HOLLYWOOD - "Come out, come out, whatever you are..."And so it did. The widely-panned Hide and Seek, starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning, debuted at No. 1 at the box office this weekend with a chilling $22 million. The psychological thriller out performed last week's champ, the Ice Cube road-trip comedy Are We There Yet?, which conceded a second place victory with a still-strong $17 million.
Meanwhile, hot off of garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Alexander Payne's Sideways, all raked in more dough at the weekend box office.
Opener Alone in the Dark, however, did not. Viciously trashed by critics, the horror flick starring Tara Reid and Christian Slater, bombed with just $2.5 million, finishing well out of the Top 10.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $103.5 million, up 24.82 percent from last weekend's $82.9 million take and up 41.12 percent from last year's draw of $73.3 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: Screen Gems PG-13 rated You Got Served, which opened at No. 1 with $16.1 million in 1,933 theaters, averaging $8,341 per theater; New Line's R-rated The Butterfly Effect, which dropped to second place in its second week with $9.5 million in 2,605 theaters, averaging $3,668 per theater; and Universal Pictures' PG-13 rated Along Came Polly, which dropped to third place in its third week with $9.3 million in 3,052 theaters, averaging $3,050 per theater.
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BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Hide and Seek (20th Century Fox, R)
• Gross: $22 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,005
• Per-theater average: $7,321
No. 2: Are We There Yet? (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $17 million (-8%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,710 (+1)
• Per-theater average: $6,273
• Cume to date: $39.1 million
No. 3: Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $11.8 million (+616%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,010 (+1,863, in an expanded release)
• Per-theater average: $5,883
• Cume to date: $21.1 million
No. 4: Coach Carter (Paramount Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $8 million (-24%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,574 (+22)
• Per-theater average: $3,108
• Cume to date: $53.5 million
No. 5: Meet the Fockers (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.6 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 3,006 (-440)
• Per-theater average: $2,528
• Cume to date: $257.9 million
No. 6: The Aviator (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.5 million (+55%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,503 (+242)
• Per-theater average: $3,000
• Cume to date: $68.1 million
No. 7: Sideways (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $6.3 million (+122%)
• Weeks opened: 15
• Theaters: 1,694 (+998, in an expanded release)
• Per-theater average: $3,734
• Cume to date: $40 million
No. 8: In Good Company (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.2 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,960 (-3)
• Per-theater average: $3,163
• Cume to date: $35.9 million
No. 9: Racing Stripes (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $6 million (-11%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,185 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,901
• Cume to date: $34.5 million
No. 10: Assault on Precinct 13 (Focus Feature/Rogue Pictures, R)
• Gross: $4.2 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,297 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,297
• Cume to date: $14.7 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Alone in the Dark (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $2.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,124
• Per-theater average: $1,177