Top 10 for March 24-26, 2006 Summary: Sunday estimates are in.
As far as ticket sales go the fourth time was the charm for Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, as their well received
Inside Man took in an estimated $28.9 million to dominate the weekend. It was the biggest debut ever for both men, who also partnered up in 1990's Mo' Better Blues ($4.3m opening), 1998's He Got Game ($7.6m opening), as well as 1992's Oscar-nominated Malcolm X ($9.8m opening).
For Washington, Inside Man's powerful opening surpassed his previous best, the 2004 thriller Man on Fire with $22.8 million ($77.9m total). Budgeted at a modest $45 million, the Universal thriller was well reviewed by critics, averaging a strong $10,279 in 2,818 theaters. Notably, its opening is the second biggest of the year (behind the $30m opening of Madea's Family Reunion and ahead of Big Momma's House 2), meaning the top three bows of 2006 all feature black leading men. With a 27% increase in ticket sales from Friday to Saturday, look for Inside Man to have a strong run at the box office over the Spring season.
Slipping an expected 52% in its second week of release was last week's champ V for Vendetta, which grossed an estimated $12.3 million for second place. The $54 million budgeted Warner Bros. release has now grossed $46.2 million in ten days, and should finish with $70-75 million domestically. Internationally, the Natalie Portman actioner brought its cume to $17.7 million.
Tapping into the ridiculously profitable teen horror flick trend was Buena Vista's newest release Stay Alive, which took in an estimated $11.2 million in third place. Averaging a solid $5,579 from 2,009 theaters, the PG-13 release was universally panned by critics, and should experience rapid declines in the coming weeks.
Paramount's hit romantic comedy Failure to Launch continues to be one of the biggest surprises of the Spring season, falling another slight 31% in its third week of release to an estimated $10.8 million. In 17 days the $50 million budgeted Matthew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker starrer film has brought in a fantastic $63.9 million, and could finish with $90 million domestically.
Also seeing a modest decline in its third week of release was Buena Vista's The Shaggy Dog, which added another $9.1 million to its total this weekend, pushing its 17 day cume to $47.9 million.
The weekend's only other wide release was Lionsgate's comedy lowbrow comedy Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, which shrugged off what little bad reviews it did get (the film wasn't pre-screened for critics) to gross an estimated $7 million in seventh place.
Slipping out of the top ten was Sony's The Pink Panther with an estimated $1.4 million, bringing its seven week total to an impressive $80.7 million. Budgeted at $80 million, the film has brought in a strong $128 million worldwide.
In limited release, Fox Searchlight's satire Thank You for Smoking has been generating extraordinary buzz, bringing in an estimated $1.1 million in just 54 theaters, averaging a filter-free $19,630 per theater. Searchlight is planning on expanding the film's release slate to 120 theaters this weekend.
In a word of disclosure and a blatant plea to go see the movie, yours truly worked as an animator on Fox/Blue Sky Studio's animated feature Ice Age 2, which opens this weekend on roughly 3,800 theaters across North America. It's a super fun film that should be a great treat for families and anyone who loved the first Ice Age! And...umm...I worked on it!
As for the box office, it may have turned a corner this weekend from its slumping March totals as the top ten films grossed an estimated $96.1 million, up 11% from last year's comparable frame when Guess Who debuted on top with $20.7 million. It was down 6% from 2004's frame when Scooby Doo 2 topped with $29.4 million.
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