Weekend Box Office
After being belittled by dwindling returns this past year, Tom Cruise reaffirmed his box office potency as Mission: Impossible 2 delivered $70.8 million over the long weekend. The John Woo-directed actioner achieved this feat from 3,653 theaters, the new record for widest release. Its $57.8 million three-day tally narrowly surpassed Toy Story 2 to become the third biggest opening of all time, behind The Lost World and The Phantom Menace. Not to mention it's the best opening in Paramount's and Cruise's history. It's $91.8 million six-day haul puts it $16.9 million ahead of the $74.9 million the original had at this point. Adjusted for inflation though, the original was at $86 million and ended its run with around $208 million. Whether M:I-2 can surpass this remains to be seen, but when it comes to sequels, the bigger they are the harder they tend to fall.
Memorial Day weekend has been traditionally characterized by one picture completely dominating at the expense of others. This year was different, as the box office pie expanded to include all. Overall business reached $184.8 million, breaking the record set by the $166 million grossed over last year's July 4 frame. This bodes well for the upcoming July 4th frame when The Patriot and The Perfect Storm collide.
Shanghai Noon posted a strong showing of $19.6 million despite the presence of goliath M:I-2 and others, reminding once again that even direct competition is an overrated factor in determining a picture's success. The Jackie Chan starrer could have a leggy run, as word-of-mouth was at a strong 94% favorable rating and the picture enjoyed a 48% bump-up on Saturday.
Holdovers benefited from the expansive marketplace as well, enjoying minor declines. Road Trip dropped just 12% to $13.5 million and $35.3 million so far, about 26% behind American Pie at the same time in its run. Gladiator continued to show off its legs, easing by 13% to $17.1 million and a rousing $127 million after four weeks. Throw in the $73 million it has grossed overseas so far, and its worldwide cume has already reached $200 million.
Curiously though, no wide release saw an improvement. What many deemed the likeliest to enjoy a bump-up, Dinosaur, actually dropped 17% to $32 million. Disney shouldn't sweat it too much though. Even the mighty Lion King slipped from its $40.9 million opening to around $34 million in its second frame and four-day July 4th holiday weekend back in 1994.
While Tom Cruise was flying high, his fellow Scientologist John Travolta was retreating deeper and deeper into the bowels of the Celebrity Center as the $73-million budgeted Battlefield Earth plummeted 72% to $1.1 million and a cume of just $20.4 million after three weeks. It lost only 22% or 720 of its theaters, 3,307 to 2,587. Next week should see an even greater exodus of theaters, and Battlefield Earth won't be around to pick on anymore. As bad a picture it is, I think we'll all miss it.
In limited action, Demi Moore's first picture in nearly three years, Passion of Mind, grossed just $236,047 from 104 theaters for a paltry $2,270 average.
Overall box office totaled a record-breaking $184.8 million, up 29% over the same frame last year when The Phantom Menace topped the chart with its $66.9 million second weekend haul on its way to $431.1 million total.
