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

April 24, 2005 Ms. Communication The intrigue was less than gripping as The Interpreter handily led weekend movie going with an estimated $23.1 million. The star driven thriller out-performed the combined gross of three other nationally debuting movies by about 40 percent. The frame's other freshmen included the romantic comedy A Lot Like Live with a $7.7 million gross that ranked it fourth overall; the wide release of Kung Fu Hustle in fifth spot with $6.5 million; and tucked into 10th position, the urban comedy King's Ransom with a $2.1 million gross. The session also included a dynamic bow for Le Survenant in Quebec and an impressive exclusive run for the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room in three locations. Overall business continued to trail last year's pace but the presence of a clutch of new titles provided a 12% boost from last weekend. Weekend ticket sales should top out around $95 million or roughly 8% less than were recorded in 2004. While the critics generally found The Interpreter confusing and slight on suspense, the public was primed for a quasi-political yarn in the woman in jeopardy genre. Industry estimates had pegged its opening at no more than $20 million but it was clearly under valued when opening day rang up a $7.6 million box office. The film opened in 16 countries last week and early reports indicate it will also be the top grossing film overseas this weekend. The paucity of new titles in recent weeks had exhibition clambering for dates on the new entries and distributors trying to hold the line against over exposure. The frothy pairing of Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet in A Lot Like Love performed to expectations while the comic shenanigans of Anthony Anderson and Jay Mohr in King's Ransom proved to be a commercial underperformer. More difficult to assess is Kung Fu Hustle, the Chinese action-comedy that was a runaway hit in Asia earlier this year. Following impressive exclusive runs, Sony Classics seized the opportunity to expand to a company record of 2,503 playdates and the result was an OK theater average of almost $2,600. There's no question that a slow roll out would have had difficulty equaling its weekend box office but it will be some time before the additional marketing costs can be balanced against ancillary revenues. The absence of direct competition proved a boon for The Amityville Horror that was anticipated to drop more than 50% from its opening salvo but held the line at 42 percent. Sahara is also proving sturdier than anticipated in light of a limited number of choices at local multiplexes. Based on a seminal novel in Quebec, the film adaptation of Le Survenant received a major promotional push in the province with maximum exposure in 116 theaters. The gamble worked well with initial estimates of roughly $800,000 CDN. There was also better than usual returns of $150,000 for Waqt - The Race Against Time, the latest entry on the Bollywood circuit. However, the majority of new titles in limited and regional release produced no better than tepid results. The oft-delayed family friendly Madison set in the world of speedboat racing arrived on 93 screens with a slight ripple of $243,000 while another true life sporting yarn - the 1950s underdog U.S. Olympic soccer team - The Game of Their Lives did a middling $180,000 in 34 movie arenas. Considerably more intriguing for movie audiences was the deconstruction of the greed is good ethos in the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Bowing on three screens, it finished with $69,000 after the sounding of the closing bell. - by Leonard Klady