'CHICAGO' REACHES $100 MILLION MARK.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Miramax Films' ``Chicago'' became the first musical since 1978's ``Grease'' to cross the $100 million threshold at the box office and also became the record 24th film released in 2002 to reach that milestone, 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. final weekend figures released Monday. The Rob Marshall-directed film, up for 13 Academy Awards including best picture, earned $7.8 million in its 10th week of release for a cumulative gross of $104.9 million to date. The previous record for $100 million earners was set in 2000 when 22 films grossed at least that much domestically. ``Chicago'' made its debut in selected theaters on Dec. 27 and though the bulk of its ticket sales have come this year, it still counts as a 2002 release. ``A couple of months ago, `Chicago' would have been considered an unlikely candidate to enter the $100 million club for 2002 releases,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. ``We thought 23 films was a very impressive record, and now comes 'Chicago' riding the crest crest, in feudal livery, an ornament of the headpiece that afforded protection against a blow. The term is incorrectly used to mean family coat of arms. Crests were widely used in the 13th cent. of this wave of Oscar nominations and critical acclaim.'' The surge in popularity for ``Chicago'' comes at a time when the film is racking up awards including the prestigious Directors Guild of America prize for Marshall on Saturday and the Producers Guild of America's top honor Sunday for ``Chicago'' producer Martin Richards Martin Richards is a British computer scientist, best known for his development of the BCPL programming language, which is both the earliest major development in portable software and the ancestor of the widely used C programming language. . The range of blockbuster block·bust·er n. 1. Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales. 2. A high-explosive bomb used for demolition purposes. 3. hits in 2002 ran the gamut See color gamut. gamut - The gamut of a monitor is the set of colours it can display. There are some colours which can't be made up of a mixture of red, green and blue phosphor emissions and so can't be displayed by any monitor. from crowd-pleasing fantasies like ``Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones,'' ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' and ``The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' to live-action versions of cartoon cartoon [Ital., cartone=paper], either of two types of drawings: in the fine arts, a preliminary sketch for a more complete work; in journalism, a humorous or satirical drawing. heroes ``Spider-Man'' and ``Scooby Doo.'' Also in the mix were the romantic comedy ``My Big Fat Greek Wedding,'' the dark drama ``Road to Perdition'' and the suspense-thriller ``Signs.'' ``Pretty much every genre was represented in that $100 million club,'' Dergarabedian said. ``This is really quite an amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. achievement.'' ``Chicago,'' starring Rene Zellweger, Richard Gere and Catherine Zeta- Jones, has enough momentum to possibly top the $181.5 million earned by ``Grease'' during its original run 25 years ago and re-release in 1998. The achievement would be all the more remarkable given that until last year's modest hit ``Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (French for Red Mill or windmill) is a traditional cabaret, built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who already owned the Paris Olympia. ,'' the musical genre was considered dead. But now, several new projects are in development, including an updated version of ``Guys and Dolls For the 1950s musical, see . "Guys and Doll" is an episode from Season 3 of the dramedy television series Entourage. Plot With Aquaman packing multiplexes across the world, it's time for Vince to capitalize on his success and pick his next project. .'' ``Between 'Moulin Rouge' and `Chicago,' everyone wants to make a musical now, I'm sure,'' said Brandon Gray, editor of the Web site BoxOfficeMojo.com. ``The perception had been that nobody wants to see musicals, but it's really been a case that there haven't been that many musicals made in the last 25 years or so.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Richard Gere plays unscrupulous lawyer Billy Flynn in ``Chicago,'' a blockbuster musical set in the 1920s. |
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