Chris Nolans magic thriller, THE PRESTIGE, rose to the top of the box office chart for the weekend ended Oct. 22, 2006, conjuring $14.8M for Buena Vista (with vfx from French-based buf).
Meanwhile, Martin Scorseses THE DEPARTED held onto the second spot for Warner Bros. with $13.4M. With vfx from The Basement, Lola Visual Effects and Ockhams Razor, the Oscar-contending gangster film now has a three-week cume of $76.9M. Debuting in third was another Oscar contender, Clint Eastwoods FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, which captured a less than dazzling $10.2M (with vfx from Digital Domain). Holding fourth place was Sonys first 3D-animated OPEN SEASON, which brought home $8.1M for a cume of $69.7M. Debuting in fifth was Foxs FLICKA with $7.7M and vfx from Furious FX. Sonys THE GRUDGE 2 fell from the top spot to sixth place with $7.6M and a two-week cume of $31.3M. Universals MAN OF THE YEAR settled for seventh with $6.9M and $22.4M. Sonys MARIE ANTOINETTE debuted at number eight with $5.3M. Ninth place went to Foxs THE MARINE, which garnered $3.6M and $12.6M in two weeks. Rounding out the top 10 was New Lines TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING, which grabbed $3.7M for a cume of $35.8M.
In limited release from Buena Vista, TIM BURTONS THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN 3-D did an exceptional $3.2M in only 168 theaters for a per-screen average of $19,505: good enough for a 12th place finish. ILM was responsible for the groundbreaking work. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
