Weekend Box Office (February 24 - 26, 2006)

by Sujit Chawla

THIS WEEKEND As expected, Tyler Perry went two for two with number one debuts as Madea's Family Reunion took the gold in this, the final weekend of the Winter Olympics. The other two new entries this weekend, Doogal and Running Scared both met with mediocre, Bode Miller-type results.

Burying the rest of the competition, Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion exploded at number one with $30M, according to final studio figures. Its per theater average was $13,688, coming in just under Perry's opening from last year's Diary of a Mad Black Woman. That film, which opened number one with $21.9M, had a per theater average of $14,771. With the surprising success of Diary and a huge built-in audience, Lionsgate opened Family Reunion on 2,194 screens, dwarfing Diary which opened on less than 1,500 screens. With the latest Perry offering doing boffo business, expect to see more from the talented actor in years to come.

Landing in second place was last week's champ, the Disney dog thriller Eight Below, which dropped a slim 21% from last weekend's three-day total, to $15.9M, bringing its cume to $45.2M. Expect the Paul Walker-led film to end its run with around $85M.  In third place was the stumbling, bumbling Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, which fell 34% and took in $11.1M this weekend, bringing its cume to $60.8M.

Dropping 52% and falling to fourth was Date Movie, which laughed up $9.1M bringing its cume to $33.8M. The Fox spoof should end its run in the $60M range.  In fifth place was the humorous antics of a cartoon monkey in Curious George. The animated children's pic brought in another $7.2M, a drop of 39% from last weekend, bringing its cume to $43.3M.

Landing in sixth place was Harrison Ford's Firewall, which fell 25% and made $6.7M bringing its total to $37.3M.  In seventh place was the horror sequel Final Destination 3 which scared up $5.5M this weekend, a drop of 45% from last weekend. Its total now stands at $44.9M, which puts it on the doorstep of Final Destination 2 which banked $47M back in 2003. The original still leads the pack having taken in $53M back in 2000. 

In eighth place was the debut of the G-rated Doogal which took in $3.6M for a per theater average of only $1,556. Lack of advertising really hurt the animated feature from The Weinstein Company.  In ninth place was the debut of the second Paul Walker film in two weeks, Running Scared. The New Line action flick stole $3.4M for a poor average of $2,099. Apparently there is only so much Paul Walker an audience can take. 

Rounding out the top ten was the Julianne Moore-Samuel L. Jackson thriller, Freedomland. The Sony release fell 51% from its disappointing opening to $2.9M, bringing its total to $10.8M. Look for the film to end its run with a sad $18M. 

Opening well in limited release was the Oscar-nominated Tsotsi, which brought in $76,324 from 6 theaters for a solid average of $12,721.

The top ten grossed $95.4M which was down 3% from last year when Diary of a Mad Black Woman opened at number one with $21.9M; but up 27% from 2004 when 50 First Dates opened with $20.4M.


Compared to projections, Madea's Family Reunion came in above Gitesh's conservative $19M forecast, while Doogal and Running Scared both came in below Gitesh's predictions.

Be sure to read the NEW Oscar Spotlight column which features a one-on-one interview with Barry Mendel, producer of Munich which has been nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture.

For NEW reviews of Tsotsi, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, and Unknown White Male visit The Chief Report.  Check the Oscar Nominee chart which tracks the box office of all nominees with updates throughout awards season.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when 16 Blocks, Aquamarine and Block Party all open.

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

# Title Feb 24 - 26 Feb 17 - 19 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 Madea's Family Reunion $ 30,030,661 2,194 1 $ 13,688 $ 30,030,661 Lionsgate
2 Eight Below 15,872,840 20,188,176 -21.4 3,072 2 5,167 45,206,288 Buena Vista
3 The Pink Panther 11,101,845 16,707,036 -33.5 3,313 3 3,351 60,847,581 Sony
4 Date Movie 9,125,555 19,076,261 -52.2 2,898 2 3,149 33,812,965 Fox
5 Curious George 7,213,870 11,767,445 -38.7 2,609 3 2,765 43,347,785 Universal
6 Firewall 6,682,212 8,932,525 -25.2 2,740 3 2,439 37,295,572 Warner Bros.
7 Final Destination 3 5,495,785 10,057,925 -45.4 2,726 3 2,016 44,944,694 New Line
8 Doogal 3,605,899 2,318 1 1,556 3,605,899 Weinstein Co.
9 Running Scared 3,381,974 1,611 1 2,099 3,381,974 New Line
10 Freedomland 2,872,215 5,833,562 -50.8 2,361 2 1,217 10,750,360 Sony
11 When a Stranger Calls 2,512,662 5,010,199 -49.8 2,060 4 1,220 45,470,021 Sony
12 Big Momma's House 2 2,438,478 4,603,063 -47.0 1,535 5 1,589 65,717,851 Fox
13 Nanny McPhee 2,402,230 3,761,885 -36.1 1,906 5 1,260 42,635,150 Universal
14 Brokeback Mountain 2,293,859 3,190,960 -28.1 1,359 12 1,688 75,383,067 Focus
15 Capote 1,066,844 1,147,009 -7.0 475 22 2,246 23,441,493 Sony Classics
16 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada 1,051,957 191,300 449.9 347 4 3,032 1,880,863 Sony Classics
17 Mrs. Henderson Presents 1,001,298 925,913 8.1 504 12 1,987 7,140,655 Weinstein Co.
18 Match Point 914,918 1,239,123 -26.2 443 9 2,065 21,556,458 DreamWorks
19 Transamerica 851,128 605,445 40.6 317 13 2,685 4,816,005 Weinstein Co.
20 Walk the Line 725,765 1,541,419 -52.9 492 15 1,475 117,478,650 Fox
Top 5 $ 73,344,771 $ 77,796,843 -5.7
Top 10 95,382,856 105,938,077 -10.0
Top 20 110,641,995 119,961,382 -7.8
Top 20 vs. 2005 110,641,995 115,612,717 -4.3

Last Updated : February 27, 2006 at 6:30PM EST