"It set the bar so high last weekend that for any newcomers, it was going to be real tough film to beat," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told The Associated Press.
The psychological thriller The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey as a man obsessed with the mysterious power of that digit, opened in second place with $15.1 million, while the police spoof Reno 911!: Miami debuted in fourth with $10.4 million. Rounding out the newcomers, Billy Bob Thornton’s The Astronaut Farmer opened in ninth place with $4.5 million.
The Top 12 movies grossed $101.6 million over the weekend, up 1.27 percent from last year’s draw of $100.3 million but down 28.38 percent from last weekend’s total of $141.8 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Lions Gate’s Madea's Family Reunion, which opened at No. 1 with $30 million in 2,194 theaters, averaging $13,688 per theater; Buena Vista’s Eight Below, which dropped to second place in its second week with $15.8 million in 3,072 theaters, averaging $5,167 per theater; and Sony’s The Pink Panther, which stayed in third place in its third week with $11 million in 3,313 theaters, averaging $3,351 per theater (Click here to read last year's box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Ghost Rider (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $19.7 million (-57%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,620 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,442
• Cume to date: $78.6 million
No. 2: The Number 23 (New Line, R)
• Gross: $14.9 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,759
• Per-theater average: $5,401
No. 3: Bridge to Terabithia (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $13.5 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,139 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $4,324
• Cume to date: $46.2 million
No. 4: Reno 911!: Miami (20th Cent Fox, R)
• Gross: $10.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,702
• Per-theater average: $3,849
No. 5: Norbit (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.7 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,145 (+7)
• Per-theater average: $3,096
• Cume to date: $74.6 million
No. 6: Music and Lyrics (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $8 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,955 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,707
• Cume to date: $32 million
No. 7: Breach (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.1 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,493 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $4,125
• Cume to date: $20.4 million
No. 8: Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls (Lionsgate, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.2 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,111 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,487
• Cume to date: $25.6 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 9: The Astronaut Farmer (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $4.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,155
• Per-theater average: $2,095
No. 10: Amazing Grace (Roadside Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $4.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 791
• Per-theater average: $5,442
OTHER OPENINGS
The Abandoned (After Dark Films, R)
• Gross: $700,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,000
• Per-theater average: $700
Starter for 10 (Picturehouse, PG-13)
• Gross: $40,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 20
• Per-theater average: $2,000
Gray Matters (Yari Film Group, PG-13)
• Gross: $26,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 15
• Per-theater average: $1,733
