Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
August 6, 2005
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Dukes of Hazzard
Those Duke boys rounded up $12.5 million Friday, an amazing opening figure in the wake of the disasters of the last few weeks. Given the material and the general train-wreck nature of the film (according to critics, who give it 18% Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes), we'll figure a 2.6 multiplier, giving the Dukes of Hazzard a solid $32.5 million for the weekend.
March of the Penguins
The documentary adds over 1,000 screens in the wake of its word-of-mouth success in art houses and jumps 89% from last Friday with $2 million, placing it just under Bowling for Columbine as the second-highest grossing documentary in history. It will firmly hold that place come Sunday morning, as based on its limited performance, an above-average internal multiplier in the area of 3.6 could be in its future, good for a $7.2 million weekend.
Notable Holdovers
The insanity continues for The Wedding Crashers. After ascending to the top spot last week, it does slip back to second this weekend, but with a Friday-to-Friday drop of 14.9%. A fourth weekend tally of $17 million should be in the works as the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy continues to be the brightest spot of a bleak summer.
Last week's mega-flop Stealth falls 63.7% from last Friday, adding some salt to the wound. It should come in at $5.3 million in its second weekend.
Sky High and Must Love Dogs fare a little bit better than Steath, falling 40.9% and 46.7% respectively. Sky High, with its younger audience appeal, could get its decline as low as 30%, while Must Love Dogs will improve to under 40%.