HOLLYWOOD - Finally. After 19 weeks on the down slide, box office grosses took an upward swing this weekend thanks to Fantastic Four. The latest comic-book adaptation--about a quartet of astronauts whose DNA is changed by a cosmic space storm--easily took the top spot with an out-of-this-world $56 million, pushing last week's champ, War of the Worlds, down to second place with $31.3 million.
"It took four superheroes to end this slump, and Hollywood is grateful," Exhibitor Relations' Paul Dergarabedian told The Associated Press. "Comic-book movies, if properly marketed, are exactly what mainstream audiences want to see in their summer movies."
The other newcomer to the Top 10, the water-logged ghost story Dark Water, opened in fourth place with $10.1 million.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $140.9 million, up 5.40 percent from last year's draw of $137.8 million and also up 2.26 percent from last weekend's $133.7 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Sony Picture' PG-13 rated Spider-Man 2, which stayed in the No. 1 spot for the second week with $45.1 million in 4,166 theaters, averaging $10,845 per theater; DreamWorks' PG-13 rated Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which opened in second place with $28.4 million in 3,091 theaters, averaging $9,193 per theater; and Buena Vista's PG-13 rated King Arthur, which debuted in third place with $15.1 million in 3,086 theaters, averaging $4,923 per theater.
(This week's box office Top 10 below...)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES: 4-Day Totals
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Fantastic Four (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $56 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,602
• Per-theater average: $15,547
No. 2: War of the Worlds (Paramount Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $31.1 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,910 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $8,005
• Cume to date: $165.8 million
No. 3: Batman Begins (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $10.2 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,344 (-421)
• Per-theater average: $3,055
• Cume to date: $172.1 million
No. 4: Dark Water (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,657
• Per-theater average: $3,811
No. 5: Mr. & Mrs. Smith (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.8 million (-26%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,781 (-204)
• Per-theater average: $2,823
• Cume to date: $158.6 million
No. 6: Herbie: Fully Loaded (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $6.2 million (-29%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,002 (-519)
• Per-theater average: $2,090
• Cume to date: $48.5 million
No. 7: Bewitched (Sony Pictures., PG-13)
• Gross: $5.5 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,014 (-174)
• Per-theater average: $1,825
• Cume to date: $50.8 million
No. 8: Madagascar (DreamWorks, PG)
• Gross: $4.3 million (-21%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,162 (-364)
• Per-theater average: $1,989
• Cume to date: $179.6 million
No. 9: Rebound (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,464 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,167
No. 10: Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 8
• Theaters: 1,351 (-408)
• Per-theater average: $1,925
• Cume to date: $370.8 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Murderball (ThinkFilm, R)
• Gross: $61,200
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 8
• Per-theater average: $7,650
Cronicas (Palm Pictures, R)
• Gross: $42,838
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 9
• Per-theater average: $4,760
Saraband (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $35,153
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $8,788