By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
Turkey Trot
The Thanksgiving frame was putting on a happy face as Happy Feet once again pushed ahead of Casino Royale by a beak with the film’s grossing $38.1 million and $30.1 million respectively during the three-day portion of the holiday. The table was heavy with new sides but patrons were only enthusiastic for third-ranked Déjà Vu with a $20.8 million three-day tally.
The rest of the freshman class included OK results for the festive Deck the Halls of $12.1 million and disappointing returns of $3.6 million for the sci-fi romance The Fountain and $3.2 million for the musical-comedy Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny. The Bollywood circuit saw buoyant returns of $760,000 for Dhoom 2 while the expansion of Bobby had indifferent response and the exclusive launch of The History Boys was just fair.
The larder was rich but far from record breaking with three-day revenues of about $165 million and a total of close to $230 million for the five days. Respectively, that’s 2% and 4% behind last year’s performance.
There was no chill despite mixed reviews for Happy Feet as the holiday span saw its second weekend dip just 8%. The animated penguin saga quickly waddled to $100 million in its 10th day of theatrical exposure and promises to be a huge international success as it rolls out at Christmas overseas.
Casino Royale pushed past $200 million worldwide and early results indicate it could well become the biggest grosser in the franchise’s history. The film has opened in the top spot in every territory where its debuted with the sole exception of the U.S. and Canada.
While the 2005 freshman Thanksgiving class – including Yours, Mine and Ours with $17.5 million and Rent at $10 million for the three-day portion – wasn’t inspired, this year’s group was on an even lower spark with the exception of Déjà Vu. The Denzel Washington thriller with a science fiction twist has benefited from strong word-of-mouth and should continue strong through Christmas.
The Fountain combined similar elements considerably less successfully. Its fractious production history and generally downbeat reviews were another debit in what could well prove on the year’s biggest misfires.
The season wouldn’t be complete without a seasonal comedy and Deck the Halls debut just managed to nose past the third weekend of Santa Clause 3. Jack Black and Kyle Gass’s cult musical anarchy remained a niche player with Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny and despite a full bore publicity campaign, Bobby couldn’t pull a significant crowd among those who either remembered the era or a new generation that wanted to visit it. The expansion of For Your Consideration was marginally better but Christopher Guest’s parody is unlikely to expand his niche appeal.
Borat passed $100 million domestically on Friday and Bond is primed to become the 16th film to pass that mark in 2006 on Wednesday.
The Queen continued to play the award card effectively while Babel struggled to maintain its profile in a year singularly lacking in frontrunners.
Weekend Estimates – November 24-26, 2006
Title | Distributor | Gross (average) | % change | Theaters | Cume |
Happy Feet | WB | 38.1 (10,020) | -8% | 3804 | 100.3 |
Casino Royale | Sony | 30.9 (8,970) | -24% | 3443 | 94 |
Déjà vu | BV | 20.8 (6,680) | 3108 | 28.9 | |
Deck the Halls | Fox | 12.1 (3,780) | 3205 | 17.1 | |
Borat | Fox | 10.4 (4,070) | -29% | 2552 | 109.3 |
The Santa Clause 3 | BV | 10.2 (3,340) | 23% | 3043 | 67.4 |
Stranger Than Fiction | Sony | 6.0 (2,640) | -10% | 2258 | 32.8 |
Flushed Away | Par | 5.8 (2,220) | -12% | 2621 | 57.4 |
Bobby | MGM | 4.6 (2,740) | 1667 | 5.8 | |
The Fountain | WB | 3.6 (2,470) | 5.3 | ||
Tenacious D: Pick of Destiny | New Line | 3.2 (1,660) | 1919 | 5.5 | |
The Queen | Miramax | 2.6 (3,950) | 17% | 653 | 21 |
For Your Consideration | WIP | 2.0 (3,180) | 432% | 623 | 3 |
Babel | Par Vantage | 1.9 (2,130) | -34% | 902 | 15.1 |
The Departed | WB | 1.8 (1,950) | -38% | 910 | 116.8 |
Saw III | Lions Gate | 1.4 (1,380) | -51% | 1044 | 77.8 |
Let’s Go to Prison | Uni | .94 (630) | -58% | 1495 | 4.1 |
The Prestige | BV | .89 (1,570) | -54% | 565 | 51.1 |
Dhoom 2 | Yash Raj | .76 (12,060) | 63 | 0.76 | |
Volver | Sony Classics | .51 (18,890) | 257% | 27 | 1.2 |
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $158.5 | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Year) | -2% | – | – | – | |
% Change (Last Week)- | 14% | – | – | – | |
Also debuting/expanding | |||||
The History Boys | Fox Searchlight | .10 (14,200) | 7 | 0.1 | |
Opal Dream | Strand | 2,750 (690) | 4 | 0.01 |
Top Worldwide Releases: To November 16, 2006
Title | Distributor | Gross |
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest | BVI | 422,687,492 |
Cars | BVI | 224,308,950 |
X-Men: The Last Stand | Fox | 234,362,462 |
The Da Vinci Code | Sony | 217,988,137 |
Superman Returns | WB | 200,166,555 |
Ice Age: The Meltdown | Fox | 195,330,621 |
Over the Hedge | Par | 155,562,848 |
Talladega Nights: Legend of Ricky Bobby | Sony | 149,007,623 |
Click | Sony | 137,791,464 |
Mission: Impossible III | Par | 133,930,344 |
The Devil Wears Prada | Fox | 124,712,625 |
The Break-Up | Uni | 118,778,358 |
The Departed | WB | 114,012,653 |
Borat | Fox | 98,877,057 |
Scary Movie 4 | Weinstein Co. | 90,710,620 |
Failure to Launch | Par | 88,915,704 |
Inside Man | Uni | 88,593,474 |
Open Season | Sony | 83,948,077 |
The Pink Panther | Sony | 83,137,123 |
The Chronicles of Narnia * | BV | 82,270,870 |
* does not include 2005 box office |
Domestic Market Share: To November 16, 2006
Distributor (releases) | Gross | Percentage |
Sony (31) | 1436 | 18.00% |
Buena Vista (23) | 1331.5 | 16.60% |
Fox (24) | 1145.7 | 14.30% |
Paramount (15) | 845.3 | 10.60% |
Warner Bros. (19) | 834.7 | 10.40% |
Universal (19) | 777.5 | 9.70% |
Lions Gate (18) | 327.7 | 4.10% |
Weinstein Co. (14) | 225.8 | 2.80% |
New Line (11) | 207.4 | 2.60% |
Focus (13) | 183.9 | 2.30% |
Fox Searchlight (12) | 161.4 | 2.00% |
MGM (8) | 92.1 | 1.20% |
FreeStyle (9) | 55.2 | 0.70% |
Sony Classics (22) | 53.5 | 0.70% |
Other * (257) | 318.4 | 4.00% |
* none greater than 0.5% | 7996.1 | 100.00% |