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Box Office Analysis, Mar. 3: 'Semi-Pro' Scores But Not a Slam-Dunk
HOLLYWOOD - Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro opened at the top of the North American box office this weekend, grossing $15.3 million, but the basketball comedy fell short of Ferrell’s previous blockbuster openings in the sports spoof genre.
The New Line Cinema film, starring Ferrell as the owner of a fictional basketball franchise, wasn’t as big a hit as compared to Ferrell's 2006 NASCAR parody Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which opened at $47 million, and last year's figure skating comedy Blades of Glory, which earned $33 million in its first weekend.
"Will Ferrell is always a draw and audiences love him. But this particular weekend is not quite as strong as his earlier efforts," Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC told The Associated Press.
Other openers this weekend included the historical soap-opera The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, which debuted in fourth place with $8.3 million; and the lighthearted comedy Penelope, starring Christina Ricci, which opened in eighth place with $4 million.
The Top 12 movies took in $81 million, down 25 percent from the same weekend last year and down 10 percent from last weekend’s total of $90 million.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Semi-Pro (New Line, R)
• Gross: $15.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,121
• Per-theater average: $4,870
No. 2: Vantage Point (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $13 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,150 (+1)
• Per-theater average: $4,126
• Cume to date: $41 million
No. 3: The Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $8.7 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,654 (-193)
• Per-theater average: $2,395
• Cume to date: $55 million
No. 4: The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,166
• Per-theater average: $7,118
No. 5: Jumper (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.6 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,429 (-302)
• Per-theater average: $2,429
• Cume to date: $66.8 million
No. 6: Step Up 2 the Streets (Walt Disney, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.7 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,528 (+48)
• Per-theater average: $2,260
• Cume to date: $48.5 million
No. 7: Fool's Gold (Warner Bros. PG-13)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,845 (-230)
• Per-theater average: $1,648
• Cume to date: $59 million
No. 8: Penelope (Summit Ent., PG)
• Gross: $4.006 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,196
• Per-theater average: $3,349
No. 9: No Country for Old Men (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $4.005 million (+66%)
• Weeks opened: 17
• Theaters: 2,037 (+936)
• Per-theater average: $1,966
• Cume to date: $69.5 million
No. 10: Juno (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-19%)
• Weeks opened: 13
• Theaters: 1,631 (-96)
• Per-theater average: $2,053
• Cume to date: $135.1 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Chicago 10 (Sony Classics, R)
• Gross: $44,800
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 14
• Per-theater average: $3,200
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