smith_fan
"The Matrix Revolutions" exploded on the world stage with a staggering five-day worldwide haul of $201.4 million since its day-and-date, hour-to-hour release last Wednesday.
It marks the second-biggest gross for a worldwide debut after 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which brought in $201.9 million worldwide from Wednesday through the end of its first weekend in release.
The adventures of Neo and his band of believers in the third and final installment of the "Matrix" trilogy, was released worldwide on a record 18,000 prints in 109 markets. The international portion of that worldwide gross was a record for the industry with $117.6 million, topping "Two Towers"' $99.8 million.
But the North American side of "Revolutions"' box office was decidedly more subdued with a weekend gross of $48.5 million, and $83.8 million since its hour-to-hour release last Wednesday. It fell well short of "Reloaded's" $91.8 million weekend take as well as the second film's four-day total of $134.3 million.
While "Reloaded" benefited from a four-year wait, as opposed to "Revolutions"' six-month window, the latter's bow was the fourth-biggest debut ever for an R-rated film and the seventh largest in November.
A film that made some surprisingly big waves at the box office this past weekend was New Line's "Elf," the Jon Favreau-directed film starring Will Ferrell. The comedy sleighed the second spot with a sterling $31.1 million on its debut, much higher than the low- to mid-$20 million that was projected for the frame.
Universal's "Love Actually" debuted in the sixth spot with a solid $6.9 million from a slim 576 theaters. The ensemble romantic comedy, starring Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman, averaged a stout $11,955 per theater.
Altogether, the new arrivals combined with some solid holdovers to give the business in North America a nice lift overall. The total box office for the 121 films tracked by The Hollywood Reporter was $153.4 million, up 6% from the comparable session a year earlier.
Disney's "Brother Bear" had its first full weekend in wide release, putting its paw on the third slot with $18.5 million -- down a trivial 5% from its two-day debut. The G-rated traditionally animated picture has picked up $44 million to date.
But back to the weekend's champ, in the weeks ahead the road for "Revolutions" may be a rough one. A moderate 82% of the audience for the Wachowski brothers film gave the picture a positive grade, according to CinemaScore.com.
The Keanu Reeves-Carrie Anne Moss-Laurence Fishburne starrer pulled in more males than females, with 69% in the former group. It was a fairly diverse age group overall, with 45% under 25, and younger moviegoers gave the film its best marks.
But "Elf" should have a bright future as the PG-rated comedy scored a strong 94% favorable grade from those polled, according to CinemaScore.com. Females comprised 61% of patrons. The family film hit on all ages as well, with a strong 37% under 18; 31% were 18 to 34 and 33% were 35 and older. "Elf's" genre was its biggest drawing card as noted by 54% of those cited, but Ferrell proved potent as well with 41%.
"Love Actually," which goes into another 600 theaters or so next weekend, scored moderately well in exit polls as 84% graded the film positively, according to CinemaScore.com. The R-rated comedy, helmed by Richard Curtis, was of more interest to females with just 36% checking the male box. It was an older group as well with a sizable 82% being 25 and older. Grant was demonstrating some pull at the box office with a solid 60% noting he was the reason for attending.
Other films in the top rankings this past weekend included Dimension's "Scary Movie 3," in the fourth slot with $10.8 million, taking its three-week total to $93.1 million, and Sony's "Radio," down a slim 25% as it tuned into the fifth spot with $7.2 million, upping its total to $36.1 million.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=filmNews&storyID=3794844
smith_fan
It marks the second-biggest gross for a worldwide debut after 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which brought in $201.9 million worldwide from Wednesday through the end of its first weekend in release.
The adventures of Neo and his band of believers in the third and final installment of the "Matrix" trilogy, was released worldwide on a record 18,000 prints in 109 markets. The international portion of that worldwide gross was a record for the industry with $117.6 million, topping "Two Towers"' $99.8 million.
But the North American side of "Revolutions"' box office was decidedly more subdued with a weekend gross of $48.5 million, and $83.8 million since its hour-to-hour release last Wednesday. It fell well short of "Reloaded's" $91.8 million weekend take as well as the second film's four-day total of $134.3 million.
While "Reloaded" benefited from a four-year wait, as opposed to "Revolutions"' six-month window, the latter's bow was the fourth-biggest debut ever for an R-rated film and the seventh largest in November.
A film that made some surprisingly big waves at the box office this past weekend was New Line's "Elf," the Jon Favreau-directed film starring Will Ferrell. The comedy sleighed the second spot with a sterling $31.1 million on its debut, much higher than the low- to mid-$20 million that was projected for the frame.
Universal's "Love Actually" debuted in the sixth spot with a solid $6.9 million from a slim 576 theaters. The ensemble romantic comedy, starring Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman, averaged a stout $11,955 per theater.
Altogether, the new arrivals combined with some solid holdovers to give the business in North America a nice lift overall. The total box office for the 121 films tracked by The Hollywood Reporter was $153.4 million, up 6% from the comparable session a year earlier.
Disney's "Brother Bear" had its first full weekend in wide release, putting its paw on the third slot with $18.5 million -- down a trivial 5% from its two-day debut. The G-rated traditionally animated picture has picked up $44 million to date.
But back to the weekend's champ, in the weeks ahead the road for "Revolutions" may be a rough one. A moderate 82% of the audience for the Wachowski brothers film gave the picture a positive grade, according to CinemaScore.com.
The Keanu Reeves-Carrie Anne Moss-Laurence Fishburne starrer pulled in more males than females, with 69% in the former group. It was a fairly diverse age group overall, with 45% under 25, and younger moviegoers gave the film its best marks.
But "Elf" should have a bright future as the PG-rated comedy scored a strong 94% favorable grade from those polled, according to CinemaScore.com. Females comprised 61% of patrons. The family film hit on all ages as well, with a strong 37% under 18; 31% were 18 to 34 and 33% were 35 and older. "Elf's" genre was its biggest drawing card as noted by 54% of those cited, but Ferrell proved potent as well with 41%.
"Love Actually," which goes into another 600 theaters or so next weekend, scored moderately well in exit polls as 84% graded the film positively, according to CinemaScore.com. The R-rated comedy, helmed by Richard Curtis, was of more interest to females with just 36% checking the male box. It was an older group as well with a sizable 82% being 25 and older. Grant was demonstrating some pull at the box office with a solid 60% noting he was the reason for attending.
Other films in the top rankings this past weekend included Dimension's "Scary Movie 3," in the fourth slot with $10.8 million, taking its three-week total to $93.1 million, and Sony's "Radio," down a slim 25% as it tuned into the fifth spot with $7.2 million, upping its total to $36.1 million.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=filmNews&storyID=3794844
smith_fan