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Box Office Analysis, Aug. 14: 'Talladega' Holds Lead Against 'WTC'
HOLLYWOOD - Will Ferrell’s NASCAR send-off Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby lead the pack at the North American box office for the second weekend, grossing $23 million, while Oliver Stone’s somber World Trade Center debuted in third place with $19 million.
The weekend’s big surprise, however, was the high-school dance film Step Up, which placed second with a box office take of $21 million. "It stepped up out of nowhere and surprised everyone," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. "It was totally unexpected."
The other newcomers--Tim Allen’s kiddie superhero laffer Zoom and the broadband horror flick Pulse--also made the Top 10 list. Pulse opened in the fifth spot with a predictable $8.4 million, while Zoom took seventh with a disappointing $4.6 million.
The top 12 movies grossed $111.3 million, up 6.35 percent from last year’s draw of $104.7 but down 8.75 percent from last weekend, which took in $122 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Paramount’s Four Brothers, which opened at No. 1 with $21.1 million in 2,533 theaters, averaging $8,360 per theater; Universal’s Skeleton Key, which debuted in second place with $16 million in 2,771 theaters, averaging $5,795 per theaters; and Warner Bros. The Dukes of Hazzard, which dropped to third place in its second week of release with $13 million in 3,785 theaters, averaging $3,438 per theaters (Click here to read last year's box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $23 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,807 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $6,042
• Cume to date: $91.2 million
No. 2: Step Up (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $21 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,467
• Per-theater average: $8,539
No. 3 : World Trade Center (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $19 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,957
• Per-theater average: $6,425
• Cume to date: $26.8 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 4: Barnyard (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $10.1 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,311 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $3,050
• Cume to date: $34.1 million
No. 5: Pulse (Weinstein Company, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,323
• Per-theater average: $3,640
No. 6: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.2 million (-34%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,941 (-495)
• Per-theater average: $2,451
• Cume to date: $392.4 million
No. 7: Zoom (Sony, PG)
• Gross: $4.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,501
• Per-theater average: $1,839
No. 8: The Descent (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,095 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,196
• Cume to date: $17.5 million
No. 9: Miami Vice (Universal, R)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,659
• Per-theater average: $1,692
• Cume to date: $55.1 million
No. 10: Monster House (Sony, PG)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,434 (-595)
• Per-theater average: $1,356
• Cume to date: $63.6 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Half Nelson (ThinkFilm, R)
• Gross: $54,950
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $27,475
House of Sand (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $33,104
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $6,621
Photo(s) by Ken Kwok- © 2001- Hollywood.com, Inc- All Rights Reserved