Fox's debut of I, ROBOT (with vfx by Digital Domain and Patrick Tatopoulos Design) gathered $52.1M over the weekend ended July 18, 2004, halting the record-setting two-week reign of Sony's SPIDER-MAN 2, which came in second. The Spidey sequel (with vfx from Sony Pictures Imageworks and Radium Inc.) spun another $24.7M on its way to $302.2M.
DreamWork's ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (vfx by E=mc2) came in third with $13.8M and a two-week cume of $56.9M. Warner Bros.' A CINDERELLA STORY debuted in fourth with $13.6M. Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11 dipped to fifth place with $7.17M, adding $93.9M to its cume for Lions Gate. KING ARTHUR trailed behind in sixth place, taking in $7.16M over the weekend and a two-week total of $38.1M. Cinesite (Europe) and Neil Corbould Special Effects Ltd. did vfx on the Buena Vista release.
New Line's romantic weepie, THE NOTEBOOK, followed in seventh place with $5.6M and a four-week cume of $53.8M. Fox's comedy, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY, fell down to eighth with $3.8M and a $105.1M cume. Sony's WHITE CHICKS followed in ninth with $3.4M and $63.4M. Holding the 10th spot with the best numbers yet for an animated feature was DreamWorks' SHREK 2, bringing in $3.2M and a summer leading $425M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
