Holiday hits boost year for Hollywood
Led by three holiday-season hits, Hollywood closed out 2006 on a strong note at the box office.
“Night at the Museum,” a comic fantasy starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, grossed an estimated $37.8 million in the United States and Canada over the weekend.
Two other holdovers, “The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Dreamgirls,” also drew big crowds.
Overall grosses surged 10 percent from the same weekend a year earlier, according to box-office tracker Media by Numbers.
For the year, movie revenue climbed 4.9 percent to $9.4 billion, thanks to a 3.3 percent rise in attendance along with higher ticket prices (up to an average $6.58).
Since 2002, movie attendance had dropped steadily; ticket sales in 2005 were the lowest total in eight years.
“Night at the Museum” stayed atop the charts in its second weekend, lifting its box-office total well past $100 million in the United States and Canada despite mixed reviews from critics.
“It’s 100 fun minutes – just a good time in the theater,” said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Twentieth Century Fox. “The reviews were soft, but the public is loving it.”
Business for the comedy – starring Stiller as a night guard at New York’s Museum of Natural History, where the exhibits come to life after the lights go off – climbed 24 percent from the pre-Christmas weekend.
“The Pursuit of Happyness,” an inspirational drama starring Will Smith as a homeless father who becomes a stockbroker, came in second for the week with an estimated $19.3 million in its third weekend.
Factoring in Monday’s holiday ticket sales, it becomes Smith’s 10th feature to top $100 million at the domestic box office. Its success helped Sony Pictures rack up an industry record $1.69 billion in domestic grosses in 2006.
“Dreamgirls” continued to sparkle in the third weekend of its carefully staged rollout.
The musical starring Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, adapted from the Motown-themed Broadway classic, took in an estimated $15.5 million after expanding to 852 theaters – compared to 3,768 screens for “Night at the Museum.”
“This is one of those rare movies that’s so great to see in a crowded theater, with the audience responding so enthusiastically,” said Rob Moore, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Paramount Pictures.
“Dreamgirls,” which the studio expects to get a big push from the approaching Academy Awards season, averaged about $18,000 per theater, by far the highest in the top 10.
It also grossed more than “Chicago” did during any weekend of its run. That musical, released in late 2002, went on to win the Oscar for best picture and gross $171 million domestically.
Paramount also was encouraged by the results for its family film “Charlotte’s Web,” which finished fourth for the weekend. The G-rated, live-action version of the children’s book grossed an estimated $12 million in its third weekend, its best haul yet.
MGM’s “Rocky Balboa,” with a 60-year-old Sylvester Stallone playing the Italian Stallion for the sixth time, wobbled a bit in its second weekend.
The boxing sequel grossed an estimated $11.4 million, apparently edging out Universal Pictures’ “The Good Shepherd” for fifth place. But it was the only film among the top 10 to decline from a week earlier, slipping 7 percent from its debut.
Even so, the drama was produced for a modest $24 million, and its gross is approaching $50 million in the United States and Canada through two weekends.
Universal could have a tougher time making a profit with its espionage drama “The Good Shepherd,” which cost an estimated $110 million to produce. The film, starring Matt Damon and directed by Robert De Niro, has tallied about $35 million through two weekends.
A mix of titles will hit theaters Friday to kick off the 2007 release calendar, including “Code Name: The Cleaner,” a crime comedy starring Cedric the Entertainer; “Freedom Writers,” with Hilary Swank as an inspirational teacher; and the animated fairy-tale spoof “Happily N’Ever After.”