`KING KONG' ROARS LOUDEST.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer ``King Kong'' roared loud enough and beat his chest hard enough at the nation's movie theaters over the weekend to grab the fourth-biggest December opening in history with three-day ticket sales of $50.15 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. estimates released Sunday by Universal Pictures. ``Kong,'' directed by Peter Jackson, opened below expectations Wednesday but rebounded to do blockbuster business on Saturday, achieving a five-day total of $66.2 million. Only the second and third chapters of Jackson's ``Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Disney's ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Lion, The, English name for Leo, a constellation. Witch and the Wardrobe'' had bigger December bows. ``Obviously there were huge expectations placed on this movie,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., a box office tracking firm. ``This is a word of mouth film that's going to play for many weeks to come. This one is not about a sprint to $100 million.'' Kong's box office revenue jumped 40 percent from Friday to Saturday, suggesting strong word-of-mouth traffic that could set it up for a robust holiday run. Second-place ``Narnia'' weathered the arrival of ``Kong'' well with an estimated weekend gross of $31.2 million. The film has now taken in $112.5 million to date and is well-positioned to continue to perform solidly through the holidays. ``To hit $100 million and to get it in the ninth day is great,'' said Chuck Viane, president of Disney's Buena Vista Distribution
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. is the motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by The Walt Disney Company. division. ``I think every day this week you will see us ramp up Ramp Up To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand. Notes: A company might 'ramp up' operations if they just signed a contract creating substantially more demand for their product. See also: Demand, Economies of Scale a little.'' The 20th Century Fox new release ``The Family Stone,'' starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton and Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. Biography Early life Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia to Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova , opened in third place with an estimated gross of $12.7 million. ``It's a great start,'' said Bruce Snyder Bruce Snyder (born March 14, 1940 in Santa Monica, California) was the head football coach of Utah State University from 1976 to 1982. He was the head football coach of the University of California from 1987 to 1991. , Fox's president of distribution. ``Fifty-one percent of the audience was females over the age of 25, and that's usually the toughest audience to get out on a Friday night.'' The critically acclaimed drama ``Brokeback Mountain,'' starring Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (born April 4, 1979) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actor. Biography Early life Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of Sally Ledger Bell (née Ramshaw),[1] and Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal[1] (born December 19 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at 11 years old. , rode into the top 10 in its second weekend after distributor Focus Features expanded it to 69 theaters in 21 markets from just a handful the previous weekend. The love story between two cowboys finished in eighth place after taking in an estimated $2.4 million. It had an outstanding per-screen average of $34,194, by far the highest of any film in release. ``Forget about it just playing to the gay community, it's playing to everyone,'' said Focus Features distribution head Jack Foley. ``It's a phenomenon.'' ``Brokeback,'' which has taken in $3.3 million so far in limited release, appears to be on its way to setting a new box office benchmark for a gay-themed film. Foley said audiences have ranged from ``baby boomers See generation X. in the suburbs to the smart set in downtown urban areas to seniors in places like La Jolla La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and and Phoenix, and the gay community is continuing to go aggressively.'' Because of its unexpected popularity, Focus is scrapping its original idea to continue to open the film slowly and plans to begin adding theaters Friday in the suburbs of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , where the film has played through the roof. ``This is lightening in a bottle, and we have to maintain the rollout in concert with the heat on the film,'' Foley said. ``We have to see if exhibitors can work with us, if they have screens available. I think a lot of them will make room.'' Also in limited release, Sony Pictures Entertainment's ``Memoirs of a Geisha'' expanded to 52 locations in 15 cities. It managed to earn an impressive $1.2 million, with a terrific per-screen average of $23,748 and a 12th-place finish. ``Geisha'' will expand to 1,400 theaters Friday, said Rory Bruer, Sony's president of distribution. ``Exits have been terrific, and we're very excited heading into Friday,'' Bruer said. In all, the weekend's top 12 films took in $121.2 million, 22 percent more than 2004's top dozen. But year-to-date revenue remains about 5 percent behind last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Dan Laidman, (213) 978-0390 dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com TOP MOVIES Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today. 1. ``King Kong,'' $50.15 million. 2. ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,'' $31.2 million. 3. ``The Family Stone,'' $12.7 million. 4. ``Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,'' $5.9 million. 5. ``Syriana,'' $5.5 million. 6. ``Walk the Line,'' $3.6 million. 7. ``Yours, Mine & Ours,'' $3.4 million. 8. ``Brokeback Mountain,'' $2.4 million. 9. ``Just Friends,'' $1.95 million. 10. ``Aeon Flux,'' $1.7 million. CAPTION(S): box Box: TOP MOVIES (see text) |
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