Harry Potter, 007 Give Thanks
by Bridget Byrne
Dec 2, 2002, 2:30 PM PTWe almost called in the Sorting Hat to sort this weekend's box office out.
According to final studio figures released Monday, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was back on top with $32.1 million for the three-day weekend, just ahead of last week's chart-topper, Die Another Day, which tallied $31 million from Friday to Sunday.
But, for the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations reports the latest 007 adventure bonded better with moviegoers. From Wednesday to Sunday, the Pierce Brosnan-Halle Berry actioner and twentieth installment in the Bond franchise, took in $46.1 million compared to the $45.8 million drummed up by Harry and the Hogwarts gang.
MGM's PG-13 Bond also pulled off a higher per-screen average--$9,329 at 3,324 sites--compared to Warners' PG-rated Potter's $8,723 at 3,682 sites.
Ultimately, both movies have plenty to be thankful for: The Potter pic has pulled in $200.2 million in three weeks, and Bond has espied $101.4 million in two weeks.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the sixth film to pass the $200 million mark in 2002, matching the record set last year. Die Another Day was the nineteenth film to pass the $100 million mark. That feat was also achieved this week by Eminem's 8 Mile, which has rapped up $107.4 million in four weeks, and Tim Allen's The Santa Clause 2, which had reined in $113.6 million in five weeks. That's 21 films so far this year to reach $100 million, just one shy of the record 22 in 2000.
None of this was good news for the new movies trying to catch customers' eyes over the holiday period. Even that much-ballyhooed glimpse of George Clooney's PG-13-rated posterior didn't attract much traffic to Solaris. Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's remake of the 1972 spacey Russian sci-fi trip merely ranked seventh over the weekend with $6.8 million over the three-day weekend and $9.4 million over the five-day period. It averaged just $2,807 at 2,406 sites.
Another outerspace trip did slightly better but still flopped. Disney's latest animated feature, Treasure Planet, the PG-rated updated version of the classic buried-treasure adventure, was buried in fourth place with a three-day haul of $12.1 million. Over the five-day period, its trove was a sparse $16.6 million. Its per-screen average at 3,227 sites was $3,741.
Also debuting was the un-Disney-like 'toon Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights. Sony's PG-13 potty-voiced Hanukkah tale burped up $9.4 million in fifth place over three days and $14 million over five. The per-screen average at 2,503 sites was $3,769, higher than both Treasure Planet and Solaris.
Even more embarrassingly for Clooney, Wes Craven Presents: They, a horror cheapie opening in just 1,615 theaters, had a higher per-screen average, $3,185. The Miramax flick scared up $5.1 million in ninth place for the weekend and $7.6 million for the entire holiday period.
It also seemed to prove right the excuse offered by Bruce Synder, president of distribution for Fox, that Clooney's movie may have been "a little too thought-provoking" for holiday audiences.
In limited release, the best per-screen haul belonged to Rabbit-Proof Fence. Phillip Noyce's PG-rated thought-provoking drama about Australian Aborigines averaged $9,817 at nine sites over the three-day weekend to bring distributor Miramax a total of $88,352.
Paramount slid the PG-13 youth-oriented spy adventure/snowboard flick Extreme Ops into 1,800 sites, where it was quickly buried. It took in $2.2 million over the three-day weekend with a per-screen average of just $1,241; over the five-day period Extreme Ops did an extremely poor $3.1 million in business.
The only established movies to gain from last weekend were The Santa Clause 2, up 19 percent as the holiday season really got started, and the year's little-movie-that-could, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, up 9 percent in its thirty-third week. It finished in eleventh place with $3.9 million over the three-day weekend and $5.4 million over the extended holiday.
Overall, exhibitors weren't too thankful for all the turkeys--the combined three-day gross of $135 million for the top 12 films was down seven percent from last weekend, while the five-day total of $193 million was down five percent from 2001's Turkey Day weekend.
Here's a rundown of the Top 10 films from Friday to Sunday:
1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, $ 32.1 million
2. Die Another Day, $31 million
3. The Santa Clause 2, $12.13 million
4. Treasure Planet, $12.08 million
5. Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, $9.4 million
6. Friday After Next, $7.4 million
7. Solaris, $6.8 million
8. 8 Mile, $5.6 million
9. The Ring, $5.3 million
10. Wes Craven Presents: They, $5.1 millionBy E!Online