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

August 6, 2006 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share No Tale-a-de-gating ... Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby lapped the competition for a commanding lead estimated at $47.6 million at the weekend box office. That left the rest of the field in the dust with the kidtoon Barnyard a distant second milking $15.7 million and The Descent scaled back with $8.6 million. The frame also featured excellent bows for the thriller Bon Cop Bad Cop in Quebec and, in limited release, the Sundance award winner Quinceanera. There was no denying the ascendancy of Will Ferrell's fictional NASCAR racer as he took to the track Friday. By Talladega matinee it was clear that the hijinx would exceed industry estimates that pegged it no higher than $35 million. It was easily the performer's most potent opening and clearly the shameless promotional huckstering translated into rich rewards. The race to see it opening day could however be seen in an 11% drop in Saturday's business. Considering the dire prognostications for yet another animated animal movie in the multiplex, Barnyard's bow was also slightly better than expected … but hardly a commercial stampede. The strains of competition in family viewing were evident in the picture's barely discernable 4% upturn from Friday to Saturday. Still if there was anyone that believed there were no limits to movie toons in the marketplace, the current marketplace dispelled that notion. Last weekend's freshmen all took substantive hits including Miami Vice with a 62% drop and The Ant Bully declining by 55%. In the current frame it was the exception to find a holdover that sustained less than 50% erosion. Revenues climbed to close to $145 million and for the immediate future August is shaping up as a stronger than usual period. Box office improved by 8% from the prior weekend and was up 25% from 2005 when the premiere of The Dukes of Hazzard led with a $30.7 million gross. Next weekend's eclectic mix of World Trade Center and Snakes on a Plane plus the second Talladega lap should be very formidable. In international release for more than a year, the chilling The Descent arrived on these shores with impressive genre appeal. Lionsgate is rapidly taking over the indie mantle held by New Line prior to its acquisition by Castle Rock that led to being part of the Time Warner family. Sundance grads provided mixed results as they entered into commercial play. The eerie suspenser The Night Listener had no better than passable response of $3.5 million from 1,367 locations. However, Quinceanera, a drama of remarkable power, translated well in its initial foray in eight theaters. It generated a screen average of $10,800 and critical response as well as positive word-of-mouth should bode well for expansion over the next two months. While Quinceanera is well positioned for niche success, the Sundance premiered comedy Little Miss Sunshine is demonstrating signs of crossover appeal. It expanded from seven to 58 engagements and maintained a very healthy $25,700 theater average. Setting records in its Quebec bow, the policier Bon Cop Bad Cop blew away the competition with an estimated $1.8 million. The release was timed to a Canadian holiday long weekend and its dynamic opening salvo has already prompted talk of a more aggressive than usual plan for English Canadian theaters. Also in specialized venues, Bollywood's Anthony Kaun Hai registered tepid results of $42,300 from 18 circuit playdates. In exclusives there was good response of $8,650 to the French thriller The Bridesmaid in a single locale. My Country, My Country was indifferent in a $3,900 solo flight and few bit at two Jailbait screens that generated a $2,300 gross. - by Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - August 4-6, 2006 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume Talladega Nights Sony 47.6 (12,520) - 3803 47.6 Barnyard Par 15.7 (4,740) - 3311 15.7 Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV 11.0 (3,190) -47% 3436 379.7 Miami Vice Uni 9.7 (3,190) -62% 3026 45.7 The Descent Lions Gate 8.6 (4,120) - 2095 8.6 John Tucker Must Die Fox 6.0 (2,320) -58% 2566 28.5 Monster House Sony 5.9 (1,960) -49% 3029 56.9 Ant Bully WB 3.8 (1,240) -55% 3050 18 You, Me and Dupree Uni 3.7 (1,620) -48% 2266 66.9 The Night Listener Miramax 3.5 (2,590) - 1367 3.5 The Devil Wears Prada Fox 3.1 (2,120) -34% 1453 112.7 Lady in the Water WB 2.7 (1,020) -62% 2670 38.6 Little Man Sony 2.6 (1,650) -50% 1561 55.1 Superman Returns WB 2.1 (1,250) -44% 1710 190.2 Scoop Focus 1.8 (3,250) -42% 541 6.2 Bon Cop Bad Cop Alliance 1.8 (13,610) - 132 1.8 Little Miss Sunshine Fox Searchlight 1.5 (25,690) 302% 58 2.2 Clerks II MGM 1.4 (920) -66% 1496 22.4 My Super Ex-Girlfriend Fox 1.1 (1,000) -73% 1093 20.2 Cars BV 1.0 (1,040) -63% 942 237.4 Click Sony .82 (1,260) -57% 651 134.4 An Inconvenient Truth Par Classics .58 (1,810) -22% 346 21.2 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - $136.00 - - - % Change (Last Year) - 25% - - - % Change (Last Week) - 8% - - - Also debuting/expanding Quinceanera Sony Classics 86,500 (10,820) - 8 0.09 Anthony Kuan Hai Adlabs 42,300 (2,350) - 18 0.04 The Bridesmaid First Run 8,650 (8,650) - 1 0.01 My Country, My Country Zeitgeist 3,900 (3,900) - 1 0.01 Jailbait Kindred 2,300 (1,650) - 2 0.01 Top Domestic Grosses: January 1 - August 3, 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV 368,697,958 Cars BV 236,432,622 X-Men: The Last Stand Fox 233,524,650 The Da Vinci Code Sony 216,543,915 Ice Age: The Meltdown Fox 195,122,952 Superman Returns WB 188,018,343 Over the Hedge Par 152,995,450 Mission: Impossible III Par 133,829,520 Click Sony 133,593,836 The Break-Up Uni 117,788,940 The Devil Wears Prada Fox 109,660,935 Scary Movie 4 Weinstein Co. 90,710,620 Failure to Launch Par 88,915,704 Inside Man Uni 88,593,474 The Pink Panther Sony 83,137,123 The Chronicles of Narnia * BV 82,270,870 Eight Below BV 81,612,565 Nacho Libre Par 79,170,942 Brokeback Mountain * Focus 70,615,735 RV Sony 70,603,417 * does not include 2005 box office Domestic Market Share: January 1 - July 27, 2006 Buena Vista (17) 1001.5 17.70% Fox (18) 957.9 16.90% Sony (19) 952.1 16.80% Universal (14) 624.4 11.00% Warner Bros. (15) 597.7 10.50% Paramount (9) 532.5 9.40% Weinstein Co. (9) 192.3 3.40% Lions Gate (12) 168.5 3.00% Focus (9) 127.4 2.20% New Line (7) 119.3 2.10% Fox Searchlight (8) 97.7 1.70% Sony Classics (14) 48.7 0.90% MGM (2) 43.5 0.80% Other * (181) 205.2 3.60% * none greater than 0.45% 5668.7 100.00%