Top 10 for March 17-19, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
A long awaited Vendetta was finally paid this weekend, as Warner's long delayed V for Vendetta
topped yet another relatively unspectacular weekend, leading all films with $25.6 million in its debut weekend.
Launching in a wide 3,365 theaters, the $50 million budgeted production -- which had originally been tagged for a November '05
launch date -- was rumored to be delayed because of the sensitivity in timing of the London subway bombings in July of 2005.
Its original release date was to coincide with the anniversary of Guy Fawkes' unsuccessful attempt to blow up the English Parliament in 1605.
Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta was written and produced by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix trilogy), and directed by first time director James McTeigue. The debut was less than many industry analysts had projected (in the $30m's), given the beefy marketing campaign, solid reviews and lack of competition. However, the Warner release, which costars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, had to deal with the March Madness College basketball tournament all weekend that most likely pulled much of their core young male demographic away from theaters.
The debut was similar to Sin City's $29.1 million bow last year, and the Wachowski's 1999 sleeper hit
The Matrix, which took in $27.8 million in its opening frame on its way to $171.3 million total.
With an 18% increase in ticket sales from Friday to Saturday, Warner is hoping that word of mouth will carry V to a similar, though unlikely, total.
Last week's champ Failure to Launch fell a decent 35% to $15.6 million, pushing its ten day take to a very strong $48.4 million. Budgeted at $50 million, the Paramount release has enjoyed a lack of direct competition along with a little counterprogramming magic (to the NCAA tourney), and could surpass $85 million domestically by the end of its run.
Slipping a surprisingly small 17% to an estimated $13.6 million in its second week of release was Disney's The Shaggy Dog, which pushed its ten day take to a solid $35.8 million. Fourth place went to DreamWorks' teen-girl comedy She's the Man, a modern day high school adaptation of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night. Launching in 2,623 theaters, film averaged $4,198 on its way to an estimated $11 million this weekend. Starring Amanda Bynes, the $20 million budgeted pic finished nearly identical to Bynes's 2003 film What A Girl Wants, which took in $11.4 million on its way to $36.1 million domestically.
Fox Searchlight's horror remake The Hills Have Eyes added another $8 million to its coffers, bringing its two week total to a profitable $28.7 million (the film is budgeted at just $15m). In limited release Yari Film Group Releasing's Vin Diesel starrer Find Me Guilty, about real-life mobster Jack DiNorscio,
took in a dreadful $628,000 from 439 theaters, averaging just $1,431 per theater.
Out of the top ten was Sony's action flop Ultraviolet, which fell 62% to an estimated $1.4 million, pushing its dometic take to a measley $17.6 million. As for the box office, the top ten films grossed an estimated $91.1 million, down a substantial 11% from last year's comparable frame when The Ring Two opened at No. 1 with $35.1 million.
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