'CHARLIE' TAKES A DOUBLE SCOOP 'ISLAND,' 'BEARS' OPEN WEAK; BOX OFFICE SLUMP RETURNS.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Lackluster lack·lus·ter adj. Lacking brightness, luster, or vitality; dull. See Synonyms at dull. Adj. 1. lackluster - lacking brilliance or vitality; "a dull lackluster life"; "a lusterless performance" openings for ``The Island'' and ``Bad News Bears'' dragged weekend box office activity back down just as the movie industry was beginning to recover from a record slump Slump A temporary fall in performance, often describing consistently falling security prices for several weeks or months. in recent weeks. Results would have been far more bleak The bleak is a small pelagic fish of the Cyprinid family. Description The body of the bleak is elongated and flat. The head is pointed and the relatively small mouth is turned upwards. The anal fin is long and has 18 to 23 fin rays. The lateral line is complete. if not for ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' which held onto first place with estimated ticket sales of $28.3 million, and the comedy smash ``Wedding Crashers,'' which retained its second-place rank with an estimated gross of $26.2 million. But the top 12 movies in the marketplace fell short of business during the same weekend last year by 7.76 percent, 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 Sunday. ``Without the newcomers generating big business, it's tough to compare favorably fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. to last year's comparable weekend,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``Island,'' which had a production budget of around $100 million, could only manage a fourth-place debut with an estimated gross of $12.1 million. The DreamWorks release stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. She rose to fame with her role in 1998's The Horse Whisperer and subsequently gained critical acclaim for her roles in Ghost World, Lost in Translation and . ``Clearly this is a disappointing opening,'' DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said. ``We can only hope the film finds its audience in the coming weeks.'' The 20th Century Fox film ``Fantastic Four'' had a photo finish with ``Island'' to take third place with an estimated weekend haul of $12.3 million in its third weekend. The two films could flip rankings when final grosses are released today. Paramount Pictures' comedy ``Bad News Bears,'' starring Billy Bob Thornton Robert George (Bob) Thornton (born July 10 1962, in Los Angeles, California) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA whose career lasted from 1985 to 1996. He was a 6'10" 225 forward. He holds career averages of 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 283 total games. , opened in fifth place, coming in on the low end of studio estimates with a gross of $11.5 million. Paramount distribution head Wayne Lewellen said ``a big chunk'' of the film's potential audience was clearly taken up by ``Charlie.'' But he is confident of having staying power in the coming weeks. ``These kinds of films that appeal to the younger audience tend to hang around playing at the matinees,'' he said. Paramount's specialty label triumphed with the debut of seventh-place ``Hustle hus·tle v. hus·tled, hus·tling, hus·tles v.tr. 1. To jostle or shove roughly. 2. To convey in a hurried or rough manner: hustled the prisoner into a van. & Flow,'' which earned an estimated $8.1 million in its opening weekend in just 1,013 theaters. ``It's the largest opening the Paramount Classics division has ever had,'' Lewellen said. Sixth-place ``War of the Worlds,'' now in its fourth weekend, is Paramount's biggest hit in several years. It earned an additional $8.8 million and has now grossed $208.3 million domestically. Opening in eighth place was the new Lions Gate release, ``The Devil Rejects,'' which earned an estimated $7 million in 1,757 theaters, and entering the top 10 for the first time was the word-of-mouth hit ``March of the Penguins.'' The Warner Independent Pictures release expanded to nearly 700 locations and had an estimated gross of $4.3 million. But the weekend belonged to ``Charlie,'' which crossed the $100 million mark in domestic grosses on its ninth day in theaters. The Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . release has a two-week total of $114.1 million. ``We have had some very strong results from families and kids out of school,'' said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution. ``It continues to perform well.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com TOP MOVIES Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today. 1. ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' $28.3 million. 2. ``Wedding Crashers,'' $26.2 million. 3. ``Fantastic Four  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. ,'' $12.3 million. 4. ``The Island,'' $12.1 million. 5. ``The Bad News Bears,'' $11.5 million. 6. ``War of the Worlds,'' $8.8 million. 7. ``Hustle & Flow,'' $8.1 million. 8. ``The Devil's Rejects,'' $7 million. 9. ``Batman Begins,'' $4.7 million. 10. ``March of the Penguins,'' $4.3 million. CAPTION(S): box Box: TOP MOVIES (see text) |
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