Five new films debuted during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday period ended Jan. 17, 2004, and the result appears to be the second best gross ever for the holiday.
Paramounts COACH CARTER with Samuel L. Jackson, was a slam-dunk with $29.1M, ahead of second place finisher MEET THE FOCKERS from Universal, which earned $22.5M and a whopping cume of $234.3M that was no laughing matter. Warner Bros. RACING STRIPES (with vfx from Digital Dimension and Hybride) bowed in the third spot with $18.8M. Universals corporate comedy, IN GOOD COMPANY, shot up to fourth place with $16.6M for a total of $17.1M. Foxs ELEKTRA, powered by ALIAS Jennifer Garner and inspired by Frank Millers Marvel comic, managed a meager fifth place debut with $14.7M. Universals WHITE NOISE thriller slid to number six with $13.8M and a two-week cume of $42.8M. Fresh from its Golden Globe triumph for best picture (drama), Miramax THE AVIATOR (with vfx from Sony Pictures Imageworks and CaféFX) flew in for a seventh place finish with $6.3M and $51.5M. Following in the eighth spot was Paramounts LEMONY SNICKETS A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (with Oscar-contending vfx by ILM), tallying $5.3M and a cume of $112.4M. Holding ninth was Warner Bros. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (with vfx from Cinesite (Europe) and Asylum), which took in $4.6M but a scant $27.5M so far. And coming in 10th with $3.8M and $45.6M was Foxs FAT ALBERT (with animation from Warner Bros. Animation).
Meanwhile, APPLESEED, the highly praised anime eye candy from Geneon Ent., debuted with a gross of $79,818 on 31 screens. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
