Weekend Box Office (February 1 - 3, 2002)

by Gitesh Pandya

THIS WEEKEND For the third consecutive weekend, moviegoers made the military action film Black Hawk Down the number one box office draw in North America as overall ticket sales fell sharply from last weekend's high plateau. Sunday's Super Bowl prompted studios to stay away from the frame as only two minor new releases opened - both to dismal grosses.

Sony's Black Hawk Down collected $11.1M in its third weekend of national release, according to final figures, sliding 35%. The Ridley Scott war pic has upped its cume to $75.1M. Once again on its tail, Disney's family comedy Snow Dogs remained in second place for the third straight weekend with $10.2M, down only 22%, for a 17-day total of $51.1M.

Warner Bros. saw a slim 27% decline for its high school romance A Walk to Remember which took in $8.8M in its sophomore session. After ten days, the Mandy Moore drama has grossed a solid $23.3M and should find its way to $45-55M. Budgeted at approximately $10M, A Walk to Remember has served as effective counterprogramming to the NFL's post-season blitz by appealing directly to young females - the demographic quadrant least distracted by football.

Buena Vista's period adventure tale The Count of Monte Cristo dipped only 23% and took in $8.8M in its second weekend pushing its ten-day total to $23.4M. With good word-of-mouth and an impressive hold, the PG-13 film looks to reach about $50M.

Russell Crowe counted another $8.4M for A Beautiful Mind which eased 27% from last weekend. The Universal release broke the $100M mark on Saturday and has taken in $104.5M to date. Mind is only the second $100M hit for Crowe, after the Oscar-winning Gladiator, but the fifth for director Ron Howard after Parenthood, Apollo 13, Ransom, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Dropping 34% in its second scare, Sony's The Mothman Prophecies collected $7.4M raising its total to $21.2M after ten days. The Richard Gere thriller should conclude with $40-45M.

New Line's Sean Penn drama I Am Sam slid 24% in its second going in wide release to $6.3M. With $17.3M in the bank, the PG-13 film should find its way to $35-40M.

Frodo and Gandolf placed eighth as The Lord of the Rings grossed $5.7M, off just 27%, bringing its cume to $266.3M. New Line's megablockbuster now sits at number 15 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters between last year's Shrek ($267.7M) and 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas ($260M).

Fox's spoof comedy Kung Pow! Enter the Fist tumbled 45% in its second weekend to $3.9M. With $12.1M collected thus far, the Steve Oedekerk film should finish with $15-20M.

Paramount's college-themed comedy Orange County dipped 35% to $2.9M in its third frame and lifted its 17-day total to $37.8M.

Sony's new R-rated pic Slackers opened in 1,893 theaters with $2.8M and averaged a horrendous $1,471. Its flimsy average and C+ grade from CinemaScore audiences indicate a quick road to home video.

Also debuting poorly outside of the top ten was Miramax's Nicole Kidman starrer Birthday Girl with $2.4M. Playing in only 1,000 theaters, the R-rated thriller averaged a weak $2,371 per venue. CinemaScore audiences gave the film a C grade.

The top ten films grossed $73.4M which was up 13% from last year when The Wedding Planner stayed in the top spot with $10.6M; and up 8% from 2000 when Scream 3 debuted at number one with $34.7M.


Compared to projections, both Slackers and Birthday Girl debuted below my respective forecasts of $7M and $4M.

Take this week's NEW Reader Survey on whether The Lord of the Rings will pass $300M. In last week's survey, readers were asked which of five February films they wanted to see most. Of 1,562 responses, 35% chose Collateral Damage, 18% picked Crossroads, 17% selected Birthday Girl, 17% said Hart's War, and 13% voted for Rollerball.

For a review of Black Hawk Down visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Collateral Damage, Rollerball, and Big Fat Liar all open.

Marketplace: Shop for videos, DVDs, music, books, and posters at discounted prices using search engines
# Title Feb 1 - 3 Jan 25 - 27 % Chg. Theaters Weeks AVG Cumulative Dist.
1 Black Hawk Down $ 11,112,555 $ 17,012,268 -34.7 3,143 6 $ 3,536 $ 75,063,935 Sony
2 Snow Dogs 10,199,650 13,079,373 -22.0 2,454 3 4,156 51,127,496 Buena Vista
3 A Walk to Remember 8,836,201 12,177,488 -27.4 2,420 2 3,651 23,325,402 Warner Bros.
4 The Count of Monte Cristo 8,772,280 11,376,150 -22.9 2,211 2 3,968 23,371,251 Buena Vista
5 A Beautiful Mind 8,403,690 11,531,735 -27.1 2,250 7 3,735 104,502,101 Universal
6 The Mothman Prophecies 7,364,011 11,208,851 -34.3 2,331 2 3,159 21,221,640 Sony
7 I Am Sam 6,303,148 8,315,581 -24.2 1,303 6 4,837 17,293,331 New Line
8 The Lord of the Rings 5,704,259 7,803,075 -26.9 2,309 7 2,470 266,274,199 New Line
9 Kung Pow! Enter the Fist 3,851,312 7,017,474 -45.1 2,475 2 1,556 12,099,500 Fox
10 Orange County 2,873,842 4,418,401 -35.0 2,225 4 1,292 37,793,336 Paramount
11 Slackers 2,785,283 1,893 1 1,471 2,785,283 Sony
12 Birthday Girl 2,370,809 1,000 1 2,371 2,370,809 Miramax
13 Gosford Park 2,362,403 2,782,555 -15.1 800 6 2,953 19,288,263 USA Films
14 The Royal Tenenbaums 2,300,761 3,084,804 -25.4 978 8 2,353 44,763,356 Buena Vista
15 Ocean's Eleven 2,056,615 3,176,373 -35.3 1,541 9 1,335 178,908,056 Warner Bros.
16 Brotherhood of the Wolf 1,904,085 1,608,920 18.3 393 4 4,845 10,803,042 Universal
17 In the Bedroom 1,827,414 1,941,677 -5.9 549 11 3,329 16,985,037 Miramax
18 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius 1,206,339 1,777,704 -32.1 1,424 7 847 77,730,692 Paramount
19 Beauty & The Beast - SE 1,161,856 1,470,492 -21.0 68 5 17,086 14,137,018 Buena Vista
20 Harry Potter 1,010,416 1,402,381 -27.9 907 12 1,114 312,936,385 Warner Bros.
Top 5 $ 47,324,376 $ 65,177,014 -27.4
Top 10 73,420,948 103,940,396 -27.9
Top 20 92,406,929 124,288,196 -25.7
Top 20 vs. 2001 92,406,929 92,608,781 -0.2

Last Updated : February 5, 2002 at 3:30AM EST