Black Knight
Release Date:
November 21, 2001
Release moved up from Jan 11, 2002
A time-travel comedy starring Martin Lawrence and written by one of the Big Momma’s House scribes, Black Knight has settled into a November release date after being shuffled around the schedule several times due to some counter-programming issues. According to a July 11th article in Variety, a 20th Century Fox executive says the movie’s strong preliminary testing results justify the move to Thanksgiving weekend.
The story itself would appear to be just another Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court makeover, with Lawrence playing a hustler who works at a medieval-themed amusement park. After a blow to the head, he wakes up to discover he has somehow been transported back to the Middle Ages. He meets a beautiful peasant woman and an ex-knight who is down on his luck, and they all join together to fight an evil king.
Martin Lawrence has certainly shown he has the ability to open films in the past. Even the poorly-marketed mess known as What’s the Worst That Could Happen debuted with $13.05 million. He clearly has a loyal fan base that will turn out to see him regardless of whether he’s dressed in drag or prison attire.
With Spy Game being the only other movie seeing wide release Thanksgiving weekend, Black Knight should be able to find its own niche. Lawrence’s films frequently manage to fly under the radar and I see no reason why this one should be an exception. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Comparison films for Black Knight |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
Big Momma's House |
6/2/00 | 25.66 |
28.70 |
2802 |
9158.00 |
9854.6 |
117.48 |
131.42 |
4.58 |
Life |
4/16/99 | 20.41 |
24.32 |
2594 |
7868.00 |
8983.1 |
63.84 |
76.07 |
3.13 |
Blue Streak |
9/17/99 | 19.21 |
22.89 |
2735 |
7024.00 |
8019.5 |
68.21 |
81.28 |
3.55 |
Knight's Tale, A |
5/11/01 | 16.51 |
17.62 |
2980 |
5541.00 |
5688.1 |
56.08 |
59.85 |
3.40 |
Bad Boys |
4/7/95 | 15.52 |
21.51 |
2132 |
7280.00 |
9706.7 |
65.65 |
91.00 |
4.23 |
What's the Worst That Could Happen? |
6/1/01 | 13.05 |
13.92 |
2675 |
4878.00 |
5007.5 |
32.10 |
34.26 |
2.46 |
American Outlaws |
8/17/01 | 4.86 |
5.18 |
2348 |
2068.00 |
2122.9 |
13.27 |
14.16 |
2.73 |
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