"Sky Captain" Takes Flight
by Bridget Byrne
Sep 20, 2004, 1:45 PM PT
Sky Captain soared to the top in a weekend box-office
derby that saw fellow newcomers Mr. 3000 make it to
second base and Wimbledon double-fault in fourth.
The retro-style, computer-graphics-heavy Sky Captain
and the World of Tomorrow finished the weekend with
$15.6 million. Starring Jude Law as a heroic aviator,
Gwyneth Paltrow as an intrepid reporter, Angelina Jolie
as a military commander and the late Laurence Olivier
reconstituted by modern computer magic as a super
villain in charge of a robot army, the film opened in
3,170 sites, where it averaged $4,915 per theater.
While the take for the big-budget Paramount movie
certainly isn't blockbuster, box-office tracker Paul
Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations says he thinks
the studio "made the right move" by opening the PG-rated
release after the summer rush. Dergarabedian says doesn't
know whether the PG rating proved a help or a hindrance,
but "there were so many unique things about this film, I
think the studio should be pleased that it opened as
number one with over $15 million."
Bernie Mac's Mr. 3000 didn't come close to registering
as a hit, but its $8.8 million haul was good enough for
second. The PG-13 Disney comedy about a veteran ball
player stepping back up to the plate to try to secure
his place in the record books, swung into 2,736 arenas,
where it averaged $3,172.
That was actually a tad lower per-site average than the
weekend's other sports-themed movie, the romantic comedy
Wimbledon, which finished in fourth with $7.1 million.
Starring Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany as love-means-
having-to-say-you're-sorry tennis aces who get it on at
the prestigious tournament, the PG-13 Universal release
volleyed into 2,034 sites, averaging $3,500.
Last week's top movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, dropped
a huge 62 percent to third place while remaining at 3,284
sites. Averaging $2,638 per cinema, the R-rated Screen
Gems zombie-busting movie earned $8.7 million to biring
its two-week total to $37 million.
Falling less sharply was New Line's PG-13 thriller
Cellular. The Kim Basinger thriller dipped only 33 percent
from second to fifth place with $6.8 million for a two-week
tally of $19.7 million.
In limited release, the top per-screen average belonged to
A Dirty Shame, John Waters' irreverent play on sexual
follies. The Fine Line release, slotted in at just one
location, made $29,384.
At 10 sites, Sony Pictures Classic's R-rated Head in the
Clouds, starring Charlize Theron and beau Stuart Townsend
entwined with Pen幨ope Cruz in a m幯age ?trois romance in
World War II Europe, averaged $4,613 for $46,133.
And at six sites, SPC's more favorably reviewed romantic
drama about love in the time of war, Zelary--an R-rated
import from the Czech Republic starring Anna Geislerova--
averaged $4,834 for $29,002.
Overall, the top 12 movies grossed $63.2 million, according
to final studio tallies released Monday, down slightly from
last weekend and nearly 30 percent from this time last
year, when the vampire flick Underworld was the top movie.
The normal post-summer slump is more severe than usual at
the moment, due to the severe weather conditions in many
states--and possibly by the earlier than usual debuts of
fall television programming.
Here's a rundown of the top 10, according to Exhibitor
Relations:
1. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, $15.6 million
2. Mr. 3000, $8.8 million
3. Resident Evil: Apocalypse, $8.7 million
4. Wimbledon, $7.1 million
5. Cellular, $6.8 million
6. Without a Paddle, $3.6 million
7. Hero, $2.8 million
8. Napoleon Dynamite, $2.29 million
9. Collateral, $2.27 million
10. The Princess Diaries 2, $1.9 million
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