Box Office Numbers (April 7 - 13)

[Horror whore]

Monday's Box Office:

1.) PHONE BOOTH 1.02 / 16.04
2.) A MAN APART .77 / 11.79
3.) WHAT A GIRL WANTS .56 / 12.00
4.) BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE .45 / 111.59
5.) HEAD OF STATE .44 / 25.60
6.) CORE, THE .39 / 21.20
7.) BASIC .38 / 20.39
8.) CHICAGO .36 / 152.33
9.) DREAMCATCHER .21 / 30.39
10.) AGENT CODY BANKS .20 / 40.21

[Horror whore]

1) Phone Booth
Gross: $1.166 mil ($470 per-screen) - 2481 theaters
Total: $17.21 mil

2) A Man Apart
Gross: $0.842 mil ($342 per-screen) - 2459 theaters
Total: $12.629 mil

3) What a Girl Wants
Gross: $0.607 mil ($205 per-screen) - 2964 theaters
Total: $12.605 mil

4) Bringing Down...
Gross: $0.529 mil ($182 per-screen) - 2910 theaters
Total: $112.116 mil

5) Head of State
Gross: $0.477 mil ($221 per-screen) - 2155 theaters
Total: $26.075 mil

6) Basic
Gross: $0.461 mil ($160 per-screen) - 2876 theaters
Total: $20.848 mil

7) The Core
Gross: $0.453 mil ($150 per-screen) - 3019 theaters
Total: $21.65 mil

8) Chicago
Gross: $0.452 mil ($189 per-screen) - 2395 theaters
Total: $152.78 mil

9) Dreamcatcher
Gross: $0.244 mil ($103 per-screen) - 2360 theaters
Total: $30.634 mil

10) Agent Cody Banks
Gross: $0.226 mil ($97 per-screen) - 2331 theaters
Total: $40.435 mil

[Tom Samborski]

Phone Booth is doing great so far, let's hope it has strong legs for the rest of its box-office run.

[Ed]

Go Phone Booth!!!

[Horror whore]

It's good to see A Man Apart has made more money than What A Girl Wants so far...

[Mike]

Originally posted by Horror whore
It's good to see A Man Apart has made more money than What A Girl Wants so far...

Yeah, but that won't last long... The only reason A MAN APART has made more is because family movies don't do as well during the week, but they hold better on weekends. There's absolutely no way in hell A MAN APART will end its run with more than WHAT A GIRL WANTS ;).

[Mike]

WEEKEND THEATER COUNTS:

NEW

Anger Management (Sony) / 3,551

House of 1,000 Corpses (Lions Gate) / 595

Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX & 35mm) (Disney) / 97

Better Luck Tomorrow (Paramount Classics) / 13

Marion Bridge (Film Movement) / 6

XX/XY (IFC) / 5 (LA, NYC)

The Young Unknowns (Indican) / 2

EXPANDING

A Man Apart (New Line) / 2,495 (+36) / 2

Phone Booth (Fox) / 2,489 (+8) / 2

Head of State (DreamWorks) / 2,256 (+101) / 3

The Pianist (Focus) / 842 (+52) / 16

Kangaroo Jack (Warner Bros.) / 288 (+203) / 13

Bend It Like Beckham (Fox Searchlight) / 216 (+99) / 5

Bowling for Columbine (United Artists) / 146 (+2) / 27

City of God (Miramax) / 108 (+18) / 13

The Good Thief (Fox Searchlight) / 60 (+51) / 2

Assassination Tango (United Artists) / 33 (+11) / 3

Amandla! (Artisan) / 13 (+1) / 8

Stevie (Lions Gate) / 9 (+2) / 3

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (First Look) / 2 (+1) / 2

NO CHANGE

The Core (Paramount) / 3,019 / 3

What a Girl Wants (Warner Bros.) / 2,964 / 2

DysFunKtional Family (Miramax) / 602 / 2

Frida (Miramax) / 87 (-27) / 25

DECLINING

Bringing Down the House (Disney) / 2,830 (-80) / 6

Basic (Sony) / 2,246 (-630) / 3

Chicago (Miramax) / 2,114 (-281) / 16

Agent Cody Banks (MGM) / 2,007 (-324) / 5

Piglet's Big Movie (Disney) / 1,859 (-162) / 4

Dreamcatcher (Warner Bros.) / 1,401 (-959) / 4

The Hunted (Paramount) / 1,090 (-595) / 5

View from the Top (Miramax) / 841 (-738) / 4

Old School (DreamWorks) / 586 (-339) / 8

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Paramount) / 527 (-300) / 10

Spirited Away (Disney) / 493 (-221) / 30

The Two Towers (New Line) / 332 (-13) / 17

The Quiet American (Miramax) / 238 (-2) / 21

About Schmidt (New Line) / 226 (-38) / 18

The Hours (Paramount) / 224 (-178) / 16

Boat Trip (Artisan) / 208 (-394) / 4

Catch Me If You Can (DreamWorks) / 200 (-94) / 16

Two Weeks Notice (Warner Bros.) / 88 (-32) / 17

Rabbit-Proof Fence (Miramax) / 77 (-4) / 20

Gangs of New York (Miramax) / 75 (-22) / 17

The Wild Thornberrys (Paramount) / 72 (-78) / 17

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros.) / 72 (-8) / 22

Cradle 2 the Grave (Warner Bros.) / 66 (-69) / 7

Irreversible (Lions Gate) / 33 (-2) / 6

Gods and Generals (Warner Bros.) / 19 (-7) / 8

The Guru (Universal) / 17 (-7) / 11

Spun (Newmarket) / 16 (-8) / 5

Lost in La Mancha (IFC) / 10 (-5) / 11

[Tom Samborski]

Wow, Anger Management sure has a huge theater count! :eek: But I guess this is because Sony wants it to be a hit, and give the box-office a boost as well.

[Freeway]

Mike, what do you have against A Man Apart? You have not even seen the film and you are belittling it.

[Ed]

Phone Booth (Fox) / 2,489 (+8) / 2

I hate fox!!! first, they did it with drumline(i had to wait like 2 1/2 months to see this flick!!). and now Phone Booth? fuck you fox. both movies became sleeper hits and fox ignored them almost completely, now i'm gonna have to wait till june to see phone booth, it's ridiculous. why can't they expand them when they have the buzz? like other studios do? even A Man Apart got a respectable expantion. :mad:

[Mike]

Originally posted by Freeway
Mike, what do you have against A Man Apart? You have not even seen the film and you are belittling it.

I just think it looks stupid and I don't want to see it. Other people around here belittle movies all of the time, it's not like I'm the only one. I remember Horror Whore doing it with Willard and now What A Girl Wants. Other people do it all of the time as well. It's not that big of a deal, people will do it no matter what. It's not a crime to have an opinion on a movie, even before seeing it, in fact, it's pretty much impossible not to have one.

[Horror whore]

Originally posted by Mike
I remember Horror Whore doing it with Willard and now What A Girl Wants. Other people do it all of the time as well.

True dat! Both of those movies look awfuuuul...

[Ed]

1. Wednesday's Box Office Grosses (Apr 09)
view this info with dynamic links at:

1) Phone Booth
Gross: $.967 mil ($390 per-screen) - 2481 theaters
Total: $18.177 mil

2) A Man Apart
Gross: $.689 mil ($280 per-screen) - 2459 theaters
Total: $13.318 mil

3) What a Girl Wants
Gross: $.544 mil ($184 per-screen) - 2964 theaters
Total: $13.149 mil

4) Bringing Down...
Gross: $.490 mil ($168 per-screen) - 2910 theaters
Total: $112.606 mil

5) Chicago
Gross: $.444 mil ($185 per-screen) - 2395 theaters
Total: $153.224 mil

6) Head of State
Gross: $.436 mil ($202 per-screen) - 2155 theaters
Total: $26.511 mil

7) Basic
Gross: $.404 mil ($140 per-screen) - 2876 theaters
Total: $21.252 mil

8) The Core
Gross: $.394 mil ($131 per-screen) - 3019 theaters
Total: $22.044 mil

9) Dreamcatcher
Gross: $.216 mil ($92 per-screen) - 2360 theaters
Total: $30.850 mil

10) Agent Cody Banks
Gross: $.215 mil ($92 per-screen) - 2331 theaters
Total: $40.650 mil

[Mike]

Originally posted by Horror whore
True dat! Both of those movies look awfuuuul...

See, and that's Horror Whore's opinion. Everyone is going to and everyone is allowed to have an opinion. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having an opinion on a movie, even before seeing it. I mean, after viewing a trailer or TV spots for a movie, how can you not have an opinion on it?

[Horror whore]

1) Phone Booth
Gross: $0.922 mil ($372 per-screen) - 2481 theaters
Total: $19.098 mil

2) A Man Apart
Gross: $0.606 mil ($246 per-screen) - 2459 theaters
Total: $13.818 mil

3) What a Girl Wants
Gross: $0.553 mil ($187 per-screen) - 2964 theaters
Total: $13.702 mil

4) Bringing Down...
Gross: $0.516 mil ($177 per-screen) - 2910 theaters
Total: $113.113 mil

5) Chicago
Gross: $0.444 mil ($185 per-screen) - 2395 theaters
Total: $153.644 mil

6) Head of State
Gross: $0.442 mil ($205 per-screen) - 2155 theaters
Total: $26.954 mil

7) The Core
Gross: $0.405 mil ($134 per-screen) - 3019 theaters
Total: $22.449 mil

8) Basic
Gross: $0.387 mil ($135 per-screen) - 2876 theaters
Total: $21.639 mil

9) Agent Cody Banks
Gross: $0.212 mil ($91 per-screen) - 2331 theaters
Total: $40.858 mil

10) Dreamcatcher
Gross: $0.209 mil ($89 per-screen) - 2360 theaters
Total: $31.064 mil

[Kastman]

Is it just me or is Dreamcatcher slipping down the list ar too quickly, i thought it would have taken like 50 mil by now.

[Ed]

Originally posted by Kastman
Is it just me or is Dreamcatcher slipping down the list ar too quickly, i thought it would have taken like 50 mil by now.

it would've, if it didn't have such a lame word of mouth.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Kastman
Is it just me or is Dreamcatcher slipping down the list ar too quickly, i thought it would have taken like 50 mil by now.


Considering the terrible reviews and bad word of mouth, it should be happy if it makes it to 35 Million... It should do better on video.

[Horror whore]

1) Anger Management
Gross: $15.722 mil ($4442 per-screen) - 3551 theaters
Total: $15.772 mil

2) Phone Booth
Gross: $2.387 mil ($959 per-screen) - 2489 theaters
Total: $21.486 mil

3) What a Girl Wants
Gross: $2.385 mil ($804 per-screen) - 2964 theaters
Total: $16.087 mil

4) House of 1000 Corpses
Gross: $1.406 mil ($2363 per-screen) - 595 theaters
Total: $1.406 mil

5) A Man Apart
Gross: $1.372 mil ($550 per-screen) - 2495 theaters
Total: $15.298 mil

6) Bringing Down...
Gross: $1.316 mil ($465 per-screen) - 2830 theaters
Total: $114.438 mil

7) Head of State
Gross: $1.194 mil ($529 per-screen) - 2256 theaters
Total: $28.147 mil

8) Chicago
Gross: $0.97 mil ($459 per-screen) - 2114 theaters
Total: $154.638 mil

9) The Core
Gross: $0.889 mil ($294 per-screen) - 3019 theaters
Total: $23.338 mil

10) Basic
Gross: $0.647 mil ($288 per-screen) - 2246 theaters
Total: $22.286 mil

[movies35]

FRIDAY's NUMBERS- YOU WILL BE SHOCKED!


1. Anger Managment 15,772,000
2. Phone Booth 2,386,000
3. What A Girl Wants 2,384,500
4. House of 1,000 Corpses 1,406,000
5. A Man Apart 1,371,000
6. Bringing Down The House 1,315,500
7. Head of State 1,194,000
8. Chicago 970,000
9. The Core 970,500
10. Basic 646,500

HOw! House of 1,000 Corpses did REALLY GOOD!!!

[movies35]

Oh I guess we posted at the same time Whore Horror.

[Horror whore]

Wow! Anger Management opened huge! I expected a big hit but not really this big. I guess I should have known, this looks like it'll be one of Sandler's best comedies.

House of 1000 Corpses also had much better numbers than expected! What is up with that? It looks to perform better than Willard did (:)).

Phone Booth had a pretty big drop, I don't know why.

And What A Girl Wants held on pretty good. I am so annoyed of this movie already, I want it to go away so I don't have to hear about it anymore! :mad:

[TheMovieMinor]

Anger Management is getting some mixed reviews. I thought it was a good story, but once again, another "comedy" forgot the comedy.

So the two biggest comedies this year, Bringing down the house, and Anger Management, forgot to put the comedy in the movie. While the other real comedy, "Head of State" is falling quickly. Why the real good comedies die, and the non comedies live. Maybe its because I am listening to this depressing Mozart music right now.

[Mike]

HOLY FUCK! Forget Anger Management, the real surprise is HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES... It grossed about what I predicted it would make for the whole weekend in just one day. My god, how did this happen!? I've only seen TV spots for it on really really late (in the AM). I'm sure this will be adding some more theaters next weekend. It will have a killer average. I'm really impressed and shocked.

Look at my predictions for it:

Friday - 0.5
Saturday - 0.7
Sunday - 0.4

Total - 1.6 Million

I was WAY off, but that's alright, because I'm happy for it. I NEVER expected it to open this well. As Keanu Reeves would say ------WOH!


Here's my predictions for Anger Management for Lee's Movie Info:

Friday - 14.1 Million
Saturday - 15.7 Million
Sunday - 8.7 Million

Total - 38.5 Million


Well, it's official, I SUCK at predicting the Box Office. I may as well just give up trying now------but I won't of course, since I enjoy it too damn much ;).

JESUS! I still can't get over HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES!

[A.J. Hakari]

I can't get over the success of CORPSES either. My prediction was about $400 grand for the entire weekend, and it's made more than that in a day. Guess it might swing around one of my theatres soon after all...

The success of ANGER MANAGEMENT doesn't surprise me in the list. This one'll pass $100 mil with no problems at all.

[Horror whore]

Originally posted by TheMovieMinor
So the two biggest comedies this year, Bringing down the house, and Anger Management, forgot to put the comedy in the movie. While the other real comedy, "Head of State" is falling quickly. Why the real good comedies die, and the non comedies live. Maybe its because I am listening to this depressing Mozart music right now.

I think Bringing Down The House (A-) was much better than Head of State (C). And I'm sure I'd enjoy Anger Management more as well... I'm glad they're both making more money than Head of State...

[Ed]

Great openning for Anger Management. Phone Booth is droping faster than what i though, strange(although not that much considering that fox didn't expand it). I see What a girl wants doing pretty good, oh the irony.

But, WOW!! look at 1,000 corpses, it's gonna do pretty good buseness considering its limited release. this weekend definitely surprised me.

[Ed]

deleted

[dh1989]

Hmmm, pretty shocking to see House of 1000 Corpses do so well. I guess there really is an audiencre for it. I still think it looks awful, but w/e. It should see drop on Saturday, since all hardcore Zombie fans raced out opening night. I am happy for Anger Management! Go Jack! Go Jack! Go Adam! Go Adam! ;)

[dh1989]

WOW! Look at Anger Management's CINEMASCORES! Eek....

Under 21- Male: A- Female: B

21 To 34- Male: B- Female: B-

35 and Up- Male: C+ Female: D+

Overall: C+

Not too hot.

[Ed]

Originally posted by dh1989
WOW! Look at Anger Management's CINEMASCORES! Eek....

Under 21- Male: A- Female: B

21 To 34- Male: B- Female: B-

35 and Up- Male: C+ Female: D+

Overall: C+

Not too hot.

this is like a new trend, every new no. 1 movie gets bashed at in CS, same thing happened to Phone Booth.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Ed
Phone Booth is droping faster than what i though, strange(although not that much considering that fox didn't expand it).

Phone Booth will get a boost on Saturday though... I really don't think its Friday gross is that bad. Not everyone was that pleased with the movie, so I doubt it's going to be a sleeper. And Fox did add 8 theaters to it, so they did expand it some. It's already wide anyway, it's not like it's in limited release. They could have added 500 theaters and it wouldn't have made much difference, it still wouldn't have grossed much more than what it did. It's playing at most big theaters and a most people have it playing somewhere around them. An expansion wouldn't have made much difference at all. If it was in limited release, then I could see an expansion, but it's in wide release already so there's no need for one. Since it's doing pretty decent business though it will come around to your theater eventually. And even when they show that a movie is supposed to be getting rid of theaters, that doesn't mean that some theaters aren't just getting it. I remember one weekend when Bowling For Columbine was taking away theaters yet my theater just got it that weekend.

[Mike]

Originally posted by dh1989
WOW! Look at Anger Management's CINEMASCORES! Eek....

Under 21- Male: A- Female: B

21 To 34- Male: B- Female: B-

35 and Up- Male: C+ Female: D+

Overall: C+

Not too hot.

Yeah, I've heard from quite a few people that it's not very funny at all. It's supposed to be more serious than funny. But it's being falsely advertised as a comedy, which is going to disappoint a lot of people when they actually see it. It's probably more of a dramedy.

I think it looks good, but my plan from the beginning was to wait for video, and now I'm more sure than ever about it. It's probably pretty disappointing. I usually don't see many comedies in theaters anyway. Horror movies are usually my top priority. The next movie I'm certain I have to go see in theaters is IDENTITY...

[Mike]

Originally posted by movies35
Oh I guess we posted at the same time Whore Horror.

Haha movies35! I just noticed that you got her name backwards...

[movies35]

Originally posted by Mike
Haha movies35! I just noticed that you got her name backwards...

Sorry Horror Whore! ;)

[sharkstank]

gonna go see anger management and it did great and all,but house of 1000 corpses is doing incredibly well.the theatre count was only 595 and it made over a million dollars!? i'll probably check it out too,as my local,20 screen super multiplex has 5 showings this weekend.bet lions gate cant wait to expand.

[Mike]

Originally posted by movies35
Sorry Horror Whore! ;)

I'm sure she don't mind, it was an innocent mistake... I just thought it was funny...

[Freeway]

How can anyone be surprised at how well Anger Management did? It was completely obvious that it would open to around 45-50 million its first weekend with its high theater count and a great cast and premise. I wonder how much Corpses will expand next weekend because it's not out around me right now? It will probably drop alot though because horror films always do. Had Lions Gate had any intelligence they would have given it a 1,500 theater count because it was kind of becoming apparent that it would be a hit (considering theater count) for a weekend at least. If they had it could be sitting at number 2 right now.

[EDsoulsurvive*]

HO1KC did amazing!!! It's weird, i heard more radio commercials than tv commercials and they affected me more than TV. Damn they're really proclaiming that they have a character named Dr. Satan!! This movie seems to be daring people to c it and it seems to be workin. :) I'm happy. As for Anger Management, wtg but i really dont care, it would obviously be huge...

edited to say PICK IT UP PHONE BOOTH! i saw it on firday it was an awesome ride!!

[Mike]

Originally posted by Freeway
Had Lions Gate had any intelligence they would have given it a 1,500 theater count because it was kind of becoming apparent that it would be a hit (considering theater count) for a weekend at least. If they had it could be sitting at number 2 right now.

I don't think it was apparent that it would be a hit at all. This pretty much came out of nowhere.

It may not be a "hit," but it did damn great considering the kind of movie it is and the little amount of advertising it had. I think Lions Gate should add more theaters next weekend, but that won't stop it from seeing a big ass drop. A 50-65% drop is pretty much a guarantee. Hell, if it only drops 50%, that would be damn good for this kind of movie. If they don't add any more theaters, then I'd say a 65% drop is likely.

[Mike]

This is from Box Office Prophets:

The April opening record, currently held by The Scorpion King, will be shattered by Anger Management. However, that's not exactly the big surprise this weekend.


Anger Management

Apparently I was the only person to have seen the entire film in the 97 different TV ads. Anger Management earned an estimated $15.7 million Friday. That tops the $12.7 million Friday of the Scorpion King, and means the $38 million April record is not long for this world. Sandler's fanboy audience always turns out opening night, but the presence of Jack Nicholson, and the fact that comedies have been hot in 2003 may bring out a few folks outside of Sandler's usual age range. Give it an even 3.0 multiplier and a $47.1 million.

Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses

This is probably the best opening weekend ever for a film that has languished in limbo for over two years, gone from distributor to distributor, been resubmitted to the MPAA several times until it finally got an R, and then released in less than 600 theaters. Anyway, despite Anger Management's record breaking weekend, House of 1000 Corpses ends up the surprise of the weekend, earning an estimated $1.4 million Friday. The standard horror film weekend multiplier will cause it to miss the upper half of the top ten, but even making it at all is nothing to sneeze about. Call it $4 million for the weekend.

Notable Holdovers

Phone Booth drops a surprising 53.8% from last Friday, but should be down a bit less than 50% for the weekend.
What a Girl Wants shows signs of legginess, as it's down just 32% from last Friday, and has a decent chance of just a 25% drop of the weekend.

A Man Apart falls a massive 65% from last week, and will probably be down around that much weekend. Sorry, Vin.

[Horror whore]

Originally posted by movies35
Sorry Horror Whore! ;)

You better be, 35movies! ;):p

[Ed]

Originally posted by EDsoulsurvive*
edited to say PICK IT UP PHONE BOOTH! i saw it on firday it was an awesome ride!!

yah, pick it up Phone Booth!!!

[Kastman]

15 mil in one day? FUKIN HELL!!!

Go house of 100 corpses.


ANd go what a girl wants, only coz amanda bynes is in it i want it to do good.

[Kastman]

oh yeah, about agent cody banks.

I heard everyopne saying it looks to be the worst movie fopr a long time or something so i didnt bother seeing the trailer, but just now i watched the trailer on the official website, and i dont think it looks as bad as everyone said. i mean, its not looking to be a really good film, but i thin people went a little overboard in puting it down. ps-im in australia thats why i aint seen anything from it yet.

[EDsoulsurvive*]

Originally posted by Kastman
oh yeah, about agent cody banks.

I heard everyopne saying it looks to be the worst movie fopr a long time or something so i didnt bother seeing the trailer, but just now i watched the trailer on the official website, and i dont think it looks as bad as everyone said. i mean, its not looking to be a really good film, but i thin people went a little overboard in puting it down. ps-im in australia thats why i aint seen anything from it yet.

yea well the trailer isnt terrible, the movie is...
;)
and back on topic.... uh.... GO PHONE BOOTH!

[Tom Samborski]

1.Anger Management- $44,500,000
2.Phone Booth- $7,530,000
3.What A Girl Wants- $6,700,000
4.Bringing Down The House- $4,551,000
5.A Man Apart- $4,450,000
6.Head of State- $4,000,000
7.House Of 1,000 Corpses- $3,400,000
8.Chicago- $3,290,000
9.The Core- $3,230,000
10.Basic- $2,200,000
11.Agent Cody Banks- $1,700,000
12.Piglet's Big Movie- $1,411,000

[dh1989]

Great opening for Anger Management! I'm happy for it! Nice comedy. House Of 1000 Corpses opened with a small gross, but that is considered a success for that film, I believe. Overall, pleasing numbers. Thanks Tom!

[EDsoulsurvive*]

shit shit shit.
c'mon PHONE Booth, only 7 fukn million???? what the hell is that? All of last weeks releases suffered 50+ drops (WTAG about 50) and other than AM, the rest of teh movies did shit. Wtg HO1KC. a small but successful gross.....

[Mike]

Woh, what's with all of the big drops this weekend!?

Anyway, this is from Box Office Prophets:

Box Office Smiles with Anger

John Hamann's Weekend Wrap-Up

April 11-13, 2003


Depending on perspective, the April 11-13th weekend is either an eye-opening achievement for Anger Management or just a simple victory. The Adam Sandler/Jack Nicholson comedy has always been a lock to hit the number one spot; the question has been how big it would open. Well, it was huge, but it was slightly overshadowed by a small success that no one thought would happen: Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses actually made the top ten.

Rubbed with a touch of action, the "buddy-comedy" genre is usually easy money. My earliest memory of the buddy comedy goes back to 1982, when Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte put out 48 Hours, Eddie's first attempt at the genre. The success of 48 Hours was stunning. In 1982 dollars, the comedy grossed $75.9 million, which equates to about a gazillion of today's movie dollars. Other examples of big box office hits that fall into the genre: Bad Boys, Bulletproof (also with Adam Sandler), the Lethal Weapon series, the Men In Black series, the Rush Hour series, and the Shanghai Noon series. And of course there are buddy comedies that didn't work; I Spy and Bad Company would be two recent examples, The Cable Guy with Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey is infamous as is Ishtar with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty, and we will always have the classic Spade/Farley films like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.. My favourite buddy comedy? The under-appreciated Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin. If you haven't seen it, go rent it. You'll thank me.

It's no surprise at all that Anger Management is the number one film of the weekend. The Dynamic Duo of Sandler and Nicholson tore apart the April box office record book as the laugh-fest grossed a powerful $44.5 million this weekend, putting the shine back in the box office. The Sony film opened at an ultra-wide 3,551 venues this weekend, the second widest opening ever for a comedy, just behind Austin Powers in Goldmember, which holds the record with 3,613. Anger's venue average was $12,531, which should make theater owners/corporations happy all across our fair continent. Other records for Anger Management: biggest open for Jack Nicholson (which previously was Batman at $40.5 million in 1989), biggest open for Sandler (previously was Big Daddy at $41.5 million), and biggest open for now huge director Peter Segal (was Nutty Professor 2 at $42.5 million). A couple of records it didn't break were for top gross for a buddy comedy (still is Rush Hour 2 at $67.4 million) and top opening for Sony (still is Spiderman with $114.8 million). Anger Management has a budget of $56 million before its extensive marketing campaign, so to come so close to making the expensive production budget back in a weekend is great news for Sony and Revolution Studios.

How was critical reaction to the teaming of Sandler and Nicholson? I'd say fair at best, but that's not the worst news. RottenTomatoes gathered 105 reviews, and of those, only 53 were positive, earning the film a rotten score of 50%. But as I said, that's not the worst news. Cinemascores were horrible. Females over 35 gave the film a D+, and males in the same bracket only scored Anger a C+. This was balanced off a bit by an A- from males under 21, and the film averaged a C+. For comparison, let's look at the scores of Austin Powers in Goldmember. The scores are almost identical, but Austin Powers got the better average score, although it got a similar A- from males under 21, a C+ from males over 35, and a C from women in the same bracket. Goldmember opened to $73.1 million, but only grossed $213.1 million overall, leading to a soft 2.9 overall multiplier. Yes, some of that softness is due to the sequel effect, but it also shows that word of mouth can have an extreme effect on box office.

Second spot goes to a film that affirms the rule about word-of-mouth and box office, and that film in Phone Booth. Phone Booth had some rough Cinemascores last week as well. It's average score was a C+, and questionable word-of-mouth led to a 50% drop from its top spot gross last weekend. The 20th Century Fox film grossed $7.5 million in its second weekend from 2,489 venues; it had an average of $3,025. Whatever the gross, this film is extremely profitable for Fox. The film cost only $10 million to make, and probably another $15 million to market it, and so far the thriller has grossed $26.6 million.

What a Girl Wants dropped to third spot this weekend. The Amanda Bynes Facts of Life Go to Europe clone grossed $6.7 million this weekend, down 41% compared to its open last weekend. The Warner Bros teen flick has now grossed $20.4 million, not bad against a production cost of about $25 million.

In at fourth this weekend is Bringing Down the House, hanging around in the top five for the sixth straight weekend. The high-grossing comedy seems to be losing steam as it dropped 45% this weekend, pulling in a gross of $4.6 million. Bringing Down the House had some things working against it this weekend; the same genre/huge opening by Anger Management might have stolen some potential viewers, and Buena Vista reduced the screen count by 80 heading into the weekend. So far, House has grossed $117.7 million, putting it in the top 200 highest grossing movies ever. It should end up with about $130 million, with a production cost somewhere between $20-$30 million.

Vin Diesel and A Man Apart get the award for biggest drop of the weekend. The New Line flick tumbled hard this weekend, dropping 60% with a second weekend gross of $4.5 million. That's an ouch of a very large degree for the successful studio, as the Vin pic cost them $36 million, and it only has a gross so far of $18.3 million with a final gross of $25 million being its longshot number.

Sixth spot goes to Head of State. Head of State got hammered hard by Anger Management, as it dropped 53.5% in its third weekend, grossing $4.0 million. The Chris Rock/Bernie Mac DreamWorks picture has now grossed $30.9 million against a budget of $35 million.

Seventh is a big surprise. Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses rose from the ashes this weekend with little push and little marketing, but was still able to gross $3.4 million from only 595 screens. That equates to a $5,714 venue average, which is second best in the top ten behind Anger Management. 1000 Corpses is from rocker Rob Zombie; the lead singer of White Zombie directed this $7 million dollar flick way back in May 2000 and it had a bumpy ride getting to the screen. Universal was the first studio to control this feature, but after viewing some footage, they dropped it over fears of the dreaded NC-17 rating. Zombie then shopped the film around, and it ended up at shock studio Lions Gate, who braved Catholics with Dogma and Columbine fearers with "O'. Even with a low budget, don't think that Zombie and Lions Gate are going to get rich off this one. Expect it to be out of the top ten next weekend as it struggles to make its budget back.

Eighth this weekend is Oscar winner Chicago, which is slipping pretty quick now. Chicago grossed $3.3 million this weekend from 2,114 venues (down 281 compared to last weekend) and had a drop of 35.5%. So far, the Miramax musical has grossed $156.9 million domestically and over $85 million internationally, and will make a lot more on DVD.

Down to ninth is the movie mistake The Core. The $85 million dollar picture grossed only $3.2 million this weekend, bringing its tiny gross up to $25.7 million. Whoops!

Finally, in tenth is Basic with John Travolta. Basic only scored $2.2 million in it third and final weekend in the top ten. Its poor total has hit $23.8 million.

Next weekend brings the Easter Bunny with a basket of movie treats. On Wednesday, Bulletproof Monk with Chow Yun Fat opens, along with Chasing Papi from Fox, although it will most likely be fairly limited. On Friday, the dumb-looking Malibu's Most Wanted opens, along with Disney's Holes, another film aimed at the teen market. To win the weekend, one of these films will have to gross at least $30 million to get by Anger Management, and I'd say that's doubtful at best.

Overall, Anger Management stops a the trend of down weekends at the box office. This year, estimates for the top ten films came in at $84.8 million, up 7% over last year's $78.7 million.


Hmm, I was just thinking. That would be funny if they made a sequel to Phone Booth called Tanning Booth, or it could even be a spoof. It could be where you can't leave the tanning booth or you'll get shot, so you're forced to stay there and get sun burned. Nevermind, I just got back from going tanning and I jokingly thought of this, so I couldn't help but share my "brilliant" idea with everyone ;).

[Ed]

Originally posted by Mike
Hmm, I was just thinking. That would be funny if they made a sequel to Phone Booth called Tanning Booth, or it could even be a spoof. It could be where you can't leave the tanning booth or you'll get shot, so you're forced to stay there and get sun burned. Nevermind, I just got back from going tanning and I jokingly thought of this, so I couldn't help but share my "brilliant" idea with everyone ;).

HAHAHAHAHA! wow mike 'brilliant' idea, :p but i bet my ass this film will the spoofed or something. btw, even if you don't like colin that much, i think you would like this movie.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Ed
HAHAHAHAHA! wow mike 'brilliant' idea, :p but i bet my ass this film will the spoofed or something. btw, even if you don't like colin that much, i think you would like this movie.

Wow, you thought my idea was brilliant too ;), I think I should contact Fox about this because I can tell this movie would be in high demand :D...

Anyway, I think I'd like it too. It does look pretty damn good. But I don't want to spend the money to see it in theaters when it's only 80+ minutes long. So I'm just going to rent it on video.