OTHER OPENINGS This weekend also saw the arrival of USA Films’ R-rated drama “Boricua’s Bond,” placing 20th with a quiet estimated $53,000 at 24 theaters ($2,225 per theater).
SNEAK PREVIEWS There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS On the expansion front, Miramax’s R-rated drama “Butterfly” went wider in its second week, placing 19th with a quiet estimated $84,000 at 14 theaters ($6,000 per theater). Its cume is approximately $128,000.
“‘Butterfly‘ went into an additional eight markets this past weekend,” Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning. “We’re going to go next Friday to the top twenty markets.”
WEEKEND COMPARISONS Key films — those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend — took in approximately $102.41 million, down about 19.50 percent from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $127.22 million.
This weekend’s key film gross was up about 2.84 percent from this year’s previous weekend when key films grossed $99.58 million.
Last year, Sony’s opening week of “Big Daddy” was first with $41.54 million at 3,027 theaters ($13,722 per theater); and Buena Vista/Disney’s second week of “Tarzan” was second with $24.06 million at 3,049 theaters ($7,890 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $65.6 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $41.7 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES Based on business by key films (those grossing $500,000 or more), last weekend’s top six distributors were:
20th Century Fox was first with three films (“Me, Myself & Irene,” “Big Momma’s House” and “Titan, A.E.“), grossing an estimated $36.56 million or 35.7 percent of the market.
DreamWorks was second with four films(“Chicken Run,” “Gladiator,” “Road Trip” and “Small Time Crooks“), grossing an estimated $23.6 million or 23.0 percent of the market.
Paramount was third with two films (“Shaft” and “Mission: Impossible 2“), grossing an estimated $21.25 million or 20.8 percent of the market.
Buena Vista (Disney and Touchstone) was fourth with four films(“Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Dinosaur,” “Fantasia 2000” and “Shanghai Noon“), grossing an estimated $16.8 million or 16.4 percent of the market.
Miramax (Miramax and Dimension) was fifth with one film (“Boys and Girls“), grossing an estimated $3.1 million or 3.0 percent of the market.
New Line was sixth with one film (“Frequency“), grossing an estimated $0.58 million or 0.6 percent of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES (11)Shanghai Noon/Buena Vista/Touchstone: Theaters: 1,569 (-567) Gross: $2.2 million (-42 percent) Average per theater: $1,405 Cume: $51.9 million
(12)Fantasia 2000/Buena Vista/Disney: Theaters: 1,313 (0) Gross: $1.6 million (-45 percent) Average per theater: $1,219 Cume: $55.7 million (including IMAX run)
(13)Road Trip/DreamWorks: Theaters: 1,468 (-683) Gross: $1.5 million (-51 percent) Average per theater: $1,022 Cume: $63.6 million
(14)Small Time Crooks/DreamWorks: Theaters: 463 (-149) Gross: $0.6 million (-35 percent) Average per theater: $1,296 Cume: $15.8 million
(15)Frequency/New Line: Theaters: 527 (-250) Gross: $0.58 million (-34 percent) Average per theater: $1,095 Cume: $42.7 million
(16)U-571/Universal: Theaters: 546 (-142) Gross: $0.52 million (-25 percent) Average per theater: $945 Cume: $75.0 million
(17)The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas/Universal: Theaters: 506 (-60) Gross: $0.28 million (-30 percent) Average per theater: $545 Cume: $33.3 million
(18)Erin Brockovich/Universal: Theaters: 413 (-72) Gross: $0.25 million (-25 percent) Average per theater: $605 Cume: $124.3 million
(19)Butterfly/Miramax: (See EXPANSIONS above)
(20)BORICUA’S BOND/USA Films: (See OTHER OPENINGS above)
