Imitation is the sincerest form of film production if Scary Movie 4 is any yardstick of contemporary Hollywood. The horror spoof sequel arrived with an impressive estimate of $40.7 million that provided a significant boost to weekend holiday business. The frame’s other major debut – the animated family yarn The Wild – ranked a disappointing fourth with $9.4 million while there was upbeat news for the limited launch of Mexico’s La Mujer de Mi Hermano with an $840,000 gross.

Down about 20% from the third installment, Scary Movie 4 nonetheless debuted with the requisite force expected of a popular franchise. Part of the settlement between Disney and the former execs of Miramax, the Weinstein Company will be splitting revenues with the Mouseketeers.

That’s a better arrangement than Disney’s 100% claim on The Wild, an early seasonal animated offering that wedged in ahead of DreamWorks Over the Hedge. The new cel mate had little impact on the Ice Age sequel that ranked second with more than double the gross of the freshman entry. The lukewarm theatrical response puts added weight on the picture’s ancillary life on DVD.

Weekend box office was flexing close to a $120 million tally for a modest 3% boost from seven days earlier. Depending on the yardstick employed, comparisons with 2005 were up or way up. The literal comparative weekend experienced a considerable increase of 43% but placed alongside the Easter period that occurred two weekend’s earlier on the calendar, business was to the plus by 21%.

Mexico’s hit of 2005 La Mujer de Mi Hermano took another kick at the can at tapping into America’s Hispanic market. Its $850,000 return from 205 engagements was not simply an improvement from recent efforts but clearly saw the target group as the primary audience for the film. Fox financed the movie and has opened it in South America. The major also appears to be taking a pass on this continent with another acquisition, the adventure-comedy Bandidas.

Holdover titles experienced significant declines including last weekend’s debs The Benchwarmersand Take the Lead. Bucking the conventional release pattern, the satiric Thank You for Smokingexpanded nationally and scored with a $4.4 million weekend and a continuing potent $4,000 plus theater average.

The holiday span was also brimming with new niche entries that ranged from good to fair in their opening rounds. The biggest surprise was the provocative thriller Hard Candy not simply for its $30,000 theater average but the fact that its distributor decided to roll the dice on just two screens and promote positive reviews prior to its national bow Friday.

There was also good response of $82,400 from nine screens for the British import Kinky Boots and passable marks for the $140,000 box office of The Notorious Bettie Page from 20 exposures.

The rest of the field had to contend with scraps including the religiously-themed Preaching tot the Choir with a $200,000 gross at 143 pulpits and an indifferent response for Bollywood’s Humko Deewana Kar Gaye of $42,000 from 22 screens. Barely registering a blip on the radar screen were Australian import Look Both Ways, the contemporary literary adaptation The Sisters and the documentary profile Herbie Hancock: Possibilities.

– by Leonard Klady

Top Limited Releases: January 1 – April 6, 2006

Domestic Market Share: January 1 – April 6, 2006

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