"Both The Good Girl and One Hour Photo really stand out at the end of summer. The big movies have all played and if you want to go out and see something that's more stimulating and thought provoking, (these are perfect choices). We're very, very pleased and very fortunate how well these films (have been embraced by moviegoers)."
TOP SUMMER GROSSING FILMS
This summer's top grossing films -- releases that have either grossed $100 million-plus or are clearly on the track to do so shortly -- are ranked below according to their approximate cumes through Labor Day weekend:
(1) Spider-Man - Columbia Pictures - $403.7 million
(2) Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones - 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm - $300.6 million
(3) Austin Powers in Goldmember - New Line Cinema - $202.9 million
(4) Signs -- Buena Vista/Touchstone - $194.2 million
(5) Men In Black II - Columbia Pictures - $190.2 million
(6) Scooby-Doo - Warner Bros. - $151.9 million
(7) Lilo & Stitch - Buena Vista/Disney - $141.6 million
(8) Minority Report - 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures - $130.6 million
(9) Mr. Deeds - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $124.2 million
(10) XXX - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $123.3 million
(11) The Sum Of All Fears - Paramount Pictures - $118.3 million
(12) The Bourne Identity - Universal Pictures - $118.0 million
(13) Road To Perdition - DreamWorks Pictures and 20th Century Fox - $98.1 million
(14) My Big Fat Greek Wedding - IFC Films - $81.9 million
This summer produced a dozen films that cracked $100 million and two others that are about to do so. Last summer 10 films hit $100 million and three films wound up grossing in the low $90 millions. Last summer's top grossing film, DreamWorks' animated feature Shrek, grossed $262.9 million.
Notably lacking from the list of summer successes starring superstars is Paramount and InterMedia Films' costly budget action adventure K-19: The Widowmaker, starring Harrison Ford, one of the summer's biggest disappointments. After opening to negative reviews, the Russian nuclear submarine drama sank immediately at the box office. Its cume is approximately $34.4 million.
Also not making the superstar success list is Warner Bros.' The Adventures of Pluto Nash, starring Eddie Murphy. It, too, was slaughtered by the critics and opened poorly. Its cume is approximately $4 million.
TOP TEN SUMMER OPENINGS
This summer's Top Ten films ranked by their opening weekend grosses were:
(1) Spider-Man - Columbia Pictures - $114.8 million
(2) Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones - 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm - $80.0 million
(3) Austin Powers in Goldmember - New Line Cinema - $73.1 million
(4) Signs -- Buena Vista/Touchstone - $60.1 million
(5) Scooby-Doo - Warner Bros. - $54.2 million
(6) Men In Black II - Columbia Pictures - $52.1 million
(7) XXX - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $44.5 million
(8) Mr. Deeds - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $37.2 million
(9) Minority Report - 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures - $35.7 million
(10) Lilo & Stitch - Buena Vista/Disney - $35.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Sony Pictures Classics' R rated Spanish drama Mad Love to an okay ESTIMATED $29,000 at 3 theaters ($9,798 per theater).
Directed by Vicente Aranda, it stars Pilar Lopez de Ayala.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend Focus Features' romantic drama Possession went wider in its third week to a promising ESTIMATED $2.4 million at 612 theaters (+269 theaters; $3,985 per theater). Its cume is approximately $6.4 million.
Directed by Neil LaBute, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart.