PUTTING UP THEIR 'DUKES' WARNER BROS. OFFICIALS GIVE REBEL YELL OVER $30.6 MILLION OPENING.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Country boys Bo and Luke and their cousin Daisy gave the slumping domestic box office a rare win as ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' opened with an impressive weekend gross of $30.6 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. studio estimates Sunday. ``Dukes,'' based on the 1980s television show of the same name, drew huge under-25 crowds and gave Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . the biggest August opening in the studio's long history. ``We are very pleased with the result,'' said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution. ``There's been a very positive response, and we have a lot of summer playtime left and will take advantage of that.'' ``Dukes,'' which stars Johnny Knoxville <noinclude></noinclude> Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971 in Knoxville, Tennessee), better known as Johnny Knoxville, is an American comic actor and daredevil. , Seann William Scott William Scott may refer to:
But ``Wedding Crashers'' continued to astound a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, by dropping only 18 percent in ticket sales from last weekend as it went from first to second place. In its fourth weekend of release, the New Line Cinema comedy starring Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor and writer. Wilson was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay of The Royal Tenenbaums, but he is perhaps best known for his successful comedic roles such as John Beckwith in and Vince Vaughn earned an estimated $16.5 million, for a cumulative total of $144 million. ``People want lighthearted fare right now,'' said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. ``The top six films are all lighthearted escapism es·cap·ism n. The tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy, or entertainment. and, obviously, that is what people want right now.'' Warners' ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' dropped a spot to third place with estimated ticket sales of $10.5 million. The movie, based on Roald Dahl's classic children's book, has earned an impressive $169 million domestically. The Disney family The family of Elias Disney (son of Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson):
Finishing in fifth place was the romantic comedy ``Must Love Dogs,'' which gave Warner Bros. three of the top five movies in the marketplace. The film, starring Diane Lane Diane Lane (born January 22 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. Biography Early life Lane was born in New York City, the daughter of Colleen Farrington, a night club singer and Playboy and John Cusack, took in an estimated $7.4 million for a two-week total of $26.3 million. The documentary ``March of the Penguins'' widened to 1,867 locations and marched to sixth place. Released by Warner Independent Films, ``Penguins'' had its best weekend to date with an estimated $6.9 million in ticket sales for a cumulative gross of $26.2 million. The weekend's top 12 films combined to earn a total of $102.5 million, up 4.79 percent from the same weekend a year ago. This marked only the third time in the last 24 weekends that the 2005 total surpassed 2004. Big-budget action films have especially been out of favor lately. In its second weekend in theaters, the Sony Pictures Entertainment Pictures release ``Stealth'' fell to seventh place with an estimated take of just $5.8 million. It has grossed a mere $24.4 million to date. Equally dismal was ``The Island'' from DreamWorks Pictures, which finished in 10th place with $3.1 million in ticket sales. It has a three- week total of $30.9 million. ``Over the last few weeks, these big action movies have not excited the audience,'' Dergarabedian said. ``We've been waiting for a film to get us out of the doldrums, and, at least for this weekend, 'The Dukes of Hazzard' has done it.'' 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. ``The Dukes of Hazzard,'' $30.6 million 2. ``Wedding Crashers,'' $16.5 million 3. ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' $10.6 million 4. ``Sky High,'' $9.0 million 5. ``Must Love Dogs,'' $7.4 million 6. ``March of the Penguins,'' $6.9 million 7. ``Stealth,'' $5.8 million 8. ``Fantastic Four  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. ,'' $4.1 million 9. ``War of the Worlds,'' $3.6 million 10. ``The Island,'' $3.1 million CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Jessica Simpson shows off her Daisy Dukes. Box: TOP MOVIES (see text) |
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