HOLLYWOOD - 50 First Dates was the heart and soul of this Valentine's/President's Day weekend at the box office.As the only film opening wide this weekend, the romantic comedy, reuniting The Wedding Singer lovebirds Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, debuted at No. 1 with a whopping $41 million, knocking last week's champ Barbershop 2: Back in Business down to second place with $15.6 million.
"This release date for this movie, it was a sweetheart move, no pun intended," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press. "Talk about great timing. For a lot of couples, this was their Valentine entertainment."
50 First Dates hefty take-in ranks it as the best President's Day weekend opener ever, beating record-holder Daredevil, which opened this weekend last year with $40.3 million. Dates is also the second best February opening behind Hannibal, which opened in 2001 with $58 million.
This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $107.8 million, up 18.44 percent from last week's $91 million, but down 12.91 percent from last year's $123.7 million.
Last year, 20th Century Fox's PG-13 rated comic book actioner Daredevil opened at No.1 with $40.3 million in 3,471 theaters with a $11,613 per theater average; Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated comedy How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days slipped to the second spot in its second week with $20.7 million in 2,923 theaters with a $6,402 per theater average; and Miramax's PG-13 rated musical Chicago stayed at third in its eighth week of release with $14.5 million in 2,268 theaters (+427 theaters) with a $5,604 per theater average.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: 50 First Dates (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $41 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,591
• Per-theater average: $11,417
No. 2: Barbershop 2: Back in Business (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $15.6 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,711 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,754
• Cume to date: $44 million
No. 3: Miracle (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $14 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,755
(+150 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $5,089
• Cume to date: $37 million
No. 4: The Butterfly Effect (New Line, R)
• Gross: $5.7 million (-12%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,288 (-231 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,491
• Cume to date: $50 million
No. 5: You Got Served (Screen Gems, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.1 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,832 (-111 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,784
• Cume to date: $32 million
No. 6: Along Came Polly (Universal Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-26%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,545 (-413 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $1,995
• Cume to date: $81.6 million
No. 7: Catch That Kid (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $4.3 million (-25%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,848 (+1 theater)
• Per-theater average: $1,527
• Cume to date: $10.8 million
No. 8: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-3%)
• Weeks opened: 9
• Theaters: 1,663 (-215 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,495
• Cume to date: $357.2 million
No. 9: Cold Mountain (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $3.7 million (+15%)
• Weeks opened: 8
• Theaters: 1,740 (-177 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,141
• Cume to date: $87.5 million
No. 10: Mystic River (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $3.5 million (-3%)
• Weeks opened: 19
• Theaters: 1,370 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,588
• Cume to date: $74.5 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Highwaymen (New Line, R)
• Gross: $203,000 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 111
• Per-theater average: $1,829