BIG APE, BIG BUZZ, AVERAGE OPENING 'KONG' GROSS SOLID BUT UNEXCEPTIONAL.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer ``King Kong King Kong giant ape brought to New York as “eighth wonder of world.” [Am. Cinema: Payton, 367] See : Giantism ,'' Hollywood's last chance to salvage salvage, in maritime law, the compensation that the owner must pay for having his vessel or cargo saved from peril, such as shipwreck, fire, or capture by an enemy. Salvage is awarded only when the party making the rescue was under no legal obligation to do so. a lackluster year at the box office, got off to a solid but unspectacular start with an opening-day gross of $9.75 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. figures released by Universal Pictures on Thursday. The three-hour epic, directed by Peter Jackson, could do no better than 21st place on the all-time list of Wednesday openers, although most of the films ahead of it are from such established franchises as ``Star Wars,'' ``Lord of the Rings,'' ``Jurassic Park'' and ``The Matrix.'' ``It's really a great Wednesday for a nonsequel, no kids out of school, word-of-mouth day,'' said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of distribution. The film, which has received generally positive reviews, is an updated version of the classic 1933 film of the same name and stars Jack Black, Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, the youngest actor ever to win the award. . It cost more than $200 million to make and has been one of the most hyped films of 2005, a year when box office revenue lags about 5 percent behind 2004. Pre-release expectations had been that ``Kong'' had a strong chance of joining the exclusive list of films that have grossed more than $100 million in their first five days of release. That will prove to be more difficult given an opening day that didn't even reach $10 million. But Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic way. Brandon Gray started the site in August 1998 and claims to now receive over one million monthly visitors. , said the big ape is not yet down for the count. ``It's too early to diagnose 'King Kong's' future,'' Gray said. ``Generally speaking, this is the time of the year for leggy leggy said of animals that appear to have legs longer than normal for the species, breed and age. runs, with 'Titanic' being the most classic example. That was a picture that was not a record-breaker when it opened and continued to sail on for months. Once Christmas kicks in, every day is like a Friday.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com!dtpost |
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