Moviegoers were tickled pink this weekend. The slapstick comedy The Pink Panther–with Steve Martin bringing Inspector Jacques Clouseau back to life–opened on top at the North American box office with $21.7 million.
But Pink Panther barely beat out the gory sequel Final Destination 3, which debuted at a close No. 2 with $20.1 million. Other newcomers this weekend also did well. Curious George, an animated feature adaptation of the delightful children’s classic, premiere in third place with $15.3 million and Harrison Ford’s latest action thriller Firewall came in fourth with $13.8 million.
“It’s a battle of the genres,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. “Family films and horror films are the most consistently performing genres at the box office, and there really is a lot of choice out there for both right now.”
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated total of $106.7 million, up 30.16 percent from last weekend’s total of $81.7 million and up 3 percent from last year’s draw of $103.6 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Sony’s PG-13 Hitch, which premiered at No. 1 with $43.1 million in 3,575 theaters, averaging $12,068 per theaters; Sony/Screen Gems’ PG-13 Boogeyman, which dropped to second place in its second week with $10.2 million in 3,052 theaters, averaging $3,354 per theater; and Sony Pictures’ PG-rated Are We There Yet?, which stayed in third in its fourth week of release with $8.2 million in 2,810 theaters, averaging $2,931 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Pink Panther (Columbia/MGM, PG)
• Gross: $21.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,477
• Per-theater average: $6,241
No. 2: Final Destination 3 (New Line, R)
• Gross: $20.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,880
• Per-theater average: $6,988
No. 3: Curious George (Universal, G)
• Gross: $15.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,566
• Per-theater average: $5,963
No. 4: Firewall (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $13.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,840
• Per-theater average: $4,870
No. 5: When a Stranger Calls (Sony/Screen Gems, PG-13)
• Gross: $10 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,004 (+5)
• Per-theater average: $3,329
• Cume to date: $34.8 million
No. 6: Big Mommas House 2 (Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.8 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,733(-528)
• Per-theater average: $2,497
• Cume to date: $54.8 million
No. 7: Nanny McPhee (Universal, PG)
• Gross: $5.2 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,148 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $2,421
• Cume to date: $33.2 million
No. 8: Brokeback Mountain (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 10
• Theaters: 1,963 (-126)
• Per-theater average: $2,136
• Cume to date: $66.6 million
No. 9: Hoodwinked (Weinstein Co., PG)
• Gross: $2.5 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,085 (-822)
• Per-theater average: $1,200
• Cume to date: $47.3 million
No. 10: Underworld: Evolution (Sony, R)
• Gross: $2.5 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,835 (-1,035)
• Per-theater average: $1,362
• Cume to date: $57.2 million
