Weekend Box Office (February 13 - 16, 2004)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore charmed moviegoers all across North America with their new romantic comedy 50 First Dates which opened at number one over the Presidents' Day holiday weekend. The Sony release collected $45.1M over the four-day period, according to final studio figures, averaging a stellar $12,561 from an ultrawide 3,591 theaters. Dates reunited the acting team that starred in the 1998 hit The Wedding Singer which bowed to $21.9M over the same holiday session. Valentine's Day falling on Saturday also helped boost business.

According to studio research, 57% of the audience was female and 52% was under the age of 25. 50 First Dates inched past last year's Daredevil to post the top Presidents' Day opening ever.

Disney's hockey drama Miracle remained in second place with $17M over four days to boost its eleven-day cume to a solid $40.1M. The Kurt Russell pic held up well in its sophomore frame and should find its way to about $80-85M domestically.

Ice Cube and company saw ticket sales for the comedy Barbershop 2 get cut as the four-day estimated gross of $16.5M dropped 32% from its three-day bow from last weekend. After eleven days, the $30M MGM title has collected $45M and seems on its way to about $80M, or a bit north of the original's $75.8M.

Sony's You Got Served followed with $6M raising the 18-day tally to $33M. The Butterfly Effect scared up $6M as well in its fourth flight giving the New Line thriller $49.2M thus far.

Fox's pre-teen adventure Catch That Kid captured $5.9M in its second mission and raised its eleven-day sum to $12.4M. Budgeted at $18M, the kidpic should finish with around $25M. No longer the couple of choice for the date crowd, Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller slipped to seventh place as Along Came Polly grossed $5.5M in its fifth frame to boost Universal's cume to $82M.

Oscar nominees rounded out the rest of the top ten. Frodo and pals saw The Return of the King hold up well with $5.1M pushing the cume to a towering $357.4M. The final chapter in Peter Jackson's award-winning trilogy inched past the $357.1M of 1993's Jurassic Park to claim the number six spot on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters. Of course, ticket prices were much lower a decade ago when Spielberg's dinosaurs ruled the multiplexes.

The Warner Bros. murder mystery Mystic River followed in ninth with $4.3M putting the total at $75.3M. Taking tenth was Miramax's Civil War saga Cold Mountain which grossed $3.9M for a cume of $87.8M.

NewMarket added another 201 playdates to its serial killer hit Monster and shot up $3.8M over the long weekend. Total stands at $20.3M. Fox Seachlight expanded its NC-17 drama The Dreamers from five to 66 theaters and grossed $511,207. Averaging $7,745 per location, the total to date reached $714,458.

The top ten films grossed $115.3M over four days which was down 14% from last year when Daredevil opened at number one with $45M; and down 1% from 2002 when John Q debuted on top with $23.6M.


Compared to projections, 50 First Dates opened stronger than my $39M forecast.

Take this week's NEW Reader Survey on how big the opening for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will be. In last week's survey, readers were asked if they thought 50 First Dates would open with at least $35M over the long weekend. Of 1,201 responses, 72% correctly said Yes while 28% thought No.

For a review of Barbershop 2, visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Against the Ropes, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Eurotrip, and Welcome to Mooseport all open.

Marketplace: Shop for videos, DVDs, music, books, and posters at discounted prices using search engines

# Title Feb 13 - 16 Feb 6 - 8 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 50 First Dates $ 45,107,871 3,591 1 $ 12,561 $ 45,107,871 Sony
2 Miracle 17,010,471 19,377,577 -12.2 2,755 2 6,174 40,050,545 Buena Vista
3 Barbershop 2 16,501,117 24,241,612 -31.9 2,711 2 6,087 44,974,742 MGM
4 You Got Served 6,023,188 7,518,860 -19.9 1,832 3 3,288 33,006,206 Sony
5 The Butterfly Effect 5,959,335 6,512,743 -8.5 2,288 4 2,605 49,179,651 New Line
6 Catch That Kid 5,878,900 5,824,860 0.9 2,848 2 2,064 12,379,409 Fox
7 Along Came Polly 5,454,855 6,846,305 -20.3 2,543 5 2,145 82,011,840 Universal
8 LOTR: The Return of the King 5,090,281 4,293,671 18.6 1,663 9 3,061 357,367,856 New Line
9 Mystic River 4,308,326 3,638,203 18.4 1,370 19 3,145 75,269,389 Warner Bros.
10 Cold Mountain 3,937,559 3,242,434 21.4 1,740 8 2,263 87,758,959 Miramax
11 Monster 3,809,558 3,513,456 8.4 1,093 8 3,485 20,335,017 NewMarket
12 Something's Gotta Give 2,977,602 2,583,857 15.2 1,019 10 2,922 119,265,219 Sony
13 Big Fish 2,932,721 3,151,302 -6.9 1,224 10 2,396 63,444,841 Sony
14 Cheaper by the Dozen 2,447,881 2,520,248 -2.9 1,335 8 1,834 134,290,873 Fox
15 Lost in Translation 1,749,254 1,731,915 1.0 600 23 2,915 42,072,415 Focus
16 Master and Commander 1,245,690 1,339,567 -7.0 547 14 2,277 91,255,360 Fox
17 Girl with a Pearl Earring 1,174,457 1,102,023 6.6 374 10 3,140 7,474,441 Lions Gate
18 Calendar Girls 1,118,065 1,219,194 -8.3 814 9 1,374 28,710,500 Buena Vista
19 The Perfect Score 1,113,911 2,863,821 -61.1 2,012 3 554 9,975,810 Paramount
20 In America 964,668 875,232 10.2 334 12 2,888 12,431,391 Fox Searchlight
Top 5 $ 90,601,982 $ 64,497,097 40.5
Top 10 115,271,903 85,009,721 35.6
Top 20 134,805,710 104,433,418 29.1
Top 20 vs. 2003 134,805,710 155,846,630 -13.5

Last Updated : February 17, 2004 at 5:30PM EST

Gitesh Pandya can be seen each Friday on "The Biz" airing at 12:30pm and 9:30pm ET on CNNfn.