, the smallest drop in the top ten. In ten days, the $85 million budgeted pic has grossed a solid if unspectacular $44.1 million, and should enjoy a good October with little direct competition. Look for the poorly-reviewed film to tread just above the break-even point domestically.
Buena Vista's Coast Guard actioner The Guardian took in an estimated $9.6 million in its sophomore frame, down 46% from its opening. In ten days, the Ashton Kutcher-Kevin Costner starrer has grossed $32.4 million, and should just barely break $50 million by the end of its run.
In limited release, ThinkFilm's Shortbus debuted in six theaters with an estimated $121,000, for a $20,108 average. New Line's Kate Winslet-Jennifer Connelly starrer Little Children launched in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles for an estimated $108,400. Fox Searchlight's drama about Idi Amin, The Last King of Scotland, took in $300,000 from 30 theaters, pushing its 12 day take to $541,000.
Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep fell 39% to $680,000 in 221 theaters in its third weekend, which does not bode well for the film's chances of a wide release.
Thanks to the three debuts the top ten films set a new record for a Columbus Day weekend with an estimated $99.7 million, up a hefty 23% from last year's comparable frame when "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" debuted on top with $16 million.
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