Weekend BoxOffice Report March 22 - 24, 'Blade' has $33 mil awakening

The boxoffice in North America maintained its torrid pace during Oscar weekend as the top two films grossed more than $30 million each and the estimated total for the top 12 pictures was a staggering 79% higher than during the comparable frame a year earlier.

New Line's "Blade II," starring Wesley Snipes and helmed by Guillermo del Toro, reaped an estimated $33.1 million during its debut frame, the second-biggest March opening of all time following the previous weekend's stellar arrival of Fox's "Ice Age" ($46.3 million).

The opening for "Blade II" marked a personal best for Snipes and nearly doubled the boxoffice debut of the original "Blade," which opened in August 1998 with $17 million and went on to gross more than $70 million.

"Ice" enjoyed a sensational sophomore weekend as the CG-animated family film landed in the second spot with an estimated $31.1 million, down a modest 33% from its debut and bumping its 10-day cume to an estimated $88.3 million. It was an impressive hold considering the heights at which the film opened a week earlier and the arrival this weekend of Universal's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" reissue, which played in 3,007 theaters and was the animated movie's main competition because of its similar primarily aim at the family audience.

The 20th anniversary edition of director Steven Spielberg's "E.T." debuted in the third slot with an estimated $15.1 million, the fourth-biggest opening for a wide-release reissue behind only Fox's "Star Wars" trilogy.

In the boxoffice battle for the family audience, "Ice" was the clear winner during the weekend, but with a worldwide gross of nearly $705 million before this latest reissue, "E.T." remains a venerable family favorite.

The only other film opening in wide release was Buena Vista's "Sorority Boys," which dragged in a disappointing estimate of $4.2 million and landed in the ninth slot. The R-rated comedy, starring Harland Williams, Barry Watson and Michael Rosenbaum, was helmed by Wally Wolodarsky.

Warner Bros.' "Showtime" dropped to the fourth slot with an estimated $8.2 million, slipping a discouraging 45% from its debut. The Eddie Murphy-Robert De Niro starrer has booked an estimated $26.9 million after 10 days in release.

The impact of "Blade II" was felt most by another horror-actioner, Screen Gems' "Resident Evil," which took a severe 63% hit compared with its opening a week earlier. The Milla Jovovich starrer grossed an estimated $6.6 million, upping its 10-day total to about $28.8 million.

But Oscar weekend was kind to the contenders for best picture; the four nominees still in major release received bumps at the boxoffice. Universal's "A Beautiful Mind" placed eighth with an estimated $4.3 million, up an impressive 27% despite losing 78 theaters from a week earlier. The Ron Howard-directed drama has amassed an estimated $154.9 million to date. New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" placed 11th with an estimated $2.5 million, a 17% increase, while adding 216 theaters. "Rings" has a cume of $297.6 million.

USA Films' "Gosford Park" grossed an estimated $1.6 million, up slightly from a week earlier despite playing in 13 fewer theaters, and raised its total to an estimated $37.8 million. Miramax's "In the Bedroom" lost 29 theaters but gained nearly 33% from the previous weekend, taking in an estimated $1.35 million and raising its estimated cume to $34.3 million.

Executives at New Line were thrilled with the performance of "Blade II."

"Wesley delivered a terrific picture; we're very pleased with the weekend results," president of domestic distribution David Tuckerman said. "Tracking indicated it would open north of $30 million. There was a hunger for this film based on the film and video success of the first picture."

"Blade II" was met with mixed critical reviews, but that did not seem to hamper its weekend boxoffice. "The public decides what they want to see, and the fans loved this picture," Tuckerman said.

The horror-actioner played like a broad mainstream film, according to the distributor, because a majority of the audience was nonblack (69%) and the male-female split was nearly 50/50 across the board. The age demographic attending the R-rated film was a 50/50 split between those over and under age 25.

Noting the weekend's competition for the family audience, Universal was pleased with "E.T.'s" accomplishment.

"When you look at the weekend numbers on previous reissues, other than the 'Star Wars' trilogy, this is the largest opening on record," Universal Pictures distribution president Nikki Rocco said. "There was a lot of competition for the family audience this weekend, but we are pleased with the results. ... We're proud to celebrate 'E.T.'s' 20th anniversary; that's what this reissue was all about."

The "E.T." reissue raked in exceptionally strong exits across the board as 99% of audience members surveyed ranked the film in the top two boxes, the studio said. The film's audience was 29% parents and 25% children under 9. The PG-rated film skewed female, with 59% of those attending over age 13. Nonparents made up 19% of the audience, and Latino moviegoers accounted for a strong 27%.

Arriving in limited release, Sony Pictures Classics' "Son of the Bride" -- an Oscar nominee for foreign language film -- opened in six locations and grossed an estimated $33,119. The Jose Campanella-directed Spanish-language comedy-drama averaged a solid $5,520 per theater. Miramax's "Stolen Summer" debuted in 13 locations and grossed an estimated $62,000. The comedy averaged a moderate $4,769 per theater. Passport Pictures' "Margarita Happy Hour" debuted in one location and grossed a strong $7,717. The drama marks the feature debut for director Ilya Chaiken. Fox Searchlight's "Kissing Jessica Stein" added 40 locations, bringing its count to 66, and grossed an estimated $548,000. The per-theater average was a solid $8,303, and the romantic comedy has taken in about $1.1 million after 12 days in release. IFC Films' "Y Tu Mama Tambien" played in 54 venues, 14 more than during its debut a week earlier, and took in an estimated $460,895. The Alfonso Cuaron-helmed drama averaged a strong $8,535 per theater and has collected about $1.1 million after 10 days.

The estimated total for the weekend's top 12 films is $121 million. The Hollywood Reporter projects the total for all films this weekend in the mid- to high-$130 million range, up dramatically from the $81.5 million registered during the year-earlier comparable frame.

National boxoffice during the week ending March 21 rose a stunning 61% from the comparable seven-day period in 2001 ($184.4 million vs. $114.6 million), helping to give this year a to-date edge of 9% ($1.74 billion vs. $1.59 billion). As a result, estimated admissions for 2002 are up as well, running 5% ahead of the 2001 pace.

(*) Blade II                                        $33.1 million
(1)Ice Age                                        $31.1 million
(*) E.T                                             $15.1 million
(3) Showtime                                    $ 8.2 million
(2) Resident Evil                                $ 6.6 million
(5) We Were Soldiers                        $ 5.8 million
(4) The Time Machine                        $ 5.2 million
(*) A Beautiful Mind                           $ 4.3 million
(*) Sorority Boys                               $ 4.2 million
(7) 40 Days and 40 Nights                  $ 2.7 million

TOTALS TO DATE:

A Beautiful Mind                             $154.9 million
Ice Age                                           $ 88.3 million
We Were Soldiers                           $ 61.7 million
The Time Machine                           $ 48.0 million
40 Days and 40 Nights                     $ 34.2 million
Blade II                                           $ 33.1 million
Resident Evil                                   $ 28.8 million
Showtime                                       $ 26.9 million
E.T.                                                $ 15.1 million
Sorority Boys                                    $ 4.2 million