By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Grid and Bare It …
Invincible would be hyperbole but the true life movie sports saga of the same name posted a sturdy debuted estimated at $16.9 million to finish at the front of a very crowded movie going field. New titles in the marketplace were generally soft with Beerfest grossing $6.6 million to rank fourth and How to Eat Worms further back with $3.9 million. The raucous Idlewild grossed $5.9 million and had the best screen average of all films in wide release.
Mid-August has traditionally been a significant dumping ground for studio product and this year is no exception. Even with an increasing number of school districts beginning classes, the closing days of summer afford an extra boost for films perceived to have middling box office prospects.
Weekend revenues just eked past $100 million to register an 8% decline from the prior frame. However the sheer volume of product accounted for a 6% increase from 2005 when the $16.3 million second weekend of The 40 Year Old Virgin nosed ahead of the $15.1 million bow of The Brothers Grimm.
Disney has effectively mined the underdog sports drama with the likes of Remember the Titans, Miracle and Passing Glory. Invincible – the true story of an unlikely pro football athlete – ably continues the franchise and its performance justifies the company’s policy even if the record is playoff rather than championship level.
The slow, strategist expansion of Little Miss Sunshine finally reached a significant national exposure level that boosted it to third spot (behind Talladega Nights) with an impressive $7.3 million box office. The acquisition now appears headed for a hefty $40 million plus domestic tally.
New entries grappled with fierce competition even if their commercial expectations were modest. The bawdy, irreverent Beerfest tapped almost exclusively into the young male crowd with expected potency. However, despite upbeat reviews and teen lit creds, How to Eat Worms will have to rely on subsequent ancillary revenues to make the grade.
Idlewild, an unusual showcase for music dynamos Outkast, rang up better than $6,000 screen averages with strong indication for expansion prospects. Opening weekend demos included a strong African American tilt and a perhaps surprising 61% plus 30 year old audience. The groups wider and younger appeal should kick in with continued heat behind the picture.
Among continuing titles there was a better than expected holdover for Accepted but fears that the crowd for Snakes on a Plane was all in line opening day appeared all too true. It decelerated 56% in a session where 50% plus drops were not uncommon.
Continuing to expand in niche exposure, The Illusionist rang up a potent $1.8 million and $12,400 average. Debuting limited fare was struggling with the late summer blues including a $27,200 gross for horror entry The Quiet from seven locations and a $15,100 tally from five screens for the Spanish import Queens.
Weekend Estimates – August 25-27, 2006
| Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change | Theaters | Cume |
| Invincible | BV | 16.9 (5,810) | – | 2917 | 16.9 |
| Talladega Nights | Sony | 8.1 (2,400) | -41% | 3370 | 127.8 |
| Little Miss Sunshine | Fox Searchlight | 7.3 (5,130) | 31% | 1430 | 22.9 |
| Beerfest | WB | 6.6 (2,230) | – | 2964 | 6.6 |
| Accepted | Uni | 6.5 (2,210) | -36% | 2917 | 21.1 |
| World Trade Center | Par | 6.3 (2,090) | -42% | 3021 | 55.5 |
| Snakes on a Plane | New Line | 6.2 (1,750) | -56% | 3555 | 26.5 |
| Step Up | BV | 6.0 (2,260) | -41% | 2647 | 50.2 |
| Idlewild | Uni | 5.9 (6,070) | – | 973 | 5.9 |
| Barnyard | Par | 5.4 (1,810) | -28% | 3003 | 54.7 |
| Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | BV | 4.0 (2,370) | -23% | 1701 | 407.6 |
| How to Eat Worms | New Line | 3.9 (2,110) | – | 1870 | 3.9 |
| Material Girls | MGM | 2.0 (1,430) | -56% | 1509 | 8.2 |
| The Illusionist | FreeStyle/Odeon | 1.8 (1,240) | 92% | 144 | 3.1 |
| Pulse | Weinstein Co. | 1.6 (1,010) | -54% | 1608 | 17.8 |
| Monster House | Sony | 1.1 (1,190) | -45% | 906 | 69.3 |
| The Descent | Lions Gate | 1.0 (1,140) | -60% | 859 | 24.4 |
| Miami Vice | Uni | .93 (1,160) | -62% | 804 | 61.9 |
| The Devil Wears Prada | Fox | .87 (1,490) | -33% | 585 | 120.6 |
| Superman Returns | WB | .81 (2,600) | -5% | 311 | 195 |
| Bon Cop Bad Cop | Alliance | .79 (3,030) | -32% | 261 | 6.7 |
| Cars | BV | .73 (1,370) | 67% | 531 | 240.5 |
| Ant Bully | WB | .67 (1,300) | -36% | 515 | 25.8 |
| Zoom | Sony | .62 (710) | -74% | 868 | 10.8 |
| You, Me and Dupree | Uni | .58 (1,110) | -42% | 522 | 73.9 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | – | $96.60 | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Year) | – | 6% | – | – | – |
| % Change (Last Week) | – | -8% | – | – | – |
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Trust the Man | Fox Searchlight | .28 (1,750) | 54% | 158 | 0.53 |
| Quincineara | Sony Classics | .18 (2,150) | 8% | 85 | 0.77 |
| The Quiet | Sony Classics | 27,200 (3,920) | – | 7 | 0.03 |
| Queens | Regent | 15,100 (3,020) | – | 5 | 0.02 |
| Suicide Killers | Intl Film Circuit | 10,600 (5,300) | – | 2 | 0.01 |
| Princesas | IFC | 4,500 (4,500) | – | 1 | 0.01 |
Top Limited Releases: January 1 – August 24, 2006
| Match Point | DmWks | 23,052,317 |
| An Inconvenient Truth | Par Classics | 22,575,982 |
| Deep Sea 3-D | WB | 17,593,298 |
| Mrs. Henderson Presents | Weinstein Co. | 10,662,712 |
| Scoop | Focus | 9,442,574 |
| Transamerica | Weinstein Co. | 8,771,637 |
| Magnificent Desolation | Imax | 8,451,166 |
| Good Night, and Good Luck | WIP | 8,203,593 |
| Bon Cop Bad Cop | Alliance | 5,916,643 |
| A Scanner Darkly | WIP | 5,222,455 |
| The World’s Fastest Indian | Magnolia | 5,128,124 |
| Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada | Sony Classics | 4,996,040 |
| The Libertine | Weinstein Co. | 4,773,768 |
| Roving Mars | BV | 4,493,313 |
| Keeping Up with the Steins | Mrmx | 4,354,174 |
| Wild Safari 3-D | nWave | 4,161,816 |
| Cache (Hidden) | Sony Class/Alliance | 3,732,437 |
| Water | Fox Searchlight | 3,209,671 |
| Wordplay | IFC | 2,978,617 |
| Tsotsi | Mrmx | 2,912,606 |
| * none greater than 563 theaters | ||
Domestic Market Share: January 1 – August 24, 2006
| Sony (21) | 1108.6 | 17.80% |
| Buena Vista (18) | 1084.5 | 17.40% |
| Fox (18) | 988.9 | 15.90% |
| Universal (15) | 675.6 | 10.80% |
| Paramount (11) | 633.3 | 10.20% |
| Warner Bros. (15) | 623.3 | 10.00% |
| Weinstein Co. (10) | 208.6 | 3.30% |
| Lions Gate (13) | 192.3 | 3.10% |
| New Line (8) | 139.5 | 2.20% |
| Focus (9) | 132.5 | 2.10% |
| Fox Searchlight (8) | 112.9 | 1.80% |
| MGM (3) | 52.6 | 0.80% |
| Sony Classics (16) | 49.9 | 0.80% |
| Other * (196) | 233.6 | 3.80% |
| * none greater than 0.45% | 6236.1 | 100.00% |
