DreamWorks SHARK TALE withstood Universals football pic, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS in its second outing at the box office for the weekend ended Oct. 10, 2004. The 3D-animated gangster satire dipped 34% but still managed a hefty $31.3M for a total gross of $87.3M, while second place finisher, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, caught $20.2M worth of tickets. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Ent. made company history by crossing the $1B threshold in both North America and overseas for the third year in a row. This puts it in the company of Disney and Warner Bros. for such a feat.
Coming in third was Buena Vistas LADDER 49, which captured $13.1M in its second week for a $41M cume. Foxs TAXI (with vfx by Pixel Magic) debuted in fourth with $12M. Sony/Revolutions THE FORGOTTEN (with vfx by The Orphanage and SPI) slipped to fifth with $7.6M and $48.7M in three weeks. New Lines RAISE YOUR VOICE romantic comedy with Hilary Duff debuted in sixth place with $4M. Paramounts groundbreaking CGI adventure, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, took the seventh spot with $2.3M and a disappointing total of $33.9M, despite the fine work of such vfx companies as ILM, Luma Pictures, Rising Sun Pictures, Hybride Technologies, Ring of Fire, SW Digital, Pixel Liberation Front, Pacific Title Digital, Café FX, Engine Room, The Orphanage, R!OT and Digital Backlot.
Settling for eighth was Focus SHAUN OF THE DEAD spoof (with vfx from Double Negative), which scared up $1.7M and $9.4M to date. Focus THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES shot up to number nine with $1.5M and a cume of $3.2M. Screen Gems RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (with vfx by C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Mr. X Inc., Animated Extras International Ltd., Fantasy II Film Effects and Soho VFX) occupied the 10th spot with $1.2M and $49M to date.
Go Fishs GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE added another $53,074 for a total so far of $788,490. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
