Colin Farrell‘s Phone Booth sniped the competition by ringing in $15 million* and debuting at the top of the box office this weekend.
The hit-man thriller thwarted newcomers What a Girl Wants, which came in second with $12 million, and A Man Apart, which followed in third with $11.1 million.
The Chris Rock comedy Head of State, last week’s No. 1 film, fell to fourth place with $8.8 million, while the Queen Latifah/Steve Martin laffer Bringing Down the House rounded out the Top Five with $8.5 million.
Box office numbers, however, were still down considerably from this time last year. It was the fourth straight weekend that revenues have shown a decline. And while studio executives blame the war in Iraq for the dwindling box office figures, analysts say movie choices this year have generally been weaker than the first part of 2002, when Ice Age, Blade II, John Q and The Panic Room opened to bigger numbers.
“The fact that it’s down four weekends in a row, everybody says, hey, this has to do with the war and people’s moods,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press. “But no matter what the mood of the country, if there are good movies out there, people will want to go see them.”
THE TOP TEN
Twentieth Century Fox’s new R-rated sniper thriller Phone Booth shot to the top of the chart this weekend with an ESTIMATED $15 million at 2,481 theaters. Its $6,056 per theater average was the highest of any wide release playing this week.
The film revolves around a New York City media consultant who answers a ringing phone in a phone booth and finds himself trapped after being told by a caller–a serial killer with a sniper rifle–that he’ll be shot dead if he hangs up.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, it stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker.
Warner Brother’s PG rated ‘tween pic What a Girl Wants debuted in second place with an ESTIMATED $12 million at 2,964 theaters ($4,069 per theater).
The film follows a young American girl who heads to London in hopes of meeting the father she’s never known, a high-profile politician.
Directed by Dennie Gordon, it stars Amanda Bynes, Kelly Preston and Colin Firth.
New Line Cinema’s new R-rated cop drama A Man Apart opened third with an ESTIMATED $11.5 million at 2,459 theaters ($4,534 per theater).
In the film, a U.S. narcotics cop takes on a Tijuana drug cartel to get retribution for the murder of his wife.
Directed by F. Gary Gray, it stars Vin Diesel and Larenz Tate.
DreamWorks’ PG-13 political comedy Head of State fell from No. 1 to No. 4 in its second week of release with an ESTIMATED $8.8 million (-35%) at 2,155 theaters (+4 theaters, $4,084 per theater). Its cume is approximately $25.3 million.
Directed by and starring Chris Rock, the film also stars Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield, Robin Givens and Tamala Jones.
Buena Vista’s PG-13 rated jailbreak comedy Bringing Down the House dropped from second to fifth place in its fifth week of release with an ESTIMATED $8.5 million (-32%) at 2,910 theaters (unchanged, $2,921 per theater). Its cume is approximately $111.3 million.
Directed by Adam Shankman, it stars Steve Martin and Queen Latifah.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
Paramount Pictures’ PG-13 sci-fi thriller The Core, fell three notches to sixth place in its second week of release with an ESTIMATED $6.3 million (-48%) at 3,019 (+2 theaters, $2087 per theater). Its cume is approximately $20.9 million.
Directed by Jon Amiel, it stars Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D.J. Qualls and Tcheky Karyo.
Sony Pictures’ R-rated Basic dropped three pegs to seventh with an ESTIMATED $5.4 million (-53%) at 2,876 theaters (+ 2 theaters, $1,878 per theater). Its cume is approximately $20 million.
Directed by John McTiernan, it stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Connie Nielsen.
In its 15th week of release, Miramax’s PG-13 rated musical Chicago continued as a mainstay in the Top Ten, dropping from fifth to eighth place with an ESTIMATED $5.3 million (-26%) at 2,395 theaters (-306 theaters, $2,219 per theater). Its cume is approximately $152.1 million.
Directed by Rob Marshall, it stars Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere.
MGM’s PG-rated Agent Cody Banks fell from seventh to ninth place in its fourth week of release with an ESTIMATED $3.7 million (-42%) at 2,331 theaters (-455 theaters, $1,587 per theater average). Its cume is approximately $40 million.
Directed by Harald Zwart, it stars Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff and Angie Harmon.
Rounding out the Top Ten is Buena Vista’s G-rated animated feature Piglet’s Big Movie, which dropped two positions in its third week of release with an ESTIMATED $3 million (-39%) at 2,084 theaters (-63 theaters, $1,484 per theater average). Its cume is approximately $17 million.
Directed by Francis Glebas, it features the voices of John Fiedler, James Cummings and Andre Stojka.
OTHERS
This weekend also saw the arrival of two limited-release films, Dysfunktional Family and The Good Thief.
Miramax’s R-rated Dysfunktional Family opened with an ESTIMATED $1.1 million at 609 theaters with $1,827 per theater average.
The film is a stand-up-comedy concert film featuring Eddie Griffin that includes scenes from the comedian’s personal life.
Directed by George Gallo, it stars Griffin.
Fox Searchlight’s R-rated crime comedy The Good Thief, meanwhile, opened with an ESTIMATED $1,00,000 in six theaters, with a whopping $15,292 per theater average.
The film revolves around an aging gambler who assembles a team for a casino heist of a lifetime.
Directed by Neil Jordan, it stars Nick Nolte, Tcheky Karyo and Emir Kusturica.
WEEKEND COMPARISON
The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an ESTIMATED $84 million, down 3.14 percent from last week when they totaled $86.7 million.
The Top 12 were also down 10.17 percent from last year when they totaled $93.5 million.
Last year, Sony’s R-rated The Panic Room won the box office two weeks in a row with $18.2 million at 3,053 theaters ($5,969 per theater); Fox’s R-rated High Crimes debuted in second with $14 million at 2,717 theaters ($5,155 per theater); and Fox’s PG rated animated feature Ice Age came in third in its fourth week of release with $13.5 million at 3,200 theaters ($4,329 per theater).
