`KISS THE GIRLS' TOPS THRILLING FALL WEEKEND AT BOX OFFICE.Byline: Jennifer Bowles Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The new suspense thriller ``Kiss the Girls'' and the low-budget ``Soul Food'' topped the box office, dumping ``The Peacemaker'' from the No. 1 spot after just one week, 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. industry estimates Sunday. The estimated $13.4 million opening of ``Kiss the Girls'' exceeded expectations and reflects that thrillers ``are the flavor of the fall period,'' said industry analyst Robert Bucksbaum. Half of the films in the Top 10 are thrillers, including Oliver Stone's ``U-Turn,'' which opened in ninth place with $2.7 million in ticket sales. The only other wide-release debut this weekend was ``The Matchmaker Matchmaker - A language for specifying and automating the generation of multi-lingual interprocess communication interfaces. MIG is an implementation of a subset of Matchmaker. .'' The romantic comedy, set in Ireland and starring Janeane Garofolo, was No. 10 with $1.5 million. Overall, box office receipts were up 39 percent over the same fall weekend last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. ``Soul Food's'' estimated $8.5 million take edged out ``The Peacemaker'' with $8.4 million. The gay comedy ``In & Out'' was fourth with $8 million. The drama about an extended Chicago family that unfolds over a series of dinners earned $6,130 per screen, beating the $5,900 average for ``Kiss the Girl'' and the $3,499 average for ``The Peacemaker.'' ``It's like the dream of every studio: Make a movie that doesn't cost a lot of money and the public really likes it a lot and keeps coming back,'' said Tom Sherak, chairman of 20th Century Fox Film Group. The big test for ``Soul Food'' comes next weekend, said Bucksbaum, with the debuts of two films also targeted to the black community - ``Most Wanted Most Wanted may refer to:
``Soul Food'' had a 24 percent drop in earnings from last weekend, while ``The Peacemaker,'' the first feature film from DreamWorks SKG SKG Stichting Kwaliteit Gevelbouw (Dutch) SKG Spielberg, Katzenberg,and Geffen (DreamWorks Studios) SKG Thessaloniki, Greece - Thessaloniki (Airport Code) SKG Smith and Kraus Global , dipped 32 percent. ``That kind of drop is excellent and indicative of how well the movie's playing,'' contended Jim Tharp, head of distribution for the new studio formed by Steven Spielberg Noun 1. Steven Spielberg - United States filmmaker (born in 1947) Spielberg , Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. ``Kiss the Girls,'' starring Morgan Freeman on the trail of a sadist who kidnaps and tortures women, is based on a best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best book of the same title by James Patterson
The positive news also shows that summer no longer is considered the prime moneymaking period for films. ``The pattern has been the same all summer long, starting July 20,'' he said. ``This proves it's now a 12-month business.'' Final figures were to be released today. The estimates for Friday through Sunday: 1. ``Kiss the Girls,'' $13.4 million. 2. ``Soul Food,'' $8.5 million. 3. ``The Peacemaker,'' $8.4 million. 4. ``In & Out,'' $8 million. 5. ``The Edge,'' $5.2 million. 6. ``L.A. Confidential,'' $5 million. 7. ``The Game,'' $2.9 million. 8 ``The Full Monty,'' $2.8 million. 9. ``U-Turn,'' $2.7 million. 10. ``The Matchmaker,'' $1.5 million. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion