'War' machine: $21.3 mil in domestic debut
'War' breaks out on homefront with $21.3 million day
July 1, 2005
Paramount's highly anticipated "War of the Worlds" invaded 3,908 theaters Wednesday and grossed $21.3 million on its opening day in North America. Day 1 for "War," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, proved to be the distributor's best opening day ever and the seventh-biggest Wednesday bow of all time.
"We are thrilled. It's an absolute home run for the studio. It's on the high side of what we were hoping for," Paramount president of distribution Wayne Lewellen said. "Because of Spielberg and Cruise's involvement in the film and the tremendous job of marketing and publicity, there was a tremendous amount of interest in the picture from the public -- and from all four demographic groups." Lewellen noted that 52% were younger than 25, and 54% were male.
Sony's "Spider-Man 2" holds the record for the biggest Wednesday opening of all time, with a staggering $40.4 million, followed by New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" with $34.5 million. It's also interesting to note that of all the Wednesday openings with grosses higher than "War," only Newmarket's "The Passion of the Christ" (sixth biggest with $23.6 million) was not a sequel.
As to Paramount's best bow, the distributor's previous biggest opening day was for "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," which gleaned $18.1 million on a Friday in June 2001. And for a recent comparison, Warner Bros. Pictures' "Batman Begins" pulled in $15.1 million on its Wednesday opening just a few weeks ago, and that included grosses from midnight shows. Lewellen noted that "War" didn't have midnight shows.
Lewellen said exit polls on "War," based on the novel H.G. Wells wrote more than 100 years ago, were "excellent," citing 82% of filmgoers marking the top two boxes, and 73% definite recommend, which are in line with the critics' reviews. On RottenTomatoes.com, which gathers film reviews from all over North America and breaks down the percentage of favorable vs. unfavorable, a high 72% of reviews were positive.
Heading into the long four-day Fourth of July weekend, "War" could have about $35 million-$36 million under its boxoffice belt if the film plays within historical norms, in which Thursday's gross represents a 30%-40% drop from Wednesday. However, Lewellen did note that in Australia, which opened day-and-date with the U.S., Thursday's gross was higher than Wednesday's, which is something that rarely happens.
"The exit polls indicate that the film has tremendous playability, which would hopefully mean that it would not be as frontloaded as has been the recent industry trend," Lewellen said. As far as what the weekend holds, "Given that fact that the film is not a sequel and does not have a fanatical fan base, it's difficult to gauge how it will play. Most films that perform at this level have historically been sequels or have had a huge pre-existing fan base," he said, mentioning the "Spider-Man," "The Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises.
Most industry observers doubt that the four-day tally for "War" will beat "Spider-Man 2" ($115.8 million), which is a Fourth of July weekend best, but it surely looks on track to be one of the best for Spielberg, Cruise and Paramount.
"We are thrilled. It's an absolute home run for the studio. It's on the high side of what we were hoping for," Paramount president of distribution Wayne Lewellen said. "Because of Spielberg and Cruise's involvement in the film and the tremendous job of marketing and publicity, there was a tremendous amount of interest in the picture from the public -- and from all four demographic groups." Lewellen noted that 52% were younger than 25, and 54% were male.
Sony's "Spider-Man 2" holds the record for the biggest Wednesday opening of all time, with a staggering $40.4 million, followed by New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" with $34.5 million. It's also interesting to note that of all the Wednesday openings with grosses higher than "War," only Newmarket's "The Passion of the Christ" (sixth biggest with $23.6 million) was not a sequel.
As to Paramount's best bow, the distributor's previous biggest opening day was for "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," which gleaned $18.1 million on a Friday in June 2001. And for a recent comparison, Warner Bros. Pictures' "Batman Begins" pulled in $15.1 million on its Wednesday opening just a few weeks ago, and that included grosses from midnight shows. Lewellen noted that "War" didn't have midnight shows.
Lewellen said exit polls on "War," based on the novel H.G. Wells wrote more than 100 years ago, were "excellent," citing 82% of filmgoers marking the top two boxes, and 73% definite recommend, which are in line with the critics' reviews. On RottenTomatoes.com, which gathers film reviews from all over North America and breaks down the percentage of favorable vs. unfavorable, a high 72% of reviews were positive.
Heading into the long four-day Fourth of July weekend, "War" could have about $35 million-$36 million under its boxoffice belt if the film plays within historical norms, in which Thursday's gross represents a 30%-40% drop from Wednesday. However, Lewellen did note that in Australia, which opened day-and-date with the U.S., Thursday's gross was higher than Wednesday's, which is something that rarely happens.
"The exit polls indicate that the film has tremendous playability, which would hopefully mean that it would not be as frontloaded as has been the recent industry trend," Lewellen said. As far as what the weekend holds, "Given that fact that the film is not a sequel and does not have a fanatical fan base, it's difficult to gauge how it will play. Most films that perform at this level have historically been sequels or have had a huge pre-existing fan base," he said, mentioning the "Spider-Man," "The Lord of the Rings," "Harry Potter" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises.
Most industry observers doubt that the four-day tally for "War" will beat "Spider-Man 2" ($115.8 million), which is a Fourth of July weekend best, but it surely looks on track to be one of the best for Spielberg, Cruise and Paramount.
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