..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Kim Voynar
..Michael Wilmington

Holy &^%$*! There was no need for a Monkees revival - The Passion of the Christ truly had the film community singing "I’m a Believer" as it flailed weekend movie going with an estimated $76.9 million gross. Toss in its $41 million box office from Wednesday and Thursday and it added up to $118.3 million. It was a record February debut and stormed to $100 million faster than all but four prior movies including Spider-Man and the most recent episode of The Lord of the Rings. In its first five days of release one can also take note that it has become the second biggest domestic grosser for a sub-titled film as well as the biggest film in Latin ever and the best opening for a film with a religious theme. While tracking leading up to its Wednesday bow was potent, no one anticipated the film would do more than $75 million for its first five days. The question now is how sharply and rapidly will the film ease off in the coming weeks. There can be no doubt that it’s impossible to replicate the initial business and even a modest decline should result in a second weekend of more than $50 million. Should its weekend tally continue strong, there’s every possibility the film can gross between $250 million and $300 million in North America. Mel Gibson’s Passion also grossed a phenomenal $4 million in its first four days in Australia and New Zealand and will shortly bow in Europe. It was divine inspiration for film going as ticket sales ballooned to roughly $150 million of which slightly more than half were acquired for the top performer. Business literally went from the slowest to most brisk in seven days as the marketplace arose by 63%. It also represented a 45% rise from 2003 when the top grosser was the $16.5 million launch of Cradle 2 the Grave. Not surprisingly even thing else - including three other national debuts - paled by comparison. The romantic comedy 50 First Dates trailed in second spot with a still formidable $12.9 million and there were good second week holds for both Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Eurotrip. Best of the new entries was the psychological thriller Twisted that ranked third with an estimated $9.1 million. It was largely pilloried by critics and is not expected to hold well in the marketplace. In fifth position, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights had a tepid $5.9 million bow and Broken Lizard’s Club Dread horror spoof sputtered to $3.1 million as its vitality dropped daily throughout the three days. There also wasn’t a great deal of new specialized activity. European Award winner Good Bye, Lenin! From Germany had an OK $65,000 debut on six screens but the political satire about the end of the Cold War is having difficulty capturing American fancy. Neil Young’s Greendale grossed a disappointing $12,700 from three venues bolstered by personal appearances by the artist. The unusual musical has been warmly but not enthusiastically received. With the Oscar telecast looming hours away, the last gasp prior to opened envelopes provided few surprises. The Passion of the Christ encroached upon all films, regardless of pedigree, but one could still say that was less felt by Academy contenders. Monster, Mystic River, The Return of the King and others remained competitive and hopeful that some Sunday night attention would add to their commercial longevity. The Return of the King has mapped out an expansion for next weekend that could increase significantly based upon the number and categories in which it receives truly golden statuettes. - by Leonard Klady