So far the Miramax gamble of splitting up Quentin Tarantinos KILL BILL into two parts has paid off at the box office, as the bloody movie pastiche debuted with an impressive $22M gross to lead the pack for the weekend ended Oct. 12, 2003. With vfx by Centro Digital Pictures Ltd. and K.N.B. EFX Group Inc., KILL BILL VOLUME 1 knocked off Paramounts THE SCHOOL OF ROCK, which came in second at $15.4M and has collected $39.6M in second week. Debuting at number three with $13.1M was the MGM family film, GOOD BOY!, featuring a host of talking dogs, courtesy of Jim Henson Prods. (with vfx from Rainmaker Digital Pictures). The Coen Bros. screwball comedy with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, netted $12.5M for Universal in its debut at number four (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues). MGMs OUT OF TIME fell to fifth with $8.5M and a cume of $28.7M. Boy Wonder Visual Effects worked on this action/thriller as did Dennis Hoffman, vfx producer and special effects director Kevin Harris, along with Tim Laundry, vfx supervisor. Artisans THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD scored the sixth spot in its first outing with $5.6M (with vfx provided by EYETECH Optics and Elektrofilm Post Production Facilities GmbH). Universal's THE RUNDOWN, starring The Rock, dropped to seven in its third week with $5.2M and a $40.2M cume. Rhythm & Hues has vfx bragging rights on this high performer. Disney's Diane Lane romancer, UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, came in eighth place place with $4.9M for a $28.3 take in its third week. New Line's SECOND HAND LIONS (with vfx by Digital Domain and Pacific Title) took the ninth spot with $3.2M, good enough for a $35.3M total so far. Focus Features' LOST IN TRANSLATION hung in there in 10th place with $2.8M, good enough for a total of $18.1M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
