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Friday Numbers AnalysisBy Tim BriodyDecember 27, 2003
The most wonderful time of the year for Hollywood and theater owners continues to roll along nicely, with all four Christmas openers performing well, and Return of the King continuing to lead the way. BOP also apologizes for the lack of a daily update yesterday. It seems our usual source took the day after Christmas off and did not provide us with Thursday box office information. Floggings will be administered.
Cheaper By The DozenAfter an $8.2 million start on Christmas Day, the Steve Martin comedy improved by 25% to earn an estimated $10.3 million Friday. Historically, there isn't a big uptick on the Saturday after Christmas from Friday, but the Sunday decline also isn't as severe, so it generally balances out the internal multipliers. Cheaper By The Dozen should end up with a three-day total of around $29.2 million, and an impressive $37.4 million after four days.
Cold MountainThe film based on the best-selling book earned $4.5 million on Christmas Day and $5.2 million Friday. This isn't really bad news, as the film needs the Christmas legs and awards recognition for it to really get going. Cold Mountain will end up with about $16 million for the weekend and $20.5 million in four days.
PaycheckBen Affleck must really be looking forward to the end of 2003. Paycheck opened Christmas Day with $5.1 million, but dropped 2% Friday with an estimated $5.0 million, the only film in the top ten to drop in business from Thursday to Friday. Not that this is a bomb by any means, but it doesn't bode well for the film once the holiday box office money train comes to an end. Paycheck will finish the weekend with $13.8 million and $18.8 million since its Christmas opening.
Peter PanThe token kiddie entry for the Christmas season earned $3.9 million on Christmas Day, and made an estimated $4.2 million Friday, an 8% increase. Even films aimed at younger audiences don't have crazy internal multipliers this weekend, as the box office is spread out over the entire week from Christmas to New Year's Day. Look for Peter Pan to make $13 million over three days and $16.9 over the four-day period.
Notable HoldoversReturn of the King took in an amazing $14.7 million on Christmas Day and an even more impressive $19.3 million Friday, a very modest decline from last week. The hobbits are about to blow away the $200 million mark in their 11th day of release, which is the fastest of the trilogy to do it (The Two Towers needed 12 days) Based on post-Christmas weekend multipliers of Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, Return of the King is looking at a weekend of $62.1 million and a Christmas four-day total of $76.8 million. Enjoy it while you can, folks. Box office history is being made, and a phenomenon like The Lord of The Rings trilogy may never happen again.Nearly every other film is up from last Friday, with only Mona Lisa Smile down (but off just 1%). Bad Santa, Elf and The Last Samurai all lose several hundred screens each, but all three films post solid increases from last Friday. If that doesn't explain December box office to you, I don't know what will.
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