3-DAY 'POTTER' OPENING 4TH LARGEST EVER NEW SEQUEL'S $101.4 MILLION FRIES 'CHICKEN'.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer ``Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' performed box office magic over the weekend, earning a larger-than-expected $101.4 million to become the biggest November opener ever and the fourth-largest of all time, 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 numbers released Sunday. The fourth installment in the Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . film franchise, based on the hugely popular books by J.K. Rowling, surpassed the opening numbers of each of its three predecessors and single-handedly reignited business at the nation's movie theaters, where year-to-date attendance is still down about 8 percent compared to last year. ``I think there's nothing wrong with the box office that quality films can't fix,'' said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. ``This is the largest opening of a fourth-quarter movie in history.'' The studio had been hoping the film would at least match the $94 million opening weekend numbers of ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' in summer 2004. The first film in the franchise, ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' debuted at $90 million in November 2001, while ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' opened at $88 million a year later. Warner Bros.' partnership with IMAX IMAX Noun a film projection process that produces an image ten times larger than standard Corp. also continued to flourish as ``Potter'' took in an estimated $2.8 million in IMAX's giant-screen theaters, an opening-weekend record for the company. ``Potter'' bowed in 3,858 locations and, if estimates hold, its three-day numbers will rank behind only ``Spider-Man'' ($114.8 million), ``Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'' ($108.4 million) and ``Shrek 2'' ($108 million). The big opening weekend was expected by most box office analysts once it was clear that advance tickets sales had gone through the roof. Online ticket seller Fandango fandango (făndăng`gō), ancient Spanish dance, probably of Moorish origin, that came into Europe in the 17th cent. It is in triple time and is danced by a single couple to the accompaniment of castanets, guitar, and songs sung by the reported Sunday that it was selling an average of 10 tickets per second on opening day Friday, the heaviest advance ticket demand for any film ever besides ``Sith.'' In all, Fandango said it sold nearly 12 percent of the entire weekend's gross for ``Potter.'' Fueled by ``Potter,'' the combined gross of the weekend's top 12 films was up 20 percent over last year's slate, which had been led by ``National Treasure'' and ``The SpongeBob SquarePants This article is about the series. For the title character, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character). For other uses, see SpongeBob SquarePants (disambiguation). SpongeBob SquarePants is an Emmy-nominated American animated television series and media franchise. Movie.'' In a rarity, a 2005 weekend managed to exceed ticket sales from the same weekend a year earlier. ``People want to go to the movies, and 'Harry Potter' gave then a huge reason to go,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``This is exactly what the industry needs and what everyone has been waiting for. Heading into the extended Thanksgiving Thanksgiving annual U.S. holiday celebrating harvest and yearly blessings; originated with Pilgrims (1621). [Am. Culture: EB, IX: 922] See : America Thanksgiving national holiday with luxurious dinner as chief ritual. [Am. Pop. holiday weekend, it should boost the box office even more.'' Opening in the shadow of ``Potter'' but still managing to post a strong opening was the 20th Century Fox release ``Walk the Line,'' the critically praised Johnny Cash Noun 1. Johnny Cash - United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003) John Cash, Cash biopic bi·o·pic n. A film or television biography, often with fictionalized episodes. biopic Noun Informal a film based on the life of a famous person [bio(graphical) + pic(ture)] starring Joaquin Phoenix Joaquín Rafael Phoenix (pronounced IPA: [hwakiːn / ra.fa.ˈe̞l / fiːnɪks]; born October 28, 1974), formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. ``Line'' had estimated ticket sales of $22.4 million, the high end of studio expectations, 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. ``It played well everywhere,'' Snyder said of the movie, which opened in 2,951 locations. ``The way it scored, it will be around for a long time.'' Disney's ``Chicken Little,'' the top-grossing movie the previous two weekends, dropped to third behind the new releases, with an estimated gross of $14.7 million. The CG animated film is expected to cross the $100 million mark in domestic grosses today. As of Sunday, it stood at $99.1 million. ``Derailed'' from The Weinstein Co. dropped from third to fourth in its second weekend. The thriller thrill·er n. One that thrills, especially a sensational or suspenseful book, story, play, or movie. thriller Noun starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen took in an estimated $6.5 million, a 46.6 percent drop, for a two-week haul of $21.8 million. Competition from ``Potter'' resulted in Sony Picture Entertainment's ``Zathura'' slipping badly from second to fifth. Estimated ticket sales in its second weekend were just $5.1 million, a 62 percent decrease from its opening weekend. ``Zathura'' has a 10-day total of $20.2 million. Final grosses will be released today. Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(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. ``Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,'' $101.4 million 2. ``Walk the Line,'' $22.4 million 3. ``Chicken Little,'' $14.8 million 4. ``Derailed,'' $6.5 million 5. ``Zathura,'' $5.1 million 6. ``Jarhead jar·head n. Slang A U.S. Marine. [Perhaps from the shape of the hat the Marines once wore.] ,'' $4.8 million 7. ``Get Rich or Die Tryin,'' $4.4 million 8. ``Saw II,'' $3.9 million 9. ``The Legend of Zorro zorro: see fox. Zorro masked swordsman, defender of weak and oppressed. [Am. Lit.: comic strip (1919); Am. Cinema: Halliwell, 794; TV: Terrace, II, 461–462] See : Disguise ,'' $2.3 million 10. ``Pride & Prejudice,'' $2.1 million CAPTION(S): box Box: TOP MOVIES (see text) |
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