'Aviator' Takes Off in Limited Release
'Tis the season for awards hopefuls to start or stoke their campaigns with platform releases, and this weekend saw a whole mess of them, including major contenders The Aviator and Million Dollar Baby.
Director Martin Scorsese's $110 million drama about Howard Hughes, The Aviator, soared to $858,021 at 40 locations, averaging a sturdy $21,450 per site. Miramax's head of distribution Mike Rudnitsky said audience reaction was "very strong," and that moviegoers especially liked star Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, the rest of the cast and the look of the picture. Exit polling further indicated the top reasons people saw the movie were DiCaprio, the story, the Hughes subject matter and Scorsese. Nearly 70% were age 25-49, and the sexes were split 50-50. On Christmas day, The Aviator expands to 1,796 theaters.
Clint Eastwood's drama Million Dollar Baby mustered $179,953 at 8 theaters for $235,407 in five days. The per theater average was a solid $22,494, although it was modest compared to the wider Aviator, which promised a greater sense of spectacle. Eastwood's last picture, Mystic River, bowed to $640,815 at 13 theaters for $49,293 per site. Baby faced a far more competitive field for specialized releases, and it should mature with age. Already playing in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto, distributor Warner Bros. will roll the movie out to the top 12 markets on Jan. 7 before going wide on Jan. 28—the weekend after Oscar nominations are announced.
Beyond the Sea, Kevin Spacey's tribute to singer Bobby Darin, sailed in with $45,264, averaging a soft $7,544 per site. Distributor Lions Gate expands the picture on Dec. 29.
Fine Line's Spanish drama about the right to die, Alejandro Amenabar's The Sea Inside, managed $55,681 at 23 venues for a weak $2,420 per site. Sony Pictures Classics released Sigourney Weaver-headlined family drama Imaginary Heroes for a one-week Oscar qualifying run at two theaters and tallied just $4,696. The movie starts its normal release on Feb. 11.
House of Flying Daggers jumped to 145 theaters and grabbed $812,764, averaging $5,605 per site. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and starring Ziyi Zhang, the martial arts romance has earned $1.6 million in 17 days. By comparison, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, also featuring Ziyi and handled by SPC, made $2.6 million on its same frame after expanding to 143 theaters, averaging $18,439 for a $5.5 million 17-day tally.
Sideways improved 21% to $1.5 million, despite pulling back 51 theaters to 424. With $16.5 million in the till, Fox Searchlight will expand the comedy to over 1,200 venues on Jan. 28 to capitalize on Oscar nominations. In the meantime, the distributor will continue to retract theaters, dropping to 360 on Christmas day.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou held at two theaters and dropped 13% to $98,787, averaging $49,393 per site. Buena Vista's $50 million Bill Murray comedy lands at 1,105 venues on Christmas day.
Closer staved off last weekend's freefall by adding 468 theaters for a total of 1,090. Business was down 10% to $3.4 million. The under $40 million relationship drama has grossed $18.8 million in 17 days.
Finding Neverland finally went wide, expanding to 985 locations from 537 last weekend. The Johnny Depp drama about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie was up 16% to $2.0 million. In 38 days, it's made $16.9 million.
Last weekend's No. 1, Ocean's Twelve tumbled 54% to $18.1 million, a harder fall than Ocean's Eleven's 42% second weekend drop. Twelve has $68.5 million in 10 days, compared to Eleven's $72.3 million at the same point.
Overall, the lack of The Lord of the Rings was felt as the top 12 pictures earned $99.1 million, down 26% from the same frame last year when The Return of the King set the December opening record with $72.6 million.
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE CHART
Director Martin Scorsese's $110 million drama about Howard Hughes, The Aviator, soared to $858,021 at 40 locations, averaging a sturdy $21,450 per site. Miramax's head of distribution Mike Rudnitsky said audience reaction was "very strong," and that moviegoers especially liked star Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, the rest of the cast and the look of the picture. Exit polling further indicated the top reasons people saw the movie were DiCaprio, the story, the Hughes subject matter and Scorsese. Nearly 70% were age 25-49, and the sexes were split 50-50. On Christmas day, The Aviator expands to 1,796 theaters.
Clint Eastwood's drama Million Dollar Baby mustered $179,953 at 8 theaters for $235,407 in five days. The per theater average was a solid $22,494, although it was modest compared to the wider Aviator, which promised a greater sense of spectacle. Eastwood's last picture, Mystic River, bowed to $640,815 at 13 theaters for $49,293 per site. Baby faced a far more competitive field for specialized releases, and it should mature with age. Already playing in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto, distributor Warner Bros. will roll the movie out to the top 12 markets on Jan. 7 before going wide on Jan. 28—the weekend after Oscar nominations are announced.
Beyond the Sea, Kevin Spacey's tribute to singer Bobby Darin, sailed in with $45,264, averaging a soft $7,544 per site. Distributor Lions Gate expands the picture on Dec. 29.
Fine Line's Spanish drama about the right to die, Alejandro Amenabar's The Sea Inside, managed $55,681 at 23 venues for a weak $2,420 per site. Sony Pictures Classics released Sigourney Weaver-headlined family drama Imaginary Heroes for a one-week Oscar qualifying run at two theaters and tallied just $4,696. The movie starts its normal release on Feb. 11.
House of Flying Daggers jumped to 145 theaters and grabbed $812,764, averaging $5,605 per site. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and starring Ziyi Zhang, the martial arts romance has earned $1.6 million in 17 days. By comparison, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, also featuring Ziyi and handled by SPC, made $2.6 million on its same frame after expanding to 143 theaters, averaging $18,439 for a $5.5 million 17-day tally.
Sideways improved 21% to $1.5 million, despite pulling back 51 theaters to 424. With $16.5 million in the till, Fox Searchlight will expand the comedy to over 1,200 venues on Jan. 28 to capitalize on Oscar nominations. In the meantime, the distributor will continue to retract theaters, dropping to 360 on Christmas day.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou held at two theaters and dropped 13% to $98,787, averaging $49,393 per site. Buena Vista's $50 million Bill Murray comedy lands at 1,105 venues on Christmas day.
Closer staved off last weekend's freefall by adding 468 theaters for a total of 1,090. Business was down 10% to $3.4 million. The under $40 million relationship drama has grossed $18.8 million in 17 days.
Finding Neverland finally went wide, expanding to 985 locations from 537 last weekend. The Johnny Depp drama about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie was up 16% to $2.0 million. In 38 days, it's made $16.9 million.
Last weekend's No. 1, Ocean's Twelve tumbled 54% to $18.1 million, a harder fall than Ocean's Eleven's 42% second weekend drop. Twelve has $68.5 million in 10 days, compared to Eleven's $72.3 million at the same point.
Overall, the lack of The Lord of the Rings was felt as the top 12 pictures earned $99.1 million, down 26% from the same frame last year when The Return of the King set the December opening record with $72.6 million.
RELATED STORY
12/20 - 'Lemony' Licks Competition, 'Spanglish' Soft-Spoken
click here to view
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE CHART
