Weekend Box Office (May 9 - 11, 2003)

*** Sixth Annual Summer Box Office Preview ***

THIS WEEKEND For the second straight weekend, X2: X-Men United topped the box office grossing $40M, according to final studio figures. Down 53% from its massive opening, the Fox sequel averaged $10,678 from 3,749 theaters and boosted its ten-day cume to a dizzying $147.7M. The decline was slightly slimmer than the 57% drop that X-Men experienced in its sophomore frame in July 2000, but larger than the 38% dip that Spider-Man witnessed this weekend last year. X2 has set the bar pretty high for the much-anticipated summer sensation The Matrix Reloaded which opens on Thursday.

Opening with strength in second place was the new Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care with $27.6M from 3,370 locations. The $60M Sony release averaged a solid $8,197 per theater. Directed by Steve Carr (Dr. Dolittle 2), Daddy opened in between the premieres of other recent family films starring Murphy. Doctor Dolittle opened to $29M in June 1998 on its way to $144.1M and its sequel debuted with $25M three years later leading to a $113M gross.

Dropping a notch to third place was Disney's teen flick The Lizzie McGuire Movie which tumbled 58% to $7.2M for the worst fall in the top ten. After ten days, the PG-rated comedy has grossed $26.5M and should eventually reach about $45M.

Sony claimed fourth and fifth places with a pair of films that continue to show good legs. The murder thriller Identity slid 31% to $6.5M in its third frame while the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy Anger Management dropped 32% to $5.7M in its fifth weekend. Cumes stand at $39.4M and $123.2M, respectively.

The Disney drama Holes fell 30% to $4.9M and raised its sum to $51.7M. Warner Bros. expanded its Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind nationwide going from 157 to 765 theaters and collected $3M for seventh place. Averaging a decent $3,927, the PG-13 film has now grossed $9.5M after its fourth frame. The studio saw its rap comedy Malibu's Most Wanted drop 47% to $2.1M giving the Jamie Kennedy pic $31.7M to date.

Fox Searchlight's indie hit Bend It Like Beckham once again reached a new high in terms of gross and chart position with a weekend take of $1.7M. Now in ninth place, the British soccer comedy averaged $3,128 from 555 theaters and pushed its cume to $13.2M. Rounding out the top ten was Lions Gate's mob flick Confidence which dropped 39% to $1.5M in its third weekend for a $11.1M cume.

MGM saw two of its underachieving spring releases fall from the top ten over the weekend. The Michael Douglas tale It Runs in the Family dropped 42% to $959,093 in its third frame boosting its cume to $6.7M. The action-comedy Bulletproof Monk tumbled 59% to $605,502 in its fourth frame and has taken in $22.6M to date. Each will finish with not too much more.

In limited release, John Malkovich's directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs expanded from 13 to 62 theaters in its second weekend and grossed $270,094 for a moderate $4,356 average. With $420,241 to date, the Fox Searchlight release will expand into more markets over the next two weeks.

Fox platformed its romantic comedy Down With Love in one exclusive New York house and grossed $45,029. The Renee Zellweger-Ewan McGregor pic opens nationwide on Friday as a lighter female-skewing alternative to Neo and Morpheus.

The top ten films grossed $100.3M which was down 11% from last year when Spider-Man stayed at number one with $71.4M; but up 44% from 2001 when The Mummy Returns remained in the top spot with $33.7M.


Compared to projections, Daddy Day Care debuted close to my $30M forecast.

Be sure to read the Sixth Annual Summer Box Office Preview.

Take this week's NEW Reader Survey on the Indiana Jones trilogy. In last week's survey, readers were asked whether The Matrix Reloaded would beat the $110M four-day bow of Star Wars Episode II. Of 3,581 responses, 73% guessed Yes while 27% thought No.

For reviews of Daddy Day Care and X2 visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when The Matrix Reloaded and Down With Love open.

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

# Title May 9 - 11 May 2 - 4 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Distributor
1 X2: X-Men United $ 40,032,160 $ 85,558,731 -53.2 3,749 2 $ 10,678 $ 147,677,021 Fox
2 Daddy Day Care 27,623,580 3,370 1 8,197 27,623,580 Sony
3 The Lizzie McGuire Movie 7,209,116 17,338,755 -58.4 2,825 2 2,552 26,528,935 Buena Vista
4 Identity 6,477,585 9,423,662 -31.3 2,618 3 2,474 39,382,841 Sony
5 Anger Management 5,738,206 8,406,604 -31.7 2,819 5 2,036 123,182,238 Sony
6 Holes 4,858,857 6,915,418 -29.7 2,452 4 1,982 51,678,222 Buena Vista
7 A Mighty Wind 3,004,214 1,032,336 191.0 765 4 3,927 9,483,660 Warner Bros.
8 Malibu's Most Wanted 2,128,493 4,023,235 -47.1 2,008 4 1,060 31,747,540 Warner Bros.
9 Bend It Like Beckham 1,736,275 1,470,396 18.1 555 9 3,128 13,170,142 Fox Searchlight
10 Confidence 1,539,607 2,530,868 -39.2 1,188 3 1,296 11,051,501 Lions Gate
11 Chicago 1,110,568 978,205 13.5 761 20 1,459 166,514,604 Miramax
12 Phone Booth 1,004,617 1,465,022 -31.4 785 6 1,280 44,007,912 Fox
13 It Runs in the Family 959,093 1,645,115 -41.7 1,042 3 920 6,744,861 MGM
14 Bringing Down the House 737,930 1,126,682 -34.5 778 10 948 128,659,231 Buena Vista
15 Ghosts of the Abyss (Lg. Scr) 622,705 703,514 -11.5 93 5 6,696 7,482,709 Buena Vista
16 Bulletproof Monk 605,502 1,474,624 -58.9 944 4 641 22,635,096 MGM
17 What A Girl Wants 522,422 1,172,445 -55.4 925 6 565 35,272,242 Warner Bros.
18 House of 1000 Corpses 506,959 721,771 -29.8 525 5 966 11,570,671 Lions Gate
19 Agent Cody Banks 392,876 418,029 -6.0 1,224 9 321 47,285,499 MGM
20 The Dancer Upstairs 270,094 106,142 154.5 62 2 4,356 420,241 Fox Searchlight
Top 5 $ 87,080,647 $ 127,643,170 -31.8
Top 10 100,348,093 138,787,408 -27.7
Top 20 107,080,859 147,524,568 -27.4
Top 20 vs. 2002 107,080,859 121,146,091 -11.6

Last Updated : May 12, 2003 at 9:00PM EDT