Other Crap

Weekend Box Office Results, October 21-23, 2005

• It was another anemic weekend, anchored by more weak new releases. The Top 12 films posted grosses 27% lower than the comparable group from last year.
• The top film of the week was based on a video game, and received only 21% positive reviews. And that was the week's winner. That kind of says it all.
• Moviegoers rejected the preachy Hollywood puffery of North Country. The Oscar-hopeful's debut weekend was a paltry six million dollars, although it appeared on more than 2500 screens.
• Dreamer, the family-oriented Seabiscuit clone from Dream Works, received generally good reviews, did better than expected, and finished in second place.
• The fourth new release, Stay, was expected to bomb, and did so even more convincingly than anticipated, finishing out of the Top 12. It grossed less on 1600 screens than Good Night and Good Luck grossed on 225
• George Clooney's Murrow film showed that a highly targeted film can make a profit - if it is made for a modest cost. Although it has not yet reached 300 screens, Good Night has already crept up to $5 million at the box office, and it only cost $7 million to make. Similar lessons were learned previously from The Gospel and Waiting ..., which will turn substantial profits without monumental grosses. I see that as a good lesson for Hollywood to learn. I'd rather see them invest $140 million in ten to twenty small pictures than in one Stealth. The updraft of that is more choices for the audience, and I'm happy to see the industry economics start to point in that direction.