Weekend Box Office
The summer of 2000 continues to lag behind last year, despite the continued rise in ticket prices and number of theaters. Case in point, this weekend's #1 picture, Me, Myself & Irene, grossed $24.2 million or about the same as the #2 picture, Tarzan, made over the same frame last year, when Big Daddy opened in first with a whopping $41.5 million. Overall box office for the season has reached $774 million, about 6% behind last year. Exhibitors are quaking in their boots, especially with all the money they've been hemorrhaging lately and an upcoming slate of pictures that doesn't appear commercially potent enough to turn things around.
The R rating may have affected Me, Myself & Irene more than expected, given Jim Carrey's legion of young fans. It delivered his fourth best opening as sole star, $24.2 million, from 3,019 theaters, the widest release for any of his pictures. Granted it's a strong debut and will likely be profitable, it's just disappointing given the lofty standards he set in the past. After all, to think that a Carrey comedy had a smaller opening than Martin Lawrence's Big Momma's House or Nic Cage's Gone in 60 Seconds is incredible. How the mighty have fallen, and how the meek have inherited the box office.
With a lowly 76% approval rating, this could be a Cable Guy redux. That widely reviled picture came out at about the same time of year and also featured Carrey in a dark role. It opened to $19.8 million from 2,657 theaters, and petered out at $60.2 million. Adjusted for inflation though, its opening was about $22.8 million from 363 fewer theaters.
Carrey's appearances on The Tonight Show and MTV foreshadowed this unspectacular performance. Instead of his joyous live-wire schtick of old, he reeked of desperation. You could see him trying to think of something funny to do or say as he sweated profusely. When you can see the machinations behind the curtain, it's just no longer funny.
On the plus side, it was the Farrelly Bros.' best debut, ahead of Dumb and Dumber's $16.3 million and There's Something About Mary's $13.7 million. It was also the best opening for a non-sequel, R-rated comedy, besting Life's $20.4 million from last April. Another Eddie Murphy comedy, Beverly Hills Cop II, still holds the R-rated title, with $33 million over a long Memorial Day weekend way back in 1987.
Chicken Run flew the coop with a strong $17.5 million from 2,491 theaters. Dreamworks' creative ad campaign and positive critical notices helped build buzz up to the point that it performed significantly better than was foreseeable just a few weeks ago. It enjoyed a 29% bump-up on Saturday when the norm for a summer family picture on opening weekend is around 10-15%. This suggests that it is reaching past the family demographic to adults, possibly giving these chickens even longer legs.
Though it is being touted as Dreamworks' best opening for an animated picture, edging out Antz' $17.2 million, that picture actually sold more tickets, with an adjusted opening of about $18.6 million. Still, with positive word-of-mouth on its side, Run has a shot at the century mark. It expands by 300-400 theaters on Friday.
On the other hand, Fox is having serious trouble with their animated arm. Titan A.E. had a stunning crash landing, down 60% to $3.7 million. The $75 million production has taken in just $16.9 million so far, and is on track to be the second biggest bomb of the summer, behind another cheesy sci-fi flick, Battlefield Earth.
Meanwhile, Shaft held true to its action and niche roots, falling 41% to $12.7 million and $42.4 million so far. Fox saved some face with the continuing leggy performance of Big Momma's House. It was down just 26% to $8.5 million. With $85.2 million in the till, it's well on its way to saild past the $100 million mark Martin Lawrence in a blockbuster? Who'd a thunk? How many more comedians-in-drag-and-fat-suits pictures will this inspire?
Mission: Impossible 2 eased by 33% to $7.6 million. The cume reached $188.9 million, surpassing the original's unadjusted gross of $181 million and continuing to follow a similar pattern. Gladiator expanded its box office empire, conquering another $3.9 million, down just 28%. With $165.4 million so far, it has already grossed nearly five times its $34.8 million opening weekend. By comparison, the early-May entries of the past two years, Deep Impact and The Mummy, ultimately grossed only about three and a half times their $40 million plus openings.
Overall box office totaled $106.5 million, up 0.4% over last weekend, but down 20% from the dame frame last year when Big Daddy topped the chart with $41.5 million en route to $163.5 million.
