|
click here for last week's report
Summary:
Final numbers are in.
Audiences answered the Spartan battle cry, as Warner Bros.' warrior epic 300 became the first bona fide blockbuster opening of 2007, earning a powerful $70.88 million this weekend (including a strong $3.4 million from 62 IMAX theaters). Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City), the $65 million budgeted actioner surged past industry expectations, averaging a scintillating $22,844 in 3,103 theaters, posting the biggest opening in March history. The previous record had been held by last year's Ice Age: The Meltdown with $68 million, playing on nearly 900 more theaters than 300. Overall, moviegoers helped push the box office to a whopping 39% increase from last year's comparable frame (and a new March record), thanks to 300 and a large number of strong holdovers.
Opening with a staggering $27.7 million Friday haul, 300 also became the third biggest opening ever for an R-rated pic, behind only The Matrix Reloaded's $91.8 million and The Passion of the Christ's $83.8 million. It also became the sixth largest opening ever for Warner Bros., behind only the four Harry Potter flicks and Reloaded.
Armed with dazzling visuals, hard-bodied warriors, and enough testosterone to supply an entire summer season, the Warner release was buoyed by a heavy marketing blitz and big buzz from the film's core young-male demographic. With the international success of such epics as The Last Samurai and Troy (both Warner releases), look for 300 to make a pretty penny for the studio worldwide.
Finishing in a distant second was last week's champ Wild Hogs, which slipped just 30% to $27.6 million. As the only new comedy to have come out in the past month, Disney's Hogs continues to perform well, having amassed an impressive $77.4 million in just ten days of release. If word of mouth continues to stay strong, look for the biker comedy to finish well beyond $100 million domestically.
Disney's other release, the children's book adaptation Bridge to Terabithia, slipped just 24% to $6.77 million, bringing its four week cume to $67 million. Ghost Rider finished just behind in fourth with an estimated $6.8 million, pushing the Sony hit's four week total to $104.1 million.
Paramount's serial thriller Zodiac saw a steep 50% decline from its opening a week ago, as the 3-hour thriller took in $6.64 million. In ten days, the $65 million budgeted David Fincher pic has grossed a disappointing $23.7 million.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight's opening of Mira Nair's The Namesake grossed an estimated $251,000 from just six theaters, averaging an incredible $41,794. Starring Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar), the book adaptation drama will continue to expand in the coming weeks. Not as fortunate was the Korean monster pic The Host, which took in an estimated $320,000 from 71 theaters for a mediocre $4,507 average. Released by Magnolia, the well-reviewed pic looks like it will have a hard time gaining a foothold with American audiences.
Thanks to the record-breaking debut of 300, the top ten films grossed a March record $136.1 million, up an incredible 53% from last year's comparable frame when Failure to Launch debuted with $24. million.
Report by Stephen Wong
Join us in the box office messageboard to talk about
the weekend or how next week's slate will fare.
|
