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

January 22, 2006 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share - 2006 Top Worldwide Grosses - 2005 Domestic Market Share - 2005 A Shock to the System ... Underworld: Evolution sent a chill through the domestic marketplace with a potent debut estimated at $27.1 million. The vampire yarn far out-distanced all competition including no better than fair launches of the family values End of the Spear and the national bow of The New World. Nonetheless, it was a sufficient lead to send grosses soaring above 2005 levels and bear out the old industry saw about it being a "product driven" marketplace. Sony's Screen Gems division has been a consistent profit center mining horror fare that's included Anaconda and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The sequel to 2003's Underworld arrived about 25% stronger than its inspiration and once again underlined the on-going commercial appeal of the horror genre and its profitability when it hits an audience nerve. The sheer shock value has sustained such venerable titles as Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street well beyond the norm. The frame was largely dominated by holdover fare with new entries carving up a very small niche. The independently produced and distributed End of the Spear grossed roughly $4.4 million from 1,163 locations for a result that might be encouraging for the nascent Rocky Mountain Pictures to make further inspirational tales. Weekend box office clocked in with close to $122 million to register a slight 4% decline from the 3-day portion of last weekend's holiday span. However, its 25% boost from one year ago when the opening of Are We There Yet? Led with $18.6 million put a great big smile across all industry sectors. Following into Oscar qualifying run in December, The New World stepped out in an abbreviated version that grossed $3.9 million and theater averages just shy of $5,000. The historical saga will have to tough out another weekend before the Jan. 31 announcement of Oscar nominees. In a year in which there's a paucity of certainties and front runners only by process of elimination, niche pictures including Brokeback Mountain and Capote are reaping the benefit. Brokeback added about 500 playdates and moved up to fifth position and a gross of more than $41 million. As with last year's Million Dollar Baby, the cowboy yarn is on track to gross $100 million should it wind up with the Academy's top prize. Capote added more than 200 screens and saw it's gross better than double with its box office potential in sync with such past indie contenders as Monster's Ball and better than Monster. The two films and Walk the Line (that also saw revenues increase and pass $100 million) appear to be likely best picture nominees with the rest of the short list culled from such prospects as Munich, Syriana, Good Night, and Good Luck and possibly King Kong. The shorter Oscar schedule will nonetheless benefit the first two films that have yet to open overseas and Good Night expand from it's current exposure in seven overseas territories. In limited and regional exposure, Albert Brooks' droll Looking for Comedy in the Arab World elicited no better than a commercial chuckle with $440,000 from 161 venues. In Canada, the controversial portrait of serial killer Karla generated a tepid $260,000 from 89 locations and the documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John sullied almost $14,000 from three theaters. The liveliest alternative title proved to be another non-fiction entry Why We Fight. It received primarily positive reviews though some critics griped that the subject demanded a longer film. It grossed about $60,000 at six sites. - by Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - January 21-23, 2006 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume Underworld: Evolution Sony 27.1 (8,460) - 3207 27.1 Hoodwinked Weinstein Co. 16.7 (6,960) - 2394 16.6 Glory Road BV 16.4 (7,400) - 2222 16.4 Last Holiday Par 14.9 (5,940) - 2514 14.9 The Chronicles of Narnia BV 13.1 (4,050) -35% 3224 264.3 Hostel Lions Gate 11.7 (5,010) -40% 2337 36.9 Fun with Dick and Jane Sony 10.4 (3,220) -27% 3239 94.3 King Kong  Uni 9.2 (3,280) -40% 2814 204.7 Tristan & Isolde Fox 7.9 (4,260) - 1845 7.9 Brokeback Mountain Focus 7.1 (10,380) 3% 683 32.1 Cheaper by the Dozen Fox 6.8 (2,450) -40% 2773 74.7 Munich Uni 6.1 (4,080) -33% 1498 34 Memoirs of a Geisha Sony 5.4 (3,250) -30% 1654 47.6 The Ringer Fox 3.3 (2,360) -35% 1388 32 Rumor Has It WB 3.2 (1,650) -53% 1955 40.1 Casanova BV 2.8 (2,780) -38% 1011 9.1 The Family Stone Fox 2.8 (1,920) -50% 1441 57.3 Match Point DreamWorks 2.5 (7.950) -25% 312 6.9 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire WB 2.4 (2,360) -39% 1003 284.6 Walk the Line Fox 2.2 (2,530) -14% 864 98.4 The Producers Uni 1.6 (2,000) -43% 785 17.5 Grandma's Boys Fox 1.5 (730) -60% 2016 5.6 Syriana WB 1.4 (2,010) -45% 706 44.2 Pride and Prejudice Focus .67 (1,790) -34% 375 26.2 The Matador Weinstein Co .53 (9,460) 91% 56 1 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $150.50 - - - % Change (Last Year) * -8% - - - % Change (Last Week) -10% - - - Also Debuting/Expanding Mortuary Echo Bridge 15,500 (2,210) - 7 0.02 When the Sea Rises New Yorker 10,400 (5,200) - 2 0.01 Henri Cartier-Bresson Palm 8,100 (8,100) - 1 0.01 Domestic Market Share: January 1 - 19, 2006 Distributor (releases) Gross Percentage Buena Vista (7) 85.9 17.70% Universal (4) 78.4 16.10% Sony (5) 68.3 14.00% Fox (5) 68.2 14.00% Warner Bros. (5) 40.4 8.30% Lions Gate (2) 38.7 8.00% Weinstein Co. (6) 25.9 5.30% Focus (3) 25.1 5.20% Paramount (4) 20.2 4.20% Fox Searchlight (1) 15 3.10% DreamWorks (3) 8 1.60% Sony Classics (5) 2.8 0.60% Other * (23) 9.4 1.90% * none greater than 0.4% 486.3 100.00%