Top 10 for March 3-5, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
Though the Oscars provided a few big surprises Sunday night (notably first-time Oscars for Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney,
and 3-6 Mafia, who offered perhaps the most entertaining acceptance "speech" of the night), the box office provided a couple
of surprises of its own, as Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion
once again topped the box office with $12.6 million, despite four major newcomers, pushing its two week total to a
powerful $48.1 million. Though falling a steep 57% in its sophomore frame, the $6 million budgeted Lions Gate release
is already one of the most profitable films of 2006, running a significant 30% better than last year's sleeper hit
Diary of a Mad Black Woman, also directed by and starring Perry. At its current pace, look for Madea to
surpass Diary's $50.6 million total by Tuesday, and finish its domestic run with $60-65 million.
Among new releases, Bruce Willis's cop thriller 16 Block finished in the No. 2 spot, debuting with
$11.8 million, averaging a solid $4,381 from 2,706 theaters. For Willis, the debut was far less than his 2005 thriller Sin City
($29.1 million), but slightly better than his turn in Miramax's disappointing Hostage ($10.2 million). For distributor Warner Bros.,
16 Blocks' debut represents the second disappointing big budget release in a row, following Harrison Ford's $13.8 million
bow in Firewall three weeks ago. Though reviews were largely mixed, Warner is hoping word of mouth propels this latest Richard
Donner release to better numbers than Hostage (just $42 million in three weeks).
Disney's snow dog adventure Eight Below fell a notch to third with $10.1 million,
falling a top ten best 35% in its third week of release. To date, the Paul Walker starrer has grossed $58.7 million.
Debuting in fourth was Milla Jovovich's comic book influenced sci-fi actioner Ultraviolet, which took in
$9 million this weekend. Averaging just $3,518 in 2,558 theaters, the savagely-reviewed actioner (critics polled by
Rottentomatoes.com gave the film a "rotten" 3%
recommendation rating) debuted weaker than last December's big-budget flop Aeon Flux ($12.6 million opening).
Like Aeon Flux, look for Ultraviolet to make a quick exit from theaters.
Rounding out the top five was Fox's family film debut Aquamarine, which took in an estimated $7.5 million in 2,512 theaters,
averaging a weak $2,986.
The best reviewed film this weekend was easily Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which debuted in just 1,200 theaters
with $6.2 million, averaging a solid $5,179 per theater. Released by Focus Features, the low budget $6 million documentary --
which follows Chappelle on a comedy concert in Brooklyn -- debuted with less zest than 2000's The Original Kings of Comedy,
which bowed with $11.1 million and a $13,051 per theater average.
Among Oscar winners, Best Director winner Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain saw a 10% jump in ticket sales to $2.5 million,
pushing its cume to a strong $78.9 million. Best Actor winner Philip Seymour Hoffman saw his Capote experience
a huge 88% jump in sales to $2 million, pushing its 23 week total to $25.9 million.
Unhelped by four mediocre debuts this weekend, the top ten film grossed just $78.1 million, down
a hefty 25% from last year's comparable frame when Vin Disel's The Pacifier opened at number one with $30.6 million.
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