News for 6/10/2003
Weekend Boxoffice
'2 Fast 2 Furious' wins box office race over 'Nemo'
By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES -- The street-racing sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious" won the pole position at the box office, taking in an estimated $52.1 million in its opening weekend.
The follow up to the 2001 hit "The Fast and the Furious," bumped the previous weekend's top film, the animated deep-sea adventure "Finding Nemo," which slipped to second place with an estimated $45.8 million.
"2 Fast 2 Furious" beat the $40.1 million opening weekend of "The Fast and the Furious" despite the absence of action star Vin Diesel, who did not return for the sequel. The new movie again features Paul Walker, this time paired with Tyrese Gibson, as a street racer infiltrating a smuggling ring among Miami hot-rodders.
With or without Diesel, "the cars are the stars," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released both movies. "It's a great, multicultural, exciting little piece of entertainment. Just what teenagers are looking for."
Three-fourths of the audience was younger than 25, and "2 Fast 2 Furious" drew a broad ethnic mix, with Hispanics making up 38 percent of viewers and blacks accounting for 16 percent, the studio said.
The Disney-Pixar collaboration "Finding Nemo," whose $70.3 million debut a week earlier was the best ever for an animated film, pushed its 10-day total to $143.3 million. That was about $21 million ahead of the 10-day total of "Monsters, Inc.", the Disney-Pixar tale that was the previous record holder for best animated debut.
With youngsters getting out of school for summer, "Finding Nemo" has a good shot at passing the $256 million total gross of "Monsters, Inc.", which did much of its business during the school term in November and December of 2001, said Chuck Viane, Disney head of distribution.
"In summer, every day's a holiday," Viane said. "That really bodes well for the length of run for our movie."
The overall box office soared, with the top 12 movies grossing $157.1 million, up 52 percent from a relatively quiet weekend a year ago, when "The Sum of All Fears" remained the top film for the second straight week.
Despite two straight weekends of increased revenues, the box office so far this year continues to lag 4 to 5 percent behind Hollywood's haul in 2002, when the industry took in a record $9.5 billion.
After a slow winter and spring, Hollywood has rebounded with such blockbusters as "The Matrix Reloaded," whose $9.1 million weekend pushed its total to $247.7 million, and "X2: X-Men United," which grossed $3.05 million to lift its gross to $204.3 million.
"We're chipping away at this deficit and trying to regain some sort of lead over last year," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "We've had two big up weekends in a row, and by mid to late summer, we could be ahead of last year."
Likely hits arriving over the next month include "The Hulk," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde."
The estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., are:
1. "2 Fast 2 Furious," $52.1 million.
2. "Finding Nemo," $45.8 million.
3. "Bruce Almighty," $21.7 million.
4. "The Italian Job," $13.3 million.
5. "The Matrix Reloaded," $9.1 million.
6. "Daddy Day Care," $4.8 million.
7. "X2: X-Men United," $3.05 million.
8. "Wrong Turn," $2.65 million.
9. "The In-Laws," $2 million.
10. "Bend it Like Beckham," $975,000
News for 6/3/2003
Weekend Boxoffice
"Finding Nemo" Hooks $70.6 Million
By Bridget Byrne
Audiences found Nemo--and how. Disney-Pixar's Finding Nemo caught a whopping $70.6 million, the best ever weekend haul for an animated movie.
The G-rated fish tale made such waves over the weekend that it swamped last week's major attraction, Bruce Almighty, which took a less than heavenly tumble down to a second place $35.6 million.
Debuting in third place, the heist caper The Italian Job opened with a relatively minnow-like $19.3 million.
Finding Nemo is the fifth Disney-Pixar computer-animated movie to open as an impressive number one. Its debut--the biggest-three-day total opening for any Disney film, live or 'toon--easily tops the $62.5 million gobbled up by Monsters, Inc in 2001 and the $57.3 million captured by Toy Story 2 in 1999, and is way ahead of the $33.2 million for A Bug's Life in 1998 and the $29.1 million for the original Toy Story in 1995. Nemo, which cost an estimated $100 million to make, should easily repeat the mega-grosses of its predecessors.
In 3,374 sites the comic adventure of a curious little clown fish sought by his neurotic dad through deep waters all the way to a dentist office aquarium, buoyed by such celeb voices as Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Barry "Dame Edna" Humphries, averaged $20,925 per. The huge dollar total was achieved despite discounts for kids and lower matinee prices. The movie also reeled in many adults at late-night showtimes. It did twice as well as the second weekend showings of Jim Carrey's playing-God comedy, which fell off 48 percent, averaging $10,195 at 3,492 sites. But powered by last weekend's debut, the PG-13 Universal release has already racked up $135.7 million in two weeks.
The Italian Job, Paramount's PG-13 crime flick (a retooling of a so-so 1969 movie, starring Michael Caine) featuring Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron, averaged a so-so $7,330 at 2,633 sites.
The weekend's other newbie, Wrong Turn, clearly was one. Fox's R-rated horror trip was deep-sixed by the competition, only managing a seventh-place debut with $5 million. Starring TV actors Jeremy Sisto and Eliza Dushku, Wrong Turn could only scare up a $3,102 average at 1,615 sites.
Remaining in the top 10, but falling far and fast, were the action hits The Matrix Reloaded, down 62 percent and two places to number four with $15 million for a current total gross of $232 million, and X2: X-Men United, down 52 percent and two places to number six with $5 million for a current total gross of $199.2 million.
In limited release, Together, a coming-of-age tale about a Chinese boy and his violin, played at just six sites and averaged a pleasantly tuneful $11,000 for $66,000.
Overall, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, the top 12 movies this Friday to Sunday grossed a combined $165.5 million, a gain of 6 percent over last weekend and a major 42 percent leap since this time last year.
1. Finding Nemo, $70.6 million
2. Bruce Almighty, $35.6 million
3. The Italian Job, $19.3 million
4. The Matrix Reloaded, $15 million
5. Daddy Day Care, $6.8 million
6. X2: X Men-United, $5.025 million
7. Wrong Turn, $5 million
8. The In-Laws, $3.6 million
9. Down With Love, $1.5 million
10. Bend It Like Beckham, $1 million
News for 6/1/2003
Antwone Fisher Surpasses Theatrical Gross on Video
From The Hollywood Reporter
Denzel Washington's Antwone Fisher surpassed its $21 million domestic box office gross by about $5 million during its first week on home video for a five-day retail and rental home video gross of about $26 million.
"Fisher" was the surprise hit in DVD sales its debut week ending May 25, selling more than 1 million DVD units to consumers during its first five days on store shelves.
Retailers attributed the unusually strong DVD sales to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's highly visible national marketing campaign on television, radio and print as well as targeting members of the armed forces and their families and friends.
Woodsman Gets New Producer & Star
From Variety
Hip-hop impresario Damon Dash has come aboard to executive produce the drama film The Woodsman, starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and Eve. Rapper/actor Mos Def (The Italian Job) has joined the cast, which includes Benjamin Bratt, David Alan Grier and newcomer Michael Shannon.
Lensing is under way in Philadelphia under the direction of helmer Nicole Kassell, who adapted the script for the screen from a play by Steven Fechter.
The story concerns a convicted sex offender (Bacon) who has just been released from prison and is trying to build a new life.
Thomas Carter Goes Back in the Day
From The Hollywood Reporter
Thomas Carter (Save the Last Dance) is in talks to direct Paramount Pictures' Back in the Day, a feature film based on controversial Richmond (California) High School basketball coach Ken Carter. Studio-based MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Productions are producing the project which has no start date yet. Mark Schwahn was hired last year to write the screenplay.
Coach Carter made national news in 1999 when he benched his entire undefeated basketball team for poor academic performance. He forfeited two league games and made the gym off-limits until students raised their grades, a move that drew praise and criticism from parents and school officials. His son was one of the members of the 1999 team who went on to earn four-year athletic scholarships.
News for 5/27/2003
Weekend Boxoffice
'Bruce Almighty' Topples 'The Matrix'
By Anthony Breznican
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - And on the fourth day the Lord said: Let there be an $86.4 million opening weekend for the God-comedy "Bruce Almighty," which will top the Memorial Day box office.
And there was, and it was good for Universal Pictures.
But it was not good for the Warner Bros. sci-fi sequel "The Matrix Reloaded," which earned $45.6 million to place a distant No. 2 in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Monday.
Attendance for "The Matrix Reloaded," which has collected $209.5 million since its powerhouse debut May 14, shrunk by 60 percent - suggesting "The Matrix" is unloading quickly.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co., characterized the performance of "Bruce Almighty" as a "definite surprise."
The comedy stars Jim Carrey as a regular guy who receives the powers of God (played by Morgan Freeman) after complaining too much about life. Before getting his comeuppance, Bruce uses the abilities to look up women's dresses, torment his work rival and teach his dog to use the toilet.
"We all thought this would be a big weekend, but the question was - would "Bruce Almighty' top 'The Matrix?'" Dergarabedian said. "Jim Carrey in a broad comedy like this is pretty much unstoppable."
The only other new film in wide release was the Michael Douglas-Albert Brooks remake of "The In-Laws," about a wild secret agent and meek doctor whose children are marrying. The comedy, based on a 1979 film starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, collected $9.1 million.
"The Matrix Reloaded," a sequel to the 1999 film about a computer hacker trying to unravel a parallel reality devised by machines, faced high expectations after its huge debut - but early success may have shortened its long-term prospects.
"So many people saw that movie so quickly that it's very difficult to maintain for a second weekend," Dergarabedian said.
But the 60 percent plunge in attendance was steeper than other blockbusters, including last year's "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," which saw second-weekend ticket sales fall by only 38 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
"Spider-Man" was rated PG-13 and "Clones" was PG. The R-rating for "Reloaded," Warner Bros. executives said, curtailed its audience by restricting most unchaperoned moviegoers younger than 17.
"You can't compare an R-rated movie over a holiday period with movies that appeal to a broad family audience. We have a different kind of movie," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of U.S. distribution.
1. "Bruce Almighty," $86.4 million.
2. "The Matrix Reloaded," $45.6 million.
3. "Daddy Day Care," $18 million.
4. "X2: X-Men United," $13 million.
5. "The In-Laws," $9.1 million
6. "Down With Love." $5.1 million.
7. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $4 million.
8. "Holes," $3 million.
9. "Identity," $2.6 million.
10. "Anger Management," $2.4 million.
News for 5/19/2003
Fall Programming Takes Diverse Turn
By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK - Come to Whoopi Goldberg's hotel, or Luis Guzman's doughnut shop. Cheech Marin is dad to a talk show host. Steve Harvey is back, and Will Smith airs family dirty laundry.
Television makes a strong move toward ethnic diversity with its new fall programming, particularly in comedies. Eighteen programs will features minority stars, including eight new comedies — up from two new comedies last year.
NBC also committed to a series starring Tracy Morgan of "Saturday Night Live" for midseason.
Four years ago, television networks came under harsh criticism for lack of minority representation in prime-time programming, and the NAACP threatened boycotts if there were not improvements.
Those attacks, coupled with the success of programs like ABC's "My Wife and Kids" and "George Lopez" and Fox's "Bernie Mac," may have contributed toward this year's increase in diversity, said Doug Alligood, senior vice president at the advertising agency BBDO.
"The criticism did not hurt in terms of making people wake up to this, although I'm sure a lot of people don't want to admit that had anything to do with it," Alligood said.
Goldberg stars in NBC's "Whoopi," as an ex-singer who runs her own hotel in New York City. Fox has given the green light to "Luis" and "The Ortegas," featuring Marin in a show with improvisational elements. Harvey hosts a talent show for average folks with odd talents.
The WB will launch "All About the Andersons," with comic Anthony Anderson playing a struggling actor and single father, and "Like Family," where a troubled poor white teenager is sent to live with a suburban black family.
UPN has a new series with rap star Eve and a comedy about divorced families developed by — but not starring — Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Those new shows will play on Mondays, where UPN has already established a night of black-oriented comedies. But UPN will move Monday's most popular show, "One on One," to Tuesday, leading off an intriguing "fade to white" strategy. Each of four comedies that night adds progressively more white actors.
Alligood noted the increase of multi-ethnic casts, where networks are obviously trying to appeal to more than one group. The challenge is to do it seamlessly, he said, not where it appears one ethnic group is being used as a comic foil.
"When a white person is brought into a black show, the white person is usually pretty stupid," he said.
Lisa Navarrete, spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, said she's pleased with the evident progress toward diversity. She expressed disappointment that NBC's "Kingpin" and the WB's "Greetings from Tucson," with predominantly Hispanic casts, were canceled.
"If you're looking at it demographically, if you're not reflecting the fastest-growing groups, you're doing a business disservice, not just a public relations disservice," she said.
A call to the NAACP was not returned Monday.
Goldberg caught the irony of being picked up by NBC, which has fashioned itself as a hip, urban network but features relatively few minorities. She joked that "Friends" has lately added a black actress to its cast, "so when it's shown uptown it's called `Friend.'"
"I know there's not been a lot of black people on NBC," she said while talking about her show to advertisers. "But the ones that have been on NBC have been successful, so I guess that's a good sign."
Weekend Boxoffice
'Matrix' Has Best-Ever Opening for R Film
By GARY GENTILE
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - Hordes of fans took another trip down the rabbit hole with Neo, Trinity and the other characters of "The Matrix Reloaded," giving the sequel the highest opening weekend gross of any R-rated film on record.
The Warner Bros. sequel to 1999's "The Matrix" took in an estimated $93.3 million from Friday through Sunday, capturing 59.8 percent of the total gross of the weekend's top 12 films, according to studio estimates.
"Matrix Reloaded" made mincemeat out of the previous R-rated weekend record holder, 2001's "Hannibal," which brought in $58 million. "Matrix Reloaded" opened in limited previews Wednesday night, and its total for all five days was estimated at $135.8 million.
"Matrix Reloaded" becomes the second-highest first weekend grossing film of all time, behind last year's PG-13-rated "Spider-Man," which took in $114.8 million its opening weekend. "Matrix Reloaded" was rated R for violence and some sexuality.
Overall, however, Hollywood revenues were down, with the top 12 movies grossing $162.6 million, off 4 percent compared to the same weekend last year.
"Matrix Reloaded" audiences were split almost evenly between those under and over 25, and many theater owners reported a large number of families seeing the film, according to Warner Bros. research.
"You had a whole legion of fans under 17 whose parents were obviously willing to take them to see this movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "You can almost call this an R-rated family film."
"This just shows that ratings matter to a point, but if people want to see the movie, they're going to see the movie," Dergarabedian said.
The film is the second of a trilogy, which will wrap up in November with "The Matrix Revolutions."
Warner Bros. held back on a major television ad campaign for the film, relying instead on word of mouth from the releases of the DVD of "The Matrix," of a video game based on the films and of a series of animated shorts.
"The Matrix Reloaded" easily knocked its sci-fi rival, "X2: X-Men United," into third place. "X2" took in $17.1 million for a total three-week take of $174 million.
A surprise was the resilience of the Eddie Murphy family comedy "Daddy Day Care," which only slipped 30 percent at the box office in its second week and retained its second-place showing with a three-day gross of $19.2 million, for a three-week total of $51.4 million.
"To be wedged between these two monsters and hold as well as we did makes it that much better," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.
1. "The Matrix Reloaded," $93.3 million.
2. "Daddy Day Care," $19.2 million.
3. "X2: X-Men United," $17.1 million.
4. "Down With Love." $7.6 million.
5. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $4.5 million.
6. "Anger Management," $3.6 million.
7. "Identity," $3.4 million.
8. "Holes," $3 million.
9. "A Mighty Wind," $1.7 million.
10. "Bend It Like Beckham," $1.5 million
News for 5/15/2003
TV Networks Announce Fall Lineup
News for 5/12/2003
Frenchie Davis, Once and Future American Idol,
Is New Soloist in Broadway's 'Rent'
From Playbill On-Line
Frenchie Davis, the big-voiced singer who was ousted from TV's "American Idol" pop competition earlier this year will make her Broadway debut as the "Seasons of Love" soloist in Rent, starting May 16.
Davis will be the soaring soloist in the Act Two opener of the Broadway smash, and will play ensemble roles, a spokesman confirmed.
Davis, a hefty actress-singer with short-cropped hair and a rich belt, was seen as a favorite to win the Fox TV talent contest until producers kicked her out in February because she had appeared on an adult website.
Jonathan Larson penned book, music and lyrics for Rent, the La Bohème-inspired rock musical that tells the story of East Village friends and lovers in the age of AIDS. Larson won the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize, posthumously. He died of an aortic aneurysm on the eve of the show's Off-Broadway run.
Performances continue at the Nederlander Theatre.
Farrell, Brody, Latifah to Present MTV Movie Awards
HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - This year's line-up of presenters for the MTV Movie Awards has been announced and it includes several recent Oscar nominees and winners.
Colin Farrell, Harrison Ford, Adrien Brody, Queen Latifah and Samuel L Jackson will all take the stage along with Josh Hartnett, Tyrese, Mya and Paul Walker. The event is being co-hosted by Justin Timberlake and Sean William Scott.
Top nominees include "Lord Of The Rings" and "Spider-man," which are running neck and neck with five nominations each. Eminem is up for two awards for his debut movie performance in "8 Mile." Beyonce Knowles has received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Female.
Other categories include Best Villain, Best Kiss, Best Virtual Performance and Best Action Sequence.
The ceremony is being held on May 31 in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium. The show will air in the United States on June 5 at 9 p.m.
Producer Silver Comments on Passing of 'Reloaded' Actors
HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - A death of a cast member during a film shoot is never a laughing matter, and can usually spell doom for a project. While shooting the back-to-back sequels for "The Matrix," filmmakers were dealt an unusually harsh blow when not one, but two actors, Gloria Foster and singer/actress Aaliyah, passed away.
Aaliyah died in a plane crash in late August, 2001. About a month later on Sept. 29, Foster passed away from diabetes complications.
At the time, observers thought the deaths might have delayed the filming of "Relaoded" or "Revolutions," but producer Joel Silver insists this was not the case -- although it did lead to some changes. For example, Foster, who played the character of the Oracle in 1999's "The Matrix" and "Reloaded," died just before she was set to start work on "Revolutions."
"The Wachowski brothers had always thought about the Oracle changing form, but we didn't know how we would do that. Essentially that was decided for us that she will change form," says Silver.
In the case of Aaliyah, her role Zee is bigger in "Revolutions" than in "Reloaded." In her case, she died before filming any scenes.
"Really there were some background plates in the Zion temple that Aliyah may have been in but there were never any scenes shot. All the scenes that were done that the character worked in were all in Australia and she never got there," he says.
Following Aaliyah's death, the character of Zee was recast with actress Nona Gaye.
Weekend Boxoffice
'X2' Keeps No. 1 Spot at the Box Office
By DAVID GERMAIN
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Mutants preserved their power at the box office as "X2: X-Men United" remained the No. 1 movie, taking in $41.4 million in its second weekend.
Eddie Murphy's family comedy "Daddy Day Care," in which he plays an out-of-work father who starts a toddler-tending business, opened in second place with $27.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"X2," the sequel based on the comic book about genetic mutants with superpowers, lifted its 10-day total to $149 million after an opening weekend of $85.6 million, the fourth best of all-time.
By Wednesday, "X2" should pass the $157.3 million that "X-Men" took in during its entire run three years ago, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released both movies.
The improved box office indicates fans of the comic books drove the first film, while its exposure since then through home video and TV airings has broadened the franchise's appeal, Snyder said.
"It's grown in stature, plus this one got the kind of reviews that drove more of an adult audience and a female audience to see it, people who might not normally go to see a comic-book-based story," Snyder said.
The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $103 million, off 11 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Spider-Man" continued to dominate theaters.
Murphy, whose early movie career was built on street-smart action comedies such as "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hrs.", has bombed in his recent edgier flicks, including last year's "Showtime," I Spy" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash."
His hits lately have come from family movies such as "The Nutty Professor," "Doctor Dolittle" and their sequels.
"Eddie Murphy is Bill Cosby," said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, which produced "Daddy Day Care" for Sony. "People who grew up with the edgy Eddie Murphy, they're older now and parents, but they still want to see him. He's not that urban kid any more, he's a grown-up, a good father and family man, and he makes these movies that appeal to families."
Opening "Daddy Day Care" over the family-friendly Mother's Day weekend helped, and the studio avoided big head-to-head competition by sandwiching it between the opening weekends of "X2" and the upcoming "The Matrix Reloaded," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.
"The Matrix Reloaded," which debuts Thursday, is expected to top the $58 million opening weekend of "Hannibal," the record-holder for R-rated movies. But the higher rating could make it tough for "Matrix Reloaded" to match the opening of "X2," which is rated PG-13.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.
1. "X2: X-Men United," $41.4 million.
2. "Daddy Day Care," $27.6 million.
3. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," $7.8 million.
4. "Identity," $6.3 million.
5. "Anger Management," $5.5 million.
6. "Holes," $4.6 million.
7. "A Mighty Wind," $2.9 million.
8. "Malibu's Most Wanted," $2.1 million.
9. "Bend It Like Beckham," $1.65 million.
10. "Confidence," $1.5 million.
News for 5/5/2003
Bratt, Eve and Wife Sedgwick Join Bacon's 'Woodsman'
HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) – Actors Benjamin Bratt ("Abandon") and Kyra Sedgwick ("Personal Velocity"), and rapper Eve, are in talks to join Sedgwick's husband, Kevin Bacon, in Nicole Kassell's "The Woodsman" for Lee Daniels Entertainment. The film also stars David Alan Grier ("Return to Me") and Michael Shannon ("Beginner's Luck").
Written by first-time director Kassell, the story centers a man (Bacon) who returns to his hometown after 12 years in prison for pedophilia, and tries to start a new life working at a power plant. He struggles with past demons but resists the temptations, proving to himself that he's cured of the condition that plagued him for years.
Lee Daniels Entertainment is the production company behind "Monster's Ball" which earned Halle Berry the best actress Oscar, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
Bratt, who is currently shooting Sidney Lumet's "The Set-Up" with Berry, will be starring next in John Dahl's "The Great Raid" opposite Joseph Fiennes.
Sedgwick will be appearing next in Tim McCanlies' "Secondhand Lions" with Michael Caine.
Production on "The Woodsman" begins this month in Philadelphia.
Weekend Boxoffice
Xcellent Showing for "X2"
By Bridget Byrne
As Xpected, X2: X-Men United Xterminated the competition at the box office.
The mutant movie sequel scored an uncanny $85.8 million from Friday to Sunday, according to preliminary studio estimates.
Aside from getting the script writers cracking on X3, the mind-boggling gross will go down as the fourth biggest opening in Hollywood history, behind the tallies of that other Marvel mutation, Spider-Man ($114.8 million exactly one year ago), and the magical boy wizard (come to think of it, he's probably a mutant, too) of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($90.2 million in 2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ($88.3 million last November). Now bumped down to fifth place is 2002's Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones ($80 million).
A PG-13 Fox release that reunites audiences with the extraordinary powers of Hugh Jackman's razor-clawed Wolverine, Halle Berry's turbulent Storm, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' morphing Mystique, Anna Paquin's memory-sucking Rogue and the wiles of Ian McKellen's Magneto and Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier, while introducing Alan Cumming's teleporting Nightcrawler and Brian Cox's mutant-hating military man Stryker, X2 rung up 61 percent of the weekend receipts. Debuting at 3,741 sites, it averaged a whopping $22,948 per, attracting more females (well, the cast does include Jackman, considered hot even in lupine form) and more 25-and-up viewers than studio prognosticators anticipated.
Fox is reporting that worldwide X2, which launched in a record-setting 80 countries, grossed an estimated $155.2 million, already more than half the eventual total gross of the more modestly produced X-Men. In July 2000, the original debuted domestically with $57.5 million--coincidentally making it the fourth best opening at that time (behind now surpassed record holders The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace and Mission: Impossible 2).
The only movie daring to challenge X2, the first major debut of the sequel-mad summer season, was The Lizzie McGuire Movie. The unimaginatively titled PG-rated Disney release, featuring the studio's hot young teen property Hilary Duff rocking out in Rome, came in a very respectable (under the circumstances) second with an estimated $17 million. At 2,825 sites, it averaged $6,018, enticing 12 percent of the weekend audience, many of them young girls.
All other openings were limited. The one with the highest per-site average was Spellbound, a Thinkfilm documentary about kids competing in the National Spelling Bee, which scored $17,569 at just one theater in New York. Fox Searchlight's R-rated The Dancer Upstairs, a political thriller starring Javier Bardem and the first feature directed by John Malkovich, debuted at 13 sites, where it pulled in an $8,100 average for a total of $105,300.
Having less impact was Blue Car, an R-rated Miramax drama starring David Strathairn as an English teacher attracted to his prize pupil. Opening at just six sites, it averaged $5,1267 for $31,000. Also scoring modestly was Owning Mahowny. Sony Picture Classics' R-rated drama about money scams, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver and John Hurt, averaged $3,903 at nine sites for $35,123.
Overall, thanks to the X-Men, the top 12 films grossed an estimated $140.7 million, up 88 percent from last weekend, but still 8 percent lower than this time last year, when Spider-Man debuted with even more astounding record results.
Here are the top 10 weekend films, based on estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. X2: X-Men United, $85.8 million
2. The Lizzie McGuire Movie, $17 million
3. Identity, $9.5 million
4. Anger Management, $8.5 million
5. Holes, $6.5 million
6. Malibu's Most Wanted, $4 million
7. Confidence, $2.5 million
8. It Runs in the Family, $1.5 million
9. Bend It Like Beckham, $1.455 million
10. Bulletproof Monk, $1.450 million
