For the third consecutive year, Screen Gems has offered up record Super Bowl openings, and this year the remake of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS scared up $21.6M against the Big Game for the weekend ended Feb. 5, 2006. Fox's BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2 slipped to second with $13.6M and a two-week cume of $45.6M. Following in third was Universal's NANNY MCPHEE (with vfx from Framestore CFC), bringing home $9.7M and $26.5M. Focus Features' Oscar favorite, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, climbed to the fourth spot with $6M, as it expanded to 2,089 screens. At $60.1M, BROKEBACK (with vfx from Buzz Image Group) becomes the highest grosser of all five Best Picture nominees. The Weinstein Co.'s 3D-animated HOODWINKED held the fifth spot with $5.3M and a cume of $44.1M. Focus' SOMETHING NEW bowed with $4.8M. Buena Vista's ANNAPOLIS dropped to eighth with $3.4M and $12.8M. Fox's WALK THE LINE jumped to ninth with $3.2M and a tally of $110.6M. Buena Vista's THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE settled for 10th with $3M. Boasting impressive vfx from Rhythm & Hues, Sony Pictures Imageworks and ILM, NARNIA has a cume of $281.9M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
