SHARK BITES BOX OFFICE
Monday, October 4 2004
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Although numerous reviewers did their best to sink it, DreamWorks' Shark Tale made a big splash over the weekend, taking in $49.1 million -- making it the biggest October opening in history. The success of the film will certainly come as a relief to DreamWorks, which is planning a $650-million IPO for its animation unit. Although it was far behind in second place, Disney's firefighter drama, Ladder 49, performed somewhat better than expected with an estimated $22.8 million, the studio's best October opening. Last week's top film, Sony's The Forgotten, dropped to third place with $12 million. The rest of the films on the box office list barely made blips on the box-office chart. Nevertheless, two of them made the list despite limited releases. Magnolia Pictures' Woman Thou Art Loosed opened in sixth place with $2.5 million although it played in just 408 theaters. Focus Features' Shaun of the Dead also held up well in its second weekend, earning $2.4 million in 645 theaters. Still, the most spectacular opening of the weekend was registered by Fox Searchlight's I (heart symbol) Huckabees, which grossed $300,062 on just four screens in New York and Los Angeles, an average of $75,016 per theater (compared with Shark Tale's $12,226 per theater). The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. Shark Tale, $49.1 million; 2. Ladder 49, $22.8 million; 3. The Forgotten, $12 million; 4. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, $3.4 million; 5. Mr. 3000, $2.6 million; 6. Woman Thou Art Loosed, $2.5 million; 7. Shaun of the Dead, $2.4 million; 8. Resident Evil: Apocalypse, $2.3 million; 9. First Daughter, $2.15 million; 10. Cellular, $2 million.
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