Top 10 for February 2-4, 2007 Summary: Final numbers are in.
March got off to a fast start as Buena Vista's road trip comedy Wild Hogs rumbled its way to an estimated $38 million, making the PG-13 rated flick the biggest live-action opening in March history (Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown" hold the overall record with $68 million). Starring the unusual grouping of Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy, the film shrugged off extremely poor reviews (just 16% on Rottentomatoes.com), thanks to a lull in new comedies in the marketplace and a strong ad blitz by Disney. The crowd-pleaser was by far the biggest debut of John Travolta's long career, surpassing the $23.5 million bow of 2005's Be Cool. It was the second best opening for Allen, behind only 1999's Toy Story 2 with $57.4 million. Given a gigantic Friday-to-Saturday boost in ticket sales of 49%, look for the well-timed comedy to cruise past $100 million domestically.
Debuting in a distant second was David Fincher's murder mystery Zodiac, based on the infamous serial killer who plagued the Bay Area from the 1960s and 70s. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo, the $65 million budgeted R-rated pic opened with an estimated $13.1 million, averaging a solid $5,546 in 2,362 theaters. With a nearly three hour running time the well-reviewed thriller skewed heavily toward the over 25 demographic, and will need very strong word of mouth to break even domestically.
The weekend's other motorcycle pic Ghost Rider relinquished its two week reign at the top, falling just 43% to an estimated $11.5 million in third. In three weeks, the Nicolas Cage starrer has grossed a very impressive $94.8 million, and has shown surprisingly strong legs for a poorly-reviewed comic book adaptation. Look for the $110 million budgeted actioner to become the first film released in 2007 to surpass $100 million domestically.
Disney's Bridge to Terabithia continues to hold well, falling 40% to an estimated $8.6 million. In three weeks, the children's book adaptation has grossed $57.9 million. Rounding out the top five was Jim Carrey's The Number 23, which slipped 52% to an estimated $7 million. The $30 million budgeted New Line thriller has now grossed $24.7 million in ten days.
Americans have obviously been in need of comedies lately, as Eddie Murphy's hit Norbit displayed the smallest drop in the top ten -- despite direct competition from Wild Hogs -- falling just 34% to an estimated $6.4 million. In four weeks, the $60m fat suit comedy has grossed an impressive $83 million. Close behind was the Hugh Grant-Drew Barrymore flick Music and Lyrics, falling 36% to an estimated $4.9 million, pushing its cume to $38.7 million.
The weekend's other debut Black Snake Moan managed just $4 million in eighth place, averaging a disappointing $3,207 per theater. Despite a provocative ad campaign featuring Christina Ricci in skimpy clothes and locked in chains, as well as solid reviews, the Paramount Vantage release failed to make a significant splash in its opening weekend, and should slip out of the top ten within the next two weeks.
For the second year in a row there was no significant post-Oscar bump for the Best Picture winner (both The Departed and last year's Crash were already on DVD at the time). The biggest beneficiaries from Oscar night were Best Actor winner Forest Whitaker's The Last King of Scotland and Best Foreign Film winner The Lives of Others, with both films still in very limited release. Scotland saw a 24% boost in sales to $975,000, pushing its cume to $15.3 million, while German import The Lives of Others spiked 83% to an estimated $808,000.
Thanks to the record opening from Wild Hogs, the top ten films grossed an estimated $100.8 million, up a huge 30% from last year's comparable frame when Madea's Family Reunion held onto the top spot with $12.6 million. However, it was down 4% from 2005 when Vin Diesel's The Pacifier bowed with $30.6 million.
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