Chicken Little tops box-office
2005-11-14 10:54
Los Angeles - Chicken Little remained No. 1 in the pecking order, taking in $32m in its second weekend to beat back a flock of new movies.
Debuting in second place was the sci-fi fantasy Zathura: A Space Adventure, which grossed $14m, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Jennifer Aniston's first post-Friends film - the thriller Derailed, co-starring Clive Owen - opened in third with $12.8m.
Rapper Curtis 50 Cent Jackson's semi-autobiographical drama Get Rich or Die Tryin' premiered at No 4 with $12.5m, though it played in fewer theatres than its competitors. The movie has grossed $18.2m since opening on Wednesday.
Also debuting in the top 10 was Keira Knightley's Pride & Prejudice, a new take on Jane Austen's 19th century classic of romance and class conflict. The film came in at No. 10 with $2.8m while playing in just 215 theatres, compared to 3 223 for Zathura, 2 441 for Derailed and 1 652 for Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
Great expectations
The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $114.7m, off 15% from the same weekend last year, when The Incredibles was No 1 with $50.3m.
Movie admissions are running 8% behind last year's, but the industry will get a big bump on Friday with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth film about the boy wizard.
"This is one of those save-the-day kinds of movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "There were lines around the block for the latest book, `The Half-Blood Prince' . I expect no different for this `Harry Potter' movie."
With $80.8m domestically in 10 days, the cartoon tale Chicken Little should soar past the $100m mark by this coming weekend. That's good news for distributor Disney, whose recent animated slate has been lackluster.
tough competition
Zathura, adapted from the children's book, follows the adventures of two brothers hurled into space by a mysterious board game. Distributor Sony hopes Zathura can hang on to a good share of the family audience through Thanksgiving, despite Chicken Little and Harry Potter.
"History proves there's room for several of these family-type films. This is the perfect time of year for it," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.
Derailed was the first release by the Weinstein Co, formed by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who parted ways with their original company, Disney-owned Miramax. The movie stars Aniston and Owen as business execs whose extramarital fling leads to brutality and extortion by a blackmailer.
The movie's sexuality and disturbing violence are a new thing for Aniston, who has a goody-goody image.
Get Rich or Die Tryin' stars 50 Cent as a drug dealer aiming to go straight with a music career.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at United States and Canadian theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations Co Inc. Final figures will be released on Monday.
1. Chicken Little, $32m
2. Zathura: A Space Adventure, $14m
3. Derailed, $12.8m
4. Get Rich or Die Tryin', $12.5m
5. Jarhead, $12.3m
6. Saw II, $9.4m
7. The Legend of Zorro, $6.6m
8. Prime, $4m
9. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, $3.8m
10. Pride & Prejudice, $2.8m
- AP