Weekend Box Office
Grossing $18.7 million, American Pie shot to the top spot this past weekend. Pretty damn good, especially for a picture that cost just $11 million to make. It turns out that the picture could have made more. Unfortunately, theaters were enforcing the R rating, forcing many kids to pay for tickets for other movies, and then sneak into Pie. As a result, pictures like Big Daddy, Austin Powers, and even Wild Wild West held up better then they would normally have. I remember back when I was a teenager, I went to see the NC-17 rated Bad Lieutenant, and I was not carded. Just recently, I went to see an R rated picture, and I was carded. The whole situation is ridiculous.
With $7.5 million, Arlington Road performed modestly as expected. The thriller averaged $4,608 per theater, which is rather decent considering its relatively low profile and how long it has been shelved. The production budget was around $31 million, but Sony paid considerably less to acquire distribution rights from the now defunct Polygram, so it could be rather profitable for them.
Reflecting the lack of a new event picture, overall box office was down around 7% from last week and the same time last year when Lethal Weapon 4 opened with $34 million.
Forecast: I scored a 90.16% accuracy this week. My $7.3 million prediction for Arlington Road was a near bulls-eye. My $21.3 million prediction for American Pie was pretty close too. Tempering these though were the unexpectedly strong holds of Austin Powers and Big Daddy.
Editor's Note: Articles published before 2001 were assigned and reported as box office briefings, not a full evaluation or analysis.
With $7.5 million, Arlington Road performed modestly as expected. The thriller averaged $4,608 per theater, which is rather decent considering its relatively low profile and how long it has been shelved. The production budget was around $31 million, but Sony paid considerably less to acquire distribution rights from the now defunct Polygram, so it could be rather profitable for them.
Reflecting the lack of a new event picture, overall box office was down around 7% from last week and the same time last year when Lethal Weapon 4 opened with $34 million.
Forecast: I scored a 90.16% accuracy this week. My $7.3 million prediction for Arlington Road was a near bulls-eye. My $21.3 million prediction for American Pie was pretty close too. Tempering these though were the unexpectedly strong holds of Austin Powers and Big Daddy.
Editor's Note: Articles published before 2001 were assigned and reported as box office briefings, not a full evaluation or analysis.
