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

June 26, 2005 Weekend Finals Market Share Bewitched … Bothered and Bewildered There was no plane on the horizon, but film going was definitely headed for Fantasy Island as the weekend favorites included a costumed crimefighter, a woman with a twitchy nose, a possessed Volkswagen and a zombie attack. Batman Begins enjoyed its second weekend at the top of the charts with an estimated $26.5 million while the debut of Bewitched followed with $20.4 million. Also bowing in the top five were the variations on bygone hits, Herbie: Fully Loaded and Land of the Dead. There was an OK bow for the dance rage Rize, a strong debut on the Bollywood circuit and a potent limited exposure for the ethnographic March of the Penguins. The plethora of sequels, remakes and reinventions didn't quite lead to the conclusion that imitation breeds contempt. However, the weekend tally of roughly $125 million continued to lag behind 2004 with a 17% decline from the prior year and an 8% drop from the immediate prior weekend. Domestic box office surpassed $4 billion during the mid-week and the current cume of $4.16 billion is 9% behind last year's record pace. The attitude was generally upbeat that Batman Begins second weekend fell less than 50% and a feeling that its new incarnation would spawn a sequel. However, its viability may finally hinge on how well it bears up against the worldwide onslaught of War of the Worlds on Wednesday. Early word on the Steven Spielberg film is that it's intense, dark and not a thrill ride designed for anyone under the age of 12. But it is, after all, about global annihilation from malevolent alien forces. Though less a remake of the 1970s sitcom than a psycho-comedy rumination, Bewitched appeared to draw from both those that remembered it with affection and Nick at Niters despite often crushing reviews. Its tracking suggested an opening between $20 million and $25 million and a 5% drop in Saturday business resulted in it arriving at the low end of the range. Herbie, the Beetle that saved Disney when The Love Bug became the top grosser of 1969, didn't have the same commercial traction with Lindsay Lohan at the wheel. Industry trackers were surprised when the company opted for a Wednesday bow that provided a softish $5 million head start for the weekend. The unrepentant family comedy added about $12.5 million for a 5-day gross of $17.7 million. Distribution president Chuck Viane says the early start provided word-of-mouth for the film and ranked its performance as encouraging and positive. George Romero spawned a genre success with Night of the Living Dead about the same time Herbie was enjoying wider mainstream response. Returning to his roots for a fourth time, his Land of the Dead proved a hit with reviewers but didn't attract more than its core of aficionados with a $10.4 million box office resurrection. In a slightly more limited exposure, Rize generated about $1.6 million from 352 theaters. The non-fiction tribute to the urban dance craze of clowning and cramping didn't well in its niche. While new titles performed near expectation and holdover titles bore up against competition, the psychological toll of declining attendance continues to keep a cloud over Hollywood. Studio and distribution reps are downbeat about the current downturn entering its 18th week and see no easy fixes to the situation. Content and the erosion of cinema going to DVD among other factors pose dilemmas that may require a serious overhaul of current approaches to film production. Activity was largely brisk among regional and limited openers. Pahali, the latest entry on the Bollywood circuit, generated one of the more potent debuts this year with roughly $340,000 from 60 venues while the U.S. bow of March of the Penguins grossed about $100,000 from four theaters. The French odyssey on the mating ritual of the Antarctic birds has been in release in Quebec since April where its grossed more than $300,000. The French stoner blockbuster Brice de Nice about a hapless surfer lost a great deal in the Atlantic crossover with an $83,000 first wave on 29 platforms. Another Gallic import, Lila Says, generated an encouraging $12,300 from two venues and the Lew Wasserman profile The Last Mogul was OK with $5,600 from a single playdate. More upbeat was the $32,300 response for the offbeat drama of politics and infidelity Yes from Sally Potter. - by Leonard Klady