'Van Helsing' a boxoffice killer
'Van Helsing' has monster opening at weekend boxoffice
May 10, 2004
Universal's "Van Helsing" staked out a prominent place at the boxoffice this weekend as the high-profile monster mash debuted with a worldwide gross of an estimated $107.2 million. The Stephen Sommers-directed horror-actioner scared up a domestic gross of an estimated $54.2 million to easily claim the top spot, while the international cume rose to an estimated $53 million from 41 countries and more than 5,000 screens, marking an international best for UIP and Universal.
The North American debut for the Hugh Jackman starrer was the fourth-highest opening ever for the first weekend in May, which in the past few years has become the premier launching point for presummer tentpoles.
Out of the top five openers on that weekend, Sommers' directing credit now resides on three of them: Universal's "The Mummy Returns" ($68.1 million), "Van Helsing" and "The Mummy" ($43.4 million). Sony's "Spider-Man" ($114.8 million) holds the top spot as well as the biggest opening in boxoffice history, and 20th Century Fox's "X2: X-Men United" ($85.6 million) is the second biggest on the first session in May.
The gross for "Van Helsing," which also stars Kate Beckinsale, was in the area anticipated heading into the weekend. Industry observers and prerelease tracking indicated that the big-budget film, which is estimated to have cost about $150 million-$175 million, would open between $50 million-$60 million domestically, and while not an astonishing debut, it's still more than respectable.
Last weekend's champ, Paramount's "Mean Girls," was a distant second with an estimated $14 million, down a moderate 43% from its debut. The Lindsay Lohan starrer has picked up a nice estimate of $42.4 million in 10 days.
20th Century Fox's "Man on Fire" continues to sizzle at the boxoffice as the Denzel Washington starrer placed third with an estimated $7.9 million, off 47% in its third frame. The Tony Scott-helmed thriller has amassed an estimated $56 million so far.
The somewhat limited teen femme audience is being splintered between three films in the top rankings this weekend. "Mean Girls," Sony's "13 Going on 30" and the debut of Warner Bros. Pictures' "New York Minute," a PG-rated comedy starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen from DualStar Prods. and Di Novi Pictures, are aimed primarily at that demographic.
"New York Minute" opened in the fourth spot with an uninspiring $6.2 million from just over 3,000 theaters. The Dennie Gordon-directed film, about the adventures of the twins in the big city, will most likely be in theaters about as long as its title portends. "13 Going on 30" placed fifth with an estimated $5.5 million, taking its cume to around $42.6 million to date.
Universal was justifiably happy with the "Van Helsing" numbers. "The opening is spectacular given it's a nonestablished title that is not a sequel," said Nikki Rocco, president of Universal Pictures distribution. "We are all thrilled. I was hoping for the success of 'The Mummy,' and this was much better. It's new, it's fresh, and it rocked the audience it was intended for," she added.
The audience for "Van Helsing" turned out to be slightly more male, with 58% marking that box, and a relatively high 19% were parents of children under the age of 13. Those parents helped skew the age demographic, with 54% of the audience being more than 25 years of age, and Rocco noted there was a good ethnic mix across all quadrants.
As far as the worldwide day-and-date opening and the film's future prospects, Rocco said, "This is a film that we embraced because we clearly believed it was a brand that had global potential. And we were right."
And taking limited advantage of the monstrous wave of marketing for "Van Helsing," Rialto's "Godzilla" opened in two locations, in New York and San Francisco, biting off an estimated $40,000. "Godzilla," which is the original Japanese-language version from 1954 and marks the first official U.S. release of the film, averaged a giant $20,000 per theater.
In the world of limited releases, IDP's "Super Size Me" had a king-size debut. The documentary from director Morgan Spurlock, which was picked up at Sundance by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films, opened in 41 locations and grossed an estimated $536,936. The per-theater average for the film, about fast food in America, was a robust $13,096.
"Audiences are really embracing this film and are responding to a highly entertaining picture with a truly important message about how we eat in this country," IDP president Michael Silberman said. "We think it's a whopper of an opening," he added. "Super Size Me" expands into the top 20-25 markets next weekend and will continue to add play dates well into the summer.
Other limited releases this weekend include Miramax's "Valentin," an Argentine drama from director Alejandro Agresti, which opened with an estimated $13,000 from two venues. The PG-13-rated film averaged a promising $6,500 per theater.
ThinkFilms' "Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie" grossed an estimated $100,945 from 17 sites in the Boston area. The sports drama, which follows the team and some of its fans through the 2003 season, averaged a hopeful $5,938-per-theater average. "Red Sox" expands in the Boston market next weekend and to the surrounding New England area May 21.
Three films that debuted weakly the previous weekend all took above-average tumbles on their respective sophomore frames. New Line Cinema's "Laws of Attraction" placed sixth with an estimated $3.5 million, down 48% from a week earlier, taking its cume to around $11.9 million. Lions Gate's "Godsend" moved into the eighth spot with an estimated $2.7 million, off a bleak 60%, raising its total to roughly $11.3 million. DreamWorks' "Envy" was in the ninth slot with an estimated $2.6 million, slipping an unenviable 58% as its cume moved to $10.1 million.
The estimated boxoffice total for the weekend's top 12 films was $102.8 million, essentially tied with the comparable frame a year earlier. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total boxoffice for all films this weekend to be near the $111.9 million racked up last year at this time.
For the week ending May 6 the national boxoffice was up 10% from the comparable seven-day period in 2003 ($132.1 million vs. $119.7 million), as the year-to-date cume stands at a nearly 7% increase ($2.70 billion vs. $2.53 billion). Estimated admissions for the year to date are up some 3% from last year's comparable period.
The North American debut for the Hugh Jackman starrer was the fourth-highest opening ever for the first weekend in May, which in the past few years has become the premier launching point for presummer tentpoles.
Out of the top five openers on that weekend, Sommers' directing credit now resides on three of them: Universal's "The Mummy Returns" ($68.1 million), "Van Helsing" and "The Mummy" ($43.4 million). Sony's "Spider-Man" ($114.8 million) holds the top spot as well as the biggest opening in boxoffice history, and 20th Century Fox's "X2: X-Men United" ($85.6 million) is the second biggest on the first session in May.
The gross for "Van Helsing," which also stars Kate Beckinsale, was in the area anticipated heading into the weekend. Industry observers and prerelease tracking indicated that the big-budget film, which is estimated to have cost about $150 million-$175 million, would open between $50 million-$60 million domestically, and while not an astonishing debut, it's still more than respectable.
Last weekend's champ, Paramount's "Mean Girls," was a distant second with an estimated $14 million, down a moderate 43% from its debut. The Lindsay Lohan starrer has picked up a nice estimate of $42.4 million in 10 days.
20th Century Fox's "Man on Fire" continues to sizzle at the boxoffice as the Denzel Washington starrer placed third with an estimated $7.9 million, off 47% in its third frame. The Tony Scott-helmed thriller has amassed an estimated $56 million so far.
The somewhat limited teen femme audience is being splintered between three films in the top rankings this weekend. "Mean Girls," Sony's "13 Going on 30" and the debut of Warner Bros. Pictures' "New York Minute," a PG-rated comedy starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen from DualStar Prods. and Di Novi Pictures, are aimed primarily at that demographic.
"New York Minute" opened in the fourth spot with an uninspiring $6.2 million from just over 3,000 theaters. The Dennie Gordon-directed film, about the adventures of the twins in the big city, will most likely be in theaters about as long as its title portends. "13 Going on 30" placed fifth with an estimated $5.5 million, taking its cume to around $42.6 million to date.
Universal was justifiably happy with the "Van Helsing" numbers. "The opening is spectacular given it's a nonestablished title that is not a sequel," said Nikki Rocco, president of Universal Pictures distribution. "We are all thrilled. I was hoping for the success of 'The Mummy,' and this was much better. It's new, it's fresh, and it rocked the audience it was intended for," she added.
The audience for "Van Helsing" turned out to be slightly more male, with 58% marking that box, and a relatively high 19% were parents of children under the age of 13. Those parents helped skew the age demographic, with 54% of the audience being more than 25 years of age, and Rocco noted there was a good ethnic mix across all quadrants.
As far as the worldwide day-and-date opening and the film's future prospects, Rocco said, "This is a film that we embraced because we clearly believed it was a brand that had global potential. And we were right."
And taking limited advantage of the monstrous wave of marketing for "Van Helsing," Rialto's "Godzilla" opened in two locations, in New York and San Francisco, biting off an estimated $40,000. "Godzilla," which is the original Japanese-language version from 1954 and marks the first official U.S. release of the film, averaged a giant $20,000 per theater.
In the world of limited releases, IDP's "Super Size Me" had a king-size debut. The documentary from director Morgan Spurlock, which was picked up at Sundance by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films, opened in 41 locations and grossed an estimated $536,936. The per-theater average for the film, about fast food in America, was a robust $13,096.
"Audiences are really embracing this film and are responding to a highly entertaining picture with a truly important message about how we eat in this country," IDP president Michael Silberman said. "We think it's a whopper of an opening," he added. "Super Size Me" expands into the top 20-25 markets next weekend and will continue to add play dates well into the summer.
Other limited releases this weekend include Miramax's "Valentin," an Argentine drama from director Alejandro Agresti, which opened with an estimated $13,000 from two venues. The PG-13-rated film averaged a promising $6,500 per theater.
ThinkFilms' "Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie" grossed an estimated $100,945 from 17 sites in the Boston area. The sports drama, which follows the team and some of its fans through the 2003 season, averaged a hopeful $5,938-per-theater average. "Red Sox" expands in the Boston market next weekend and to the surrounding New England area May 21.
Three films that debuted weakly the previous weekend all took above-average tumbles on their respective sophomore frames. New Line Cinema's "Laws of Attraction" placed sixth with an estimated $3.5 million, down 48% from a week earlier, taking its cume to around $11.9 million. Lions Gate's "Godsend" moved into the eighth spot with an estimated $2.7 million, off a bleak 60%, raising its total to roughly $11.3 million. DreamWorks' "Envy" was in the ninth slot with an estimated $2.6 million, slipping an unenviable 58% as its cume moved to $10.1 million.
The estimated boxoffice total for the weekend's top 12 films was $102.8 million, essentially tied with the comparable frame a year earlier. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total boxoffice for all films this weekend to be near the $111.9 million racked up last year at this time.
For the week ending May 6 the national boxoffice was up 10% from the comparable seven-day period in 2003 ($132.1 million vs. $119.7 million), as the year-to-date cume stands at a nearly 7% increase ($2.70 billion vs. $2.53 billion). Estimated admissions for the year to date are up some 3% from last year's comparable period.
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