Weekend Box Office: People flock to 'The Village'

[The Clown Prince]

It looks like Disney finally got that hit that they have so badly wanted this year. But to no one's surprise though considering M. Knight Shyamalan's track record, it was probably a no brainer that The Village would do well, and it did. How about $50.8 million. Not bad. But after the money that Disney lost this year with their movies, they have a long way to catch up.

Coming in second place was The Bourne Supremacy adding another $23.4 million for a total so far of $98 million. Now Matt Damon and Universal WILL have to make that third one to complete the story.

The Manchurian Candidate who I thought would get lost in this weekend's big movie shuffle did well as it opened in third place to good reviews and $20.2 million.

Falling to fourth place is I, Robot with $10 million and giving it a total of $114.7 million. Will Smith still does indeed draw a crowd.

Rounding out the top 5 is Spider-Man 2 as it over powered Catwoman with $8.5 million and $344.3 million to date.

Also opening this weekend was Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. It placed seventh with $5.1 million.

And tanking and tanking badly was Thunderbirds as it was the one to get lost in this weekend's shuffle coming in twelfth place with $2.6 million. Ouch!

Opening next weekend is Tom Cruise's new movie Collateral and directed by Michael Mann.

And also opening is Little Black Book with Brittney Murphy and Office Space's Ron Livingston.

Here are your numbers...


1) The Village- $50,813,000 ($50,813,000) NEW!
2) The Bourne Supremacy- $23,421,000 ($98,083,000)
3) The Manchurian Candidate- $20,200,000 ($20,200,000) NEW!
4) I, Robot- $10,050,000 ($114,734,000)
5) Spider-Man 2- $8,500,000 ($344,327,000)
6) Catwoman- $6,081,000 ($29,412,000)
7) Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle- $5,150,000 ($5,150,000) NEW!
8) A Cinderella Story- $4,691,000 ($40,145,000)
9) Fahrenheit 9/11- $3,100,000 ($109,433,000)
10) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy- $3,100,000 ($78,134,000)
11) The Notebook- $2,675,000 ($68,244,000)
12) Thunderbirds- $2,654,000 ($2,654,000) NEW!

The Clown Prince

[Icer]

Catwoman is doing pretty bad. Well, if a movie ever did deserve it...

[Tobias]

Thunderbirds opened at #12? I don't think Gigli even opened that low on it's first weekend. Well, looks like I just saved about six bucks because I can wait for it to hit the fifty cent theater in about... two weeks.

I think it'll be a while before anyone lets Jonathan Frakes direct another feature film.

Going to see Harold & Kumar Tuesday, so I'll comment on that one then.

Nothing of interest to me next weekend.

[Daredevil_2003]

HAHA! Spidey trounced Catwoman! That put a big smile on my face! :D Nice to see Mr. Bourne is still doing well, and I'm glad The Manchurian Candidate didn't completely fall on it's ass, given the competition. I can say much about The Village as I haven't seen it yet, but it was expected to be on top. Thunderbirds only made 2 mil? Ugh. :o Couldn't have happened to a better movie, this thing makes me wanna go watch Batman & Robin. :p Or even Catwoman. :o

[TimTwoFace]

I saw the movie today, but I would've never expected it made $50 Mill this weekend - cuz the theatre I was in was so...empty. Granted, it was a matinee, but still, I was betting on $30 M, tops. It's a good movie though.

And on the opposite end of things, it looks like Catwoman will hit $40 Mill, tops. HAHA! :D

-Tim

[Deadly Messiah]

I saw The Village today. It was good, but disappointing at the same time. I'll go into detail in the actual talkback though.

Great to see Catwoman and Thunderbirds are doing horrible though.

[Caffeine King]

No surprise to see Thunderbirds flop and Catwoman too. :evil:

I didn't expect The Village to make that much! :eek: :sweat:

[wrenchien]

1) The Village- $50,813,000 ($50,813,000) NEW!
2) The Bourne Supremacy- $23,421,000 ($98,083,000)
3) The Manchurian Candidate- $20,200,000 ($20,200,000) NEW!
4) I, Robot- $10,050,000 ($114,734,000)
5) Spider-Man 2- $8,500,000 ($344,327,000)
6) Catwoman- $6,081,000 ($29,412,000)
7) Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle- $5,150,000 ($5,150,000) NEW!
8) A Cinderella Story- $4,691,000 ($40,145,000)
9) Fahrenheit 9/11- $3,100,000 ($109,433,000)
10) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy- $3,100,000 ($78,134,000)
11) The Notebook- $2,675,000 ($68,244,000)
12) Thunderbirds- $2,654,000 ($2,654,000) NEW!

The Clown Prince

thunderbirds are gone, and so sorta is catwoman.. and to note, i guess this 'white castle' movie really tops all those with some commercialistic tie-in. what's next, 'the blatalant enron documentary?'

and incredibly, the 2nd spiderman keeps on going, and going ,and going..

[Lord Dalek]

Despite the critical trouncing, M. Night rules the roost again! I haven''t seen Village yet, but I'm still interested even though it's been mixed.

Next weekend will be either Collateral or The Village again.

[Nick K.]

Ha Ha... Catwoman's tanking.... Oh well... :( :p

[Chris Sanders MSX]

I can't believe Harold and Kumar did so bad. Luckily it was a cheap movie and will have made it's budget back by the next weekend. It's bound to become a cult hit when the DVD comes out and I'm hoping that a sequal gets made.

[The Detective]

Thunderbirds opened to twelve? There is justice in the world!

[Ajax]

I never knew a movie could flop so bad. To not even break the top ten is...ouch. And Thunderbirds had a pretty high budget too. Glad to see The Village on top, and Spidey seems to still be sticking around the top five and its been over a month.

[The Clown Prince]

And Thunderbirds had a pretty high budget too.
It had a production budget of $57 million and another $20 million for marketing. Both of those costs are actually relatively low so to speak. Most studios spend anywhere from $30 million to $60 million on marketing alone. As for the cost to make the movies themselves, we all know how much on some of those recently.

But for Thunderbirds to cost $57 million to make, you'd think that with ticket prices the way they are now, it would make it's money back. But with a $2.6 million OPENING, meaning it's only going to get worse from here, no, it's not making it's money back.


I think it'll be a while before anyone lets Jonathan Frakes direct another feature film.
The old saying in Hollywood goes is that your only as good as your last picture. And Jonathan Frakes has not had that good of a track record. His last film was Clockstoppers, and before that it was Star Trek: Insurrection.

I'm with you Tobias, I don't think he'll be directing another major motion picture anytime soon. If he wants to direct then he's gonna have to stick with TV.

The Clown Prince

[Nick K.]

Frakes should return to Beyond Belief! That show ruled!

[James]

I didn't expect Thunderbirds to do as badly as this... but they targeted to a too tight demograph. The show is over 30 years old. There are fans of SEVERAL generations. By setting story in motion where the main family is put aside for the youngest and his kid friends spelled disaster. You've just focused on kids and ignored the rest of your box office target. No one above 14 is going to be interested in a load of kids saving the day. Unbelieveable error.

It may do better overseas in shows homeland - the UK, but I doubt it as the same issues apply - even the Thunderbird toy rage was around 6-7 years ago again outside the target demograph here..

I hope they don't mistake the reason for this flop. The models seem close to source. I would have seen it if it wasn't so kiddified. It's not the idea which flopped here but the application and bad story focus.

[GL2k2]

Wow, I'm kinda surprised about both Thunderbirds and Harold and Kumar, I would have suspected they would be higher. I do understand one thing, this is the end of summer for some places. Some schools that adapted the year-round thing are going back and some that are not the kids are probably not going to the movies, but enjoying time with family and friends before they go back.

August has always kinda been the slow period. I expected as much from the Village, but I'm not going to see it till like Wednesday, I'm tired of the huge crowds on opening weekend. I caught I'Robot this weekend, and it wasn't bad. Predictable, but not bad.

But anyway, very surprised that Catwoman didn't tank as bad as Thunderbirds, but then why would a studio make that movie for kids. Kids don't even know what Thunderbirds was. It's not like it's all over tv nowadays. That's like making a Spy Kids-esque version of Clutch Cargo or something. It was too obscure and it disenchanted it's core audience, so in a sense it deserved to tank. But Catwoman should have done worse. And Harold and Kumar was not in my local theater, which makes me question how many theaters it was in. It's also too bad, because that does not dispell the lackluster strength of "other" minorities in out-of-typecast films. And why did Catwoman make so much more is my question, what the heck?!:mad:

[Sigma]

Harold and Kumar opening at 7 is a big shock for me. I was expecting it to be in the top 3. It was a great movie and im sure it will make it's money back in the next few weeks and on DVD release. The ending leaves it wide open for a sequel and I hope it gets made.

Im going to go see The Manchurian Candiate today. I've heard great things and it looks really good. So I will post my thoughts on it when I get back.

Im also not suprised to see Thunderbirds do so poorly. It turned off fans of the series by not making it more like the TV Show. I personally don't like the series so I had no interest in this at all.

On a side note Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America will probably bring in more Thunderbirds fans then the Thunderbirds movie. :rolleyes:

[Simpler Simon]

Catwoman's already made too much for my taste.

Disappointed in Thunderbirds. less than $3 million is just pitiful. Expected more from Frakes. The Star Trek franchise is beyond his control, and Clockstoppers wasn't trying to be anything more than what it was.

[Tobias]

If anything, Thunderbirds was under-promoted. All I saw for it were t.v. ads. and a few storybooks. Where the toy lines? The T-shirts? The ten minute preview on USA?

That and the fact it was geared towards young kids instead an older audience. Wasn't it only rated PG? Couldn't have had too much in the way of sci-fi violence.

If it was rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, focused on the ENTIRE family, and left the two friends in the background, serving only to fill a few scenes in the beginning, more people might have gone to see it.

Having said that, I might go to see it tomorrow before it leaves theaters.

[Artemis]

Glad to see Spiderman 2 and I, Robot continue to make money. Those movies rocked so hard. And a huge ouch for Thunderbirds. That's the spot Catwoman should have opened in.:p

[PaQ]

Yeah.. I have no interest in seeing the Village.. I don't know what it is about that guy's films.. but I just have no urge to see them in the theatres. I saw Sixth sense on TV, Unbreakable on DVD, and still haven't seen Signs.

Nice to see Bourne Supremacy at #2. Seems to be doing good. I want to see this movie. The Manchurian Candidate at 3 is not a surprise. Denzel usually means box-office hit, and this looks like an interesting movie. i,ROBOT and Spidey round out the top 5 as expected.

Everyone needs to go see Harold & Kumar go to whitecastle, if you liked Road Trip, Dude, Van Wilder, you'll probably like this movie. I was a tad shocked at it only getting 5 million, but it should easily make a profit since budget and promotion combined is like 35 million or so.

Catwoman fell, but not fast enough.. I expect out of the top 10 next weekend. We shall see. Same with F9/11. :evil: It tied with Anchorman.. yet got 10 instead of 11.. Conspiracy? :p

Thunderbirds failed as expected. You don't remake a movie only older generations would remember, only to alienate them by making it more kid oriented.. It was doomed from the start. I feel bad for Jonathan Frakes. Hopefully he gets another film.

[James]

If anything, Thunderbirds was under-promoted. All I saw for it were t.v. ads. and a few storybooks. Where the toy lines? The T-shirts? The ten minute preview on USA?
That and the fact it was geared towards young kids instead an older audience. Wasn't it only rated PG? Couldn't have had too much in the way of sci-fi violence.
If it was rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, focused on the ENTIRE family, and left the two friends in the background, serving only to fill a few scenes in the beginning, more people might have gone to see it.
Having said that, I might go to see it tomorrow before it leaves theaters.

The UK (especially Toonami) was bombarded with trailers in every break. That said, I didn't even know of it's production till VERY late... that shows poor promoting.

It flopped IMO for all the reasons people have listed. Bad call.

[True Noir]

Not surprising. I've been looking for a good scare this summer and I think "The Village" might be it. Shayamalon has been making some good movies(The Ring, Unbreakable,etc) so I am expecting this to be good. I'm going to go watch it next week and I can't wait.

[Mist]

Spider-Man 2, 5? wow. I'm suprised. I thought Spidey was going to be a huge hit and remain #1 for a few weeks.

[Ajax]

Not surprising. I've been looking for a good scare this summer and I think "The Village" might be it. Shayamalon has been making some good movies(The Ring, Unbreakable,etc) so I am expecting this to be good. I'm going to go watch it next week and I can't wait. I don't think he ever directed The Ring.?



Spider-Man 2, 5? wow. I'm suprised. I thought Spidey was going to be a huge hit and remain #1 for a few weeks.
You have it all wrong it was a huge hit. Spidey 2 has been out for over a month and its still hung around the top five. Hell, it stayed at number 1 for two weeks. By todays standers thats bad ass. Not even Shrek 2 stayed number one for more than two weeks, so yeah.

[Chris Sanders MSX]

Not surprising. I've been looking for a good scare this summer and I think "The Village" might be it. Shayamalon has been making some good movies(The Ring, Unbreakable,etc) so I am expecting this to be good. I'm going to go watch it next week and I can't wait.

The Village is NOT SCARY.:eek:

[Knight]

Not surprising. I've been looking for a good scare this summer and I think "The Village" might be it. Shayamalon has been making some good movies(The Ring, Unbreakable,etc) so I am expecting this to be good. I'm going to go watch it next week and I can't wait.
The Ring is a Shayamalon movie?

[cheungcheung]

The Ring is a Shayamalon movie?
no it is not...

[SSJPabs]

Dear PaQ,

How many weeks has Michael Moore's movie been in the top ten? Thought so. It's now the highest grossing Cannes winner of all time (not taking into account inflation).

Really enjoying your discomfiture of the success of the movie,
Pabs

PS: I hate M. Night Shyamalan (sp) and Unbreakable was the only watchable movie of his so far. Also, to insinuate that The Ring is by him is a huge insult to Koji Suzuki who also wrote the Japanese film "Dark Water" that is currently being Americanized and staring my favorite actress, Jennifer Connelly.

[True Noir]

no it is not...
What? Yeh it is.

[Tobias]

What? Yeh it is.

No, it's not (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298130/fullcredits)

[SSJPabs]

What? Yeh it is.Where do you come by THAT?

American Ring was by Gore Verbanski and Ehren Kruger and Ringu was by Hideo Nakata and Koji Suzuki.

[True Noir]

Oh... sorry.:sweat: I heard him say it in an interview, but I guess I heard wrong. Oh wait... that was the Sixth Sense. Sorry! Ooh! I just heard about "The Ring 2". I hope this one will be as good as the first.

[Chris Wood]

I Robot really isn't doing that hot. It's going to need a strong overseas box office to break even.

Pretty embarrassing for Thunderbirds. I thought it might cash in on nostalgia, but I guess I was wrong. Still, why didn't this do as well as the Spy Kids movies? What's the difference?

[SSJPabs]

I Robot really isn't doing that hot. It's going to need a strong overseas box office to break even.

Pretty embarrassing for Thunderbirds. I thought it might cash in on nostalgia, but I guess I was wrong. Still, why didn't this do as well as the Spy Kids movies? What's the difference?The first Spy Kids movie had a little charm and humor to it, Thunderbirds really didn't, it just seems muddled. Also, I defy someone to tell me Jonathon Frakes is a better director than Robert Rodriguez.

[Tobias]

The Thunderbirds (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=118061) wasn't as bad as the reviews said it was, but it also can't be compared to the old t.v. show.

Team America: World Police, however, will be the movie that THIS movie should have been.

[randomguy]

How many weeks has Michael Moore's movie been in the top ten? Thought so. It's now the highest grossing Cannes winner of all time (not taking into account inflation).
It made more than Pulp Fiction? That doesn't seem right. There's a Palme D'Or that actually deserved to win.

I think right now, especially with Harold and Kumar, we're in that period where too much stuff is hitting at once for things to get recognition. I think that movie would have done really well if it wasn't coming out so close to The Village and The Manchurian Candidate. I mean, there's a lot of stuff out right now.

No surprise on Thunderbirds. It's the new Wing Commander. Team America, ironically, will probably outgross it by two orders of magnitude. Now that looks pretty funny.

I haven't seen anything new recently. Spider-Man 2, Anchorman, and Napoleon Dynamite have been the only new flicks I've caught this summer. There's a local theater that shows classic movies, so I tend to go to more of those in the summer months than the new releases. I saw Ben-Hur Sunday, and I'm seeing Once Upon a Time in the West on Friday. Fun stuff.

Speaking of Napoleon, I wonder how that's doing...

[Sigma]

Oh... sorry.:sweat: I heard him say it in an interview, but I guess I heard wrong. Oh wait... that was the Sixth Sense. Sorry! Ooh! I just heard about "The Ring 2". I hope this one will be as good as the first.I don't think Ring 2 is based on Ringu 2 (which sucks) so it could turn out well. Ringu is still a tad bit better then The Ring IMO.

Also if your a fan of the The Ring you should check out the US remake of a Japanese remake which was orginally a made for TV movie (confused yet?), Juon: The Grudge which is simply titled The Grudge in the US. It was filimed in Tokyo and it looks like it will be pretty faithful to last years Juon: The Grudge.

Anyway back to the box office. I agree with Tobias. Team America is the style that should have been used in the Thunderbirds film. But it will be a thousand times better then any Thunderbirds movie because Trey and Matt are comedic geniuses.

[Chris Wood]

The first Spy Kids movie had a little charm and humor to it, Thunderbirds really didn't, it just seems muddled. Also, I defy someone to tell me Jonathon Frakes is a better director than Robert Rodriguez.
Yeah, but that doesn't really matter for the opening weekend box office does it? Parents see the commercial, think "that looks like Spy Kids", and take their kids. Only they didn't. So what were they watching? The Village?

[Tobias]

Maybe this is the weekend that the parents started to prepare for their kid's return to school.

[Zoddman]

Speaking of Napoleon, I wonder how that's doing...Napoleon Dynamite has now made nearly $6 million, it's made back it's budget after making $14,000, and everything else has been profit. it's doing good for an independent cult hit. It really will probably become a classic after it hits DVD, similar to what happened to Office Space and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

[Tobias]

Napolean Dynamite deserves to be a sleeper hit, although barely anyone even knows the film exists. I thought it was funny because for the most part, ND was me in high school.

[Silly McGooses]

ND is doing very well for an indie flick.

I went to see The Village because I was an extra in it (they were filming right near my house in DE!)...IT SUCKED! It was so unscary!

[GL2k2]

Napolean Dynamite deserves to be a sleeper hit, although barely anyone even knows the film exists. I thought it was funny because for the most part, ND was me in high school.
Donnie Darko was me in high school. Haven't seen ND, but I can't see the attraction. I'm thinking I might catch it on DVD, because I don't know any place in a 60 mile radius of where I live that is playing it.

[Baltofan]

Wat to go for The Village, and I always thought that Catwoman would not make it at the box office.