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Monday, March 05, 2007

Hog Heaven

Wild Hogs eats up the most ticket sales to own the top spot...While Zodiac settles for sloppy seconds...

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo:

'Wild Hogs' raked in an estimated $38 million, blowing past industry expectations.

You can get more Mojo here


John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and Tim Allen in "Hogs."


Ian Mohr of Variety:

Disney's midlife-crisis motorcycle movie "Wild Hogs" aced the No. 1 spot at the B.O. over the weekend, handily taking in $38 million off 3,287 engagements...

...One motorcycle pic replaced another at No. 1: "Ghost Rider," which dropped 43%, moved down to No. 3. Pic has cumed $94.7 million in three weekends of release for Sony.

"Hogs" -- starring John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen and William H. Macy -- is the latest Hollywood pic to be drubbed by crix but wind up at No. 1 with socko numbers that defy tracking estimates.

DreamWorks' "Norbit" and Sony's "Ghost Rider" also received less-than-favorable reviews but are closing in $100 million at the box office.

Paramount's well-reviewed "Zodiac," meantime, bowed at No. 2 with $13.1 million. Pic played to a per-screen average of $5,546 off 2,362. Warner Bros. partnered on the pic and has international rights.

Par brass said the pic's two-and-a-half hour running time was expected to impact its opening weekend tally. Latest pic by helmer David Fincher opened in line with his 1995 serial killer pic "Seven," which bowed at $13.9 million. His biggest bow ever came with 2002's "Panic Room," which landed more than $30 million in its debut.

The "Hogs" debut was somewhat surprisingly, marking Travolta's biggest opening ever , following his 2005 pic "Be Cool," which bowed to $23.4 million for MGM. Pic is also Allen's biggest ever live-action debut.

Frame's other new wide opener, Paramount Vantage's racy "Black Snake Moan," debuted at No. 8. Pic -- starring Samuel L. Jackson as a bluesman who uses extreme methods to reform a Southern nympho (Christina Ricci) -- locked up just over $4 million off 1,252.

Pic scored a per-location average of $3,208, and was off from helmer Craig Brewer's previous pic "Hustle & Flow," which bowed to $8 million in 2005 for Par's specialty unit. "Hustle" bowed in some 200 fewer theaters than "Moan."

"Hogs" helped gun overall box office: The top 10 pics combined for $100.8 million, up from $96 million a week ago and $77.5 million a year ago.

"Hogs" was the third biggest March opening ever, and Mouse House distribution topper Chuck Viane said the pic worked because it brought in four distinct fan bases repping each of the ensemble's players.

Serious pics have been failing to bring in auds en masse to the movies lately. It's Hollywood's broad comedies and f/x spectacles that are clicking best in 2007.

Among holdovers, Disney and Walden's kids fantasy "Bridge to Terabithia" dropped 40% in its third frame, taking in $8.5 million off 2,718. Pic has flown to $57.8 million to date.

New Line's Jim Carrey starrer "The Number 23," which features the funnyman in a serious role, added $7 million to its take. Cume stands at $24.6 million for the pic, which was budgeted at around $30 million, less than a typical Carrey vehicle.

Biz on "23" dropped 52%, and crix have been generally unkind to the noirish thriller...


The complete article can be found here...

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly writes in his Weekend Wrap-Up:

Travolta and friends ride to the forefront, kicking 'Black Snake Moan' to the curb

Wild's haul is quite something, especially, when you consider how bad the reviews for the film are. I guess this is one time in which audiences plainly said--The critics be damned.

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