V for Vendetta arrived with close to commercial vengeance with a domestic gross estimated at $24.7 million and an additional $8.5 million from openings in 16 international territories. The frame also featured okay results of $10.9 million for the gender-bending comedy She’s the Man and a disappointing return of $520,000 for the crime saga Find Me Guilty. Additionally, the limited 5-screen launch of Thank You for Smoking had eye- popping screen averages of more than $50,000.

Heavily promoted to emphasize its artistic connection to The Matrix, tracking suggested a buoyant domestic opening between $25 million and $30 million for V for Vendetta that proved accurate. The adaptation of the graphic comic book had a troublesome production history and received mixed critical response but that didn’t appear to deter its core audience. The engagement included 56 large format engagements that accounted for about $1.5 million of the gross with averages of three and a half times those of regular playdates.

“The picture had even better exit polls than the first Matrix,” noted producer Joel Silver. “We were also surprised to see that the audience was on average pretty much split between those older and younger than 25 years old. Those are both good signs that it will continue to play well.”

The British-set Vendetta grossed slightly more than $2 million in England to rank second in that territory and $1.3 million in South Korea. It had $1 million plus entries in Italy and Germany and ranked first in such territories as Taiwan, Sweden and the Philippines.

Counter-programming worked sufficiently well for She’s the Man, the first DreamWorks’ title to be released since the company was acquired by Paramount. It ranked fourth overall and coupled with a very good hold for the studio’s Failure to Launch dominated female viewing across all ages.

The remake of The Shaggy Dog displayed exceptional stamina following its somewhat disappointing opening, so movie goers across all ages and genders were well repped in the session’s top commercial releases.

Nonetheless revenues still flagged behind last weekend and last year’s levels. Box office slipped 5% from the prior frame and was 11% off the 2005 level when the premiere of The Ring Two bowed to $35 million.

Despite generally positive reviews and an uncluttered field for films with older appeal, Find Me Guilty sputtered at the starting gate. The Vin Diesel vehicle generated screen averages just shy of $1,200 that bode ill for future prospects.

Activity in the niches continued on the soft side with the notable exception of Thank You for Smoking that opened on five screens in Los Angeles, New York and D.C. The politically incorrect comedy arrived on the heels of festival plaudits and hit a major commercial funny bone of more than $250,000.

Foreign-language Oscar winner Tsotsi was another bright spot, expanding to 57 venues and a gross of $311,000 and the family friendly Church Ball played well to the choir with a $188,000 gross at 41 Utah locations.

Returns for other specialized freshman ranged from fair to poor including the Steve Harvey concert outing Don’t Trip … He Ain’t Through with Me Yet that grossed about $180,000 from 60 sites; comparable on a reduced level to recent ticket sales for the Dave Chappelle movie. Wim Wenders’ Don’t Come Knocking – a quasi-sequel to Paris, Texas – grossed a tepid $30,000 in six exposures and Italian Oscar nominee Don’t Tell eked out $13,500 from five venues.

– by Leonard Klady

Domestic Market Share: January 1 – March 16, 2006

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