Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire stayed atop the North American box office for a third week in a row, grossing another $20.4 million over the weekend.
“Harry Potter is clearly dominating the business,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. “It’s the movie that everybody hoped it would be. The box-office performance is living up to, and maybe at this point, exceeding expectations.”
Newcomer Aeon Flux, which stars Charlize Theron in an action adventure based on the 1990s MTV animated series about a rogue anti-hero battling a government leader in a post-apocalyptic world, opened in second place with $13.1 million. Despite the fact Paramount didn’t have enough faith in the movie to screen it for critics, Aeon Flux‘s opening weekend gross came in at the high end of the studio’s expectations, head of distribution Wayne Lewellen told AP Sunday.
“The audience was young males, and they don’t really respond to reviews, anyway,” Lewellen said.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $78.8 million, down .27 percent from last year’s draw of $79 million and down 47.27 percent from last weekend’s total of $149.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Buena Vista’s PG rated National Treasure, which stayed at No. 1 in its third week with $17 million in 3,243 theaters, averaging $5,244 per theater; Sony Pictures’ PG rated Christmas with the Kranks, which moved up a spot to second place in its second week with $11.6 million in 3,416 theaters, averaging $3,268 per theater; and Warner Bros. G-rated The Polar Express, which moved up to third place in its fourth week with $10.7 million in 3,650 theaters, averaging $2,953 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $20.4 million (-63%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,858 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,302
• Cume to date: $229.8 million
No. 2: Aeon Flux( Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $13.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,608
• Per-theater average: $5,023
No. 3:Walk the Line (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $10 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,160 (+22)
• Per-theater average: $3,165
• Cume to date: $68.7 million
No. 4: Yours, Mine and Ours (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $8.4 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,210
• Per-theater average: $2,617
No. 5: Just Friends(New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.9 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,505 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,355
• Cume to date: $21.4 million
No. 6: Pride and Prejudice (Focus Features, PG)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,327 (+28)
• Per-theater average: $3,485
• Cume to date: $22.6 million
No. 7: Rent (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,437 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $1,888
• Cume to date: $23.9 million
No. 8: Chicken Little(Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-64%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,494 (-454)
• Per-theater average: $1,494
• Cume to date: $124.2 million
No. 9: Derailed (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $2.4 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,702 (-359)
• Per-theater average: $1,420
• Cume to date: $32.8 million
No. 10: In the Mix (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.9 million (-57%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,608 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,182
• Cume to date: $8.6 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Transamerica (Weinstein Co., R)
• Gross: $45,269
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $22,635
First Descent (Universal., PG-13)
• Gross: $423,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 243
• Per-theater average: $1,741
