'POLLY' TOPS AT BOX OFFICE FILM BOASTS RECORD HOLIDAY DEBUT.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer The Ben Stiller-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy ``Along Came Polly'' scored the biggest Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend opening ever by grossing an estimated $32.7 million over the four days. In doing so, the Universal Pictures release managed to knock ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' from its throne throne, chair of state or the seat of a high dignitary. The throne was at first a stool or bench and later became an ornate armchair, usually raised on a dais and surmounted by a canopy. after four straight weekends at the top. ``It really is exciting and a pleasant surprise,'' said Universal's distribution head Nikki Rocco. ``The marketplace was kind of depressed and needed a jolt and it took this comedy to do it.'' New Line Cinema's ``King,'' which won the top prize at the prestigious Producer's Guild of America Awards on Saturday night, finished in second place over the four days earning an estimated $12.7 million. ``King,'' the final part of an epic fantasy trilogy A company founded in 1979 by Gene Amdahl to commercialize wafer scale integration and build supercomputers. It raised a quarter of a billion dollars, the largest startup funding in history, but could not create its 2.5" superchip. , has earned a whopping $329.3 million to date and is now the tenth-highest-grossing film ever. It is poised to pass ``Forrest Gump'' and ``Finding Nemo'' on the all-time list and is a shoo-in to become the highest-grossing film released in 2003. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Entertainment's ``Big Fish'' had a four-day estimated gross of $12.3 million to place third over the holiday weekend. The Tim Burton-directed drama has grossed $39.8 million to date and dropped a mere 10.9 percent in ticket sales from last weekend. ``It's a terrific hold for us,'' said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of domestic distribution. ``It's a movie that audiences continue to discover and love, and I think it's going to be around for many weeks to come.'' Of the weekends' two new wide releases, Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .' ``Torque'' opened in fourth place with a four-day gross of $11.7 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. studio estimates. Disney's ``Teacher's Pet'' bowed dismally dis·mal adj. 1. Causing gloom or depression; dreary: dismal weather; took a dismal view of the economy. 2. with an estimated four-day total of $3.2 million for twelfth place. The family comedy ``Cheaper by the Dozen'' added another $10.6 million to its grosses and has now taken in a hefty heft·y adj. heft·i·er, heft·i·est 1. Of considerable weight; heavy. 2. Rugged and powerful. See Synonyms at heavy. 3. $113.8 million so far. The 20th Century Fox release finished in fifth place followed by Miramax Films' Civil War drama ``Cold Mountain.'' ``Mountain'' earned an estimated $8.5 million to bring its overall grosses to $66.5 million. Two other films in the top 10 crossed the $100 million mark over the weekend: Sony's romantic comedy ``Something's Gotta got·ta Informal Contraction of got to: I gotta go home. Give'' and Warner Bros. adventure epic ``The Last Samurai samurai (sä'm  rī`), knights of feudal Japan, retainers of the daimyo. This aristocratic warrior class arose during the 12th-century wars between the Taira and Minamoto clans and was .'' They became the 27th and 28th 2003 releases to
cross the $100 million milestone.
Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com |
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