Top 10 for March 31-April 2, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
After a relatively lukewarm first four months of the year -- whose biggest opening was the surprise-hit Madea's Family Reunion --
theater owners got the box office adrenaline boost they were praying for, and it didn't come from an aging Sharon Stone thriller.
It was no April Fool's prank when the numbers came in this weekend, as Fox's computer-animated Ice Age: The Meltdown
evaporated analyst predictions as well as the March record books by posting a mammoth $68 million (down from estimated of $70.5 million) over the Friday-Sunday period,
the biggest opening in March or April history. Created at Fox's Blue Sky Studios in NY, the animated comedy sailed past the consensus forecast
of a $50-55 million opening, earning more than the rest of the top ten combined (in fact, more than the top fifteen).
Officially, Meltdown will go down as the fourth biggest opening ever for a computer-animated feature, behind Pixar's The Incredibles ($70.4m opening in November 2004)
and Finding Nemo ($70.2m opening in May 2003), as well as the all-time champ Dreamworks/PDI's Shrek 2 with its $108 million opening in May 2004.
The sequel to 2002's surprise blockbuster Ice Age, Fox launched by far its largest marketing campaign in history,
spending a reported $100 million in ads and other tie-in deals. And that's on top of the $80 million cost of the production itself.
It was worth every penny, as the reunion of Sid, Diego and Manny posted not only the biggest opening of the year, but also the fourth
largest opening in Fox history (and biggest non-summer release), behind only Star Wars Episode III ($108.4m),
X2: X-Men United ($85.6m), and Star Wars Episode II ($80m).
Its release in 3,964 theaters across North America was also the fifth widest in history, and the Carlos Saldanha directed release
(he co-directed Blue Sky's previous Robots and Ice Age) averaged a sizzling $17,785 per theater.
Released in March of 2002, the original Ice Age played spoiler to the 20th Anniversary re-release of E.T.,
coming out of nowhere to debut with $46.3 million ($176.3m total) and posting a March record that has stood until this weekend.
But as good as that film did in theaters, its major coup came from its phenomenal DVD sales, which more than likely motivated
audiences back into theaters for the much-anticipated sequel. Though it received mixed reviews from critics (like the first film),
audiences have been much more receptive, as a 28% increase in ticket sales from Friday ($22m) to Saturday ($28m) indicate very strong word of
mouth. Also helping the film was its perfect release date, which caught students on the tail-end of Spring Break and essentially
marks the first major CG-animated film released in what will be a VERY crowded marketplace this year (14 more animated films are coming
down the pipe in 2006, including Disney's Madagascar-clone The Wild in two weeks). Says Chris Wedge, executive producer of
Ice Age: The Meltown, "I'm glad we're running downhill in front of the avalanche." As the voice of Scrat, I think he knows
what he's talking about.
Spike Lee's bank thriller Inside Man took a 46% drop to fall to second, finishing the weekend with an estimated $15.7 million.
In ten days, Universal release has grossed $52.8 million, making it already the highest grossing film of Lee's career, surpassing the
$48.2 million from his acclaimed 1992 biopic Malcolm X. Look for the Denzel Washington-Jodie Foster release to finish with $80-85 million domestically.
If Ice Age's monster opening was the biggest surprise of the weekend, the second biggest was the urban dramedy ATL, which took in a strong
estimated $12.5 million from just 1,602 theaters for a sizzling $7,831 average. Featuring rappers T.I. and Big Boi, the Warner Bros. release should have a healthy run
at the box office.
Paramount's romantic comedy Failure to Launch has shown tremendous legs in its fourth week of release, falling just 36% to an estimated $6.6 million.
Budgeted at $50 million, the Mathew McConaughey-Sarah Jessica Parker starrer has now grossed $73.2 million, and could finish with $90 million domestically.
Rounding out the top five was Warner's V for Vendetta, which slipped 47% to an estimated $6.4 million, bringing its three week total to $56.8 million.
Budgeted at $54 million, the graphic novel adaptation should finish with around $70-75 million domestically.
Universal has to be disappointed with the poor showing of its well reviewed horror entry Slither, as the film managed a paltry $3.6 million in 1,945 theaters,
for a weak $1,889 average. Despite being the best reviewed film of the weekend, and armed with a seemingly strong marketing campaign, Slither pailed in comparison to
more conventional quick-profit horror titles like The Hills Have Eyes ($15.5m opening) and Final Destination 3 ($20.1m opening). Unless word of mouth can start carrying this film, expect a very quick exit out of the top ten.
The most talked about new release of the weekend turned out to be its worst performing, as Sharon Stone's reprisal as femme fatale in Basic Instinct 2
stunk up the box office with a pathetic $3.2 million, tying Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector for the tenth spot this weekend. Averaging just $2,202
in 1,453 theaters, the film was savagely beaten down by critics, finishing a far cry from the original Basic Instinct which opened to $15.1 million on its way to
$117.7 million domestically.
Thanks almost single-handedly to Ice Age: The Meltdown, the box office finally got the boost it was looking for. The top ten films grossed an estimated $131.4 million, up a massive 40% from last year's comparable frame when Sin City was tops with $29.1 million.
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