Eddie's Big Bite

In the weekend match-up between Eddie Murphy and a younger Hannibal Lecter--it turned out to be not much of a fight at all. Audiences had a much bigger appetite for Norbit over that of Hannibal Rising in a very big way...

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo:

Fat suit comedy was the main course again as 'Norbit' gorged on an estimated $33.7 million, dwarfing 'Hannibal Rising [at #2 with only some $13.4 million in tix sales]'

Ian Mohr of Variety:

Eddie Murphy's latest latex-laden comedy outpaced tracking estimates to tip the scales as the No. 1 pic over the weekend, amassing $33.7 million.

"Norbit," about a nerd unhappily married to an overbearing, gelatinous gal -- with Murphy playing both those roles plus others -- averaged $10,758 per engagement at 3,136 locations as the weekend's widest new rollout.



On the other end of the artistic spectrum, Picturehouse continued to edge its artsy fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth" into more mainstream cinemas, upping its screen count by 61 to 1,143. Ploy worked as the pic remained No. 8 on the charts for the second straight frame.

"Labyrinth," which has six Academy Award nominations, added $3.5 million more over the weekend to bring cume to $26.5 million. While other foreign fare is having a tough time finding traction in the U.S., "Labyrinth" is the highest-grossing Spanish-language pic ever released Stateside.

The frame's other wide opener, MGM's "Hannibal Rising," from the Weinstein Co., landed in the No. 2 spot for the frame. Pic, about the early years of the infamous cannibal, skewered $13.4 million off 3,003.

Some had thought the R-rated "Hannibal" might take more flesh from "Norbit" at the B.O., but the latter weighed in just as comedy has been playing particularly well at multiplexes: Previous frame's No. 2, "Because I Said So," from Universal, continued to pick up sturdy biz, dropping just 31% in its second frame. Laffer reeled in $9 million to land at No. 3 and raise cume to $25.6 million.

PG-13-rated "Norbit" -- made by DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount -- overcame poor critical reception to outperform expectations.

Thesp's biggest opening for a live-action pic was the $42.5 million that "The Nutty Professor II" posted for Universal in 2000. His most recent live-action laffer, 2003's "The Haunted Mansion," bowed to $24.3 million.

"Norbit" marks Murphy's 14th No. 1 opening overall.

Meanwhile, "Hannibal" didn't show as much bite at the B.O. as expected: A tighter race had been predicted for the top spot because of "Hannibal's" high tracking with male auds heading into the frame.

Its numbers marked the lowest bow for any movie featuring the Hannibal Lecter character except for the 1986 Michael Mann-helmed "Manhunter."

But "Hannibal" likely chopped biz for last weekend's No. 1, Sony's supernatural "The Messengers," which saw ticket sales drop 51%...

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Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly writes in his weekend wrap-up:

''Norbit'' tops the box office with the star power of Eddie Murphy; meanwhile, Hannibal Lecter fans come in smaller crowds

Meanwhile, Archie Thomas of Variety reports, our friends "across the pond" at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts have crowned The Queen as the best film of 2006...