'Blade 2' Cuts in Front of 'Ice Age,' 'E.T.'
HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo) - In the three and a half years since his first mission, half-human, half-vampire superhero Blade hasn't lost any of his box office edge. In fact, he nearly doubled it over the weekend ending March 24.
Unsheathing in the top spot, Blade 2 sunk its fangs into 2,707 theaters and drained $32.5 million from moviegoers' wallets. The $54 million sequel starring Wesley Snipes handily topped the $17.1 million start of the first "Blade" in 1998, which was also formerly the biggest opening of Snipes' career. Blade 2 should also cut past the first one's $70.1 million final gross, though it is unlikely to cross the $100 million mark given the quick burn off rate sequels and genre pictures. Expect the planned Blade 3, though, to get the full greenlight from New Line.
Ice Age may have been dethroned after its mammoth $46.3 million debut, but it dipped a modest 35 percent to $30.1 million this weekend. After 10 days of release, Fox's $65 million computer-animated comedy has grossed a whopping $87.3 million, making it the highest-grossing 2002 release to date.
The 20th anniversary special edition of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial phoned into third place with $14.2 million from 3,007 venues, considerably lower than expectations. The opening was on par with the first re-issue of the Steven Spielberg classic in 1985, which bowed to $8.8 million from 1,684 or around $14 million adjusted for ticket-price inflation.
E.T.'s lifetime total has now reached $414.9 million, and it's all but certain to surpass Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace's $431.1 million to become the third-highest grossing movie of all time (unadjusted). It also crossed the $800 million mark adjusted for inflation. However, it will likely stay at No. 4 on the adjusted all time list as No. 3 The Sound of Music's $850 million should prove insurmountable given the quick burn-off rate of re-issues these days.
Showtime dove 46 percent to $8.1 million. The $85 million Robert DeNiro-Eddie Murphy comedy has grossed $26.8 million in 10 days. Resident Evil plunged 62 percent to $6.7 million. In 10 days, the $40 million video game adaptation has nabbed $28.9 million.
Sorority Boys was a real drag for Disney. The cross-dressing college comedy could only score $4.1 million from 1,801 venues, landing in ninth place and likely canceling the studio's plans for a sequel. Though emblematic of the R-rated youth-oriented comedy genre's wane, the opening was a marked improvement over last year's offering on this same weekend, Say It Isn't So, which started with $2.9 million from 1,974 and sputtered out at $5.5 million.
The prime Best Picture Oscar contenders, A Beautiful Mind and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, enjoyed healthy boosts from people trying to take a gander at the last minute before the awards were announced Sunday night. Winner Mind was up 21 percent to $4.1 million in eighth place for a 94-day tally of $154.7 million. Rings clung to the No. 11 spot thanks to a 12 percent bump-up to $2.4 million for an epic 96-day total of $297.5 million.
The top 12 pictures grossed $118.3 million, off 2.2 percent from last weekend but up a massive 74.8 percent over the same frame last year when Heartbreakers conned $11.8 million from 2,750 theaters to top the chart on its way to $40.3 million, and The Brothers chilled in second place with $10.3 from 1,378 venues on track to $27.5 million.
In limited release, the much-hyped product of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's "Project Greenlight," Stolen Summer, floundered out of the gate. The $1.8 million dramedy could only muster $61,613 from 13 venues, averaging an anemic $4,739 per site.
Unsheathing in the top spot, Blade 2 sunk its fangs into 2,707 theaters and drained $32.5 million from moviegoers' wallets. The $54 million sequel starring Wesley Snipes handily topped the $17.1 million start of the first "Blade" in 1998, which was also formerly the biggest opening of Snipes' career. Blade 2 should also cut past the first one's $70.1 million final gross, though it is unlikely to cross the $100 million mark given the quick burn off rate sequels and genre pictures. Expect the planned Blade 3, though, to get the full greenlight from New Line.
Ice Age may have been dethroned after its mammoth $46.3 million debut, but it dipped a modest 35 percent to $30.1 million this weekend. After 10 days of release, Fox's $65 million computer-animated comedy has grossed a whopping $87.3 million, making it the highest-grossing 2002 release to date.
The 20th anniversary special edition of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial phoned into third place with $14.2 million from 3,007 venues, considerably lower than expectations. The opening was on par with the first re-issue of the Steven Spielberg classic in 1985, which bowed to $8.8 million from 1,684 or around $14 million adjusted for ticket-price inflation.
E.T.'s lifetime total has now reached $414.9 million, and it's all but certain to surpass Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace's $431.1 million to become the third-highest grossing movie of all time (unadjusted). It also crossed the $800 million mark adjusted for inflation. However, it will likely stay at No. 4 on the adjusted all time list as No. 3 The Sound of Music's $850 million should prove insurmountable given the quick burn-off rate of re-issues these days.
Showtime dove 46 percent to $8.1 million. The $85 million Robert DeNiro-Eddie Murphy comedy has grossed $26.8 million in 10 days. Resident Evil plunged 62 percent to $6.7 million. In 10 days, the $40 million video game adaptation has nabbed $28.9 million.
Sorority Boys was a real drag for Disney. The cross-dressing college comedy could only score $4.1 million from 1,801 venues, landing in ninth place and likely canceling the studio's plans for a sequel. Though emblematic of the R-rated youth-oriented comedy genre's wane, the opening was a marked improvement over last year's offering on this same weekend, Say It Isn't So, which started with $2.9 million from 1,974 and sputtered out at $5.5 million.
The prime Best Picture Oscar contenders, A Beautiful Mind and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, enjoyed healthy boosts from people trying to take a gander at the last minute before the awards were announced Sunday night. Winner Mind was up 21 percent to $4.1 million in eighth place for a 94-day tally of $154.7 million. Rings clung to the No. 11 spot thanks to a 12 percent bump-up to $2.4 million for an epic 96-day total of $297.5 million.
The top 12 pictures grossed $118.3 million, off 2.2 percent from last weekend but up a massive 74.8 percent over the same frame last year when Heartbreakers conned $11.8 million from 2,750 theaters to top the chart on its way to $40.3 million, and The Brothers chilled in second place with $10.3 from 1,378 venues on track to $27.5 million.
In limited release, the much-hyped product of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's "Project Greenlight," Stolen Summer, floundered out of the gate. The $1.8 million dramedy could only muster $61,613 from 13 venues, averaging an anemic $4,739 per site.
