..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

January 7, 2007 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share Ring In The New ... Night at the Museum exacted a cinematic hat trick, remaining the weekend top grosser with an estimated $24.1 million. The New Year arrived with a trio of freshmen releases that scored good to fair openings while holdover titles generally withstood the transition well. Overall it added up to a slight increase from 2006 revenues. The biggest of the new entries was Freedom Writers, a distaff To Sir with Love repping a genre that generally has sure-fire appeal. Its $9.8 million tally ranked 4th overall. Two rungs down the animated Happily N'Ever After - a Cinderella spoof that follows in the steps of Hoodwinked's jab at Little Red Riding Hood - had passable returns of $6.7 million. Yet to make a smooth transition from comedy stages to the screen, Cedric the Entertainer in Code Name: The Cleaner eked out $4.3 million to finish 12th on the roster. The session also bowed Thr3e a thriller targeted at the niche Christian market that passed on a warm embrace with a tepid $770,000 gross. The weekend also saw a bold stepped up expansion of the critical hit Children of Men that worked effectively. It slotted third with $10.3 million and an $8,530 screen average. More modest expansions were accorded such award contenders as Notes on a Scandal, Perfume: Story of a Murderer and Miss Potter. While the jury's still out on the unconventional strategy of Dreamgirls (it adds 1,000 theaters next week), industry insiders are making noises about how millions were left on the table as a result of its limited exposure during the holidays. The sense is that it didn't require critical acclaim to establish its wide popularity. The final numbers of 2006 (see attached chart) rang up $9.23 billion for a modest 3.8% boost from the prior calendar and no more than a flutter of difference in actual admissions. Sony enjoyed market share bragging rights but arguably third ranked Fox had the most impressive year with two very big over-performers in The Devil Wears Prada and Borat. Last summer there were good indications that all six majors would each record $1 billion in domestic ticket sales but Paramount just missed the cut (the Dreamgirls factor?) and Universal had a final quarter that proved to be a commercial bust. The studio specialty wings with the exception of Fox Searchlight were struggling to make a difference and most fell well below a 1% market share. While that has worked well for Sony Classics, it doesn't fit the template for Warner Independent, Miramax or the future aspirations of Paramount Classics. Lions Gate continues as the sole independent with better than niche status. The prospect that the Weinstein Company would rise out of the ashes of Miramax certainly has not occurred in part as a result of its distribution marriage to MGM. However, even when one incorporates that slate into the equation the picture fails to brighten or suggest the feisty qualities of shrewd acquisitors and adroit marketers of its past legacy. Overall, the numbers and what they represent fall short of conveying anything other than stasis. Whatever the lessons of 2006, both the successes and mistakes of its reign appear doomed to be repeated. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - January 5 - 7, 2007 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change Theaters Cume Night at the Museum Fox 24.1 (6,470) -34% 3730 164.2 The Pursuit of Happyness Sony 13.2 (4,370) -32% 3027 124.3 Children of Men Uni 10.3 (8,530) - 1209 11.9 Freedom Writers Par 9.8 (7,210) - 1360 9.8 Dreamgirls Par 8.8 (10,370) -37% 852 54.5 Happily Never After Lions Gate 6.7 (2,820) - 2381 6.7 Charlotte's Web Par 6.6 (1,990) -44% 3303 66.9 The Good Shepherd Uni 6.6 (2,920) -40% 2250 48.5 Rocky Balboa MGM 6.3 (2,080) -41% 3018 60.9 We Are Marshall WB 5.2 (2,070) -36% 2502 35.5 Eragon Fox 4.5 (1,730) -45% 2625 66.7 Code Name: The Cleaner New Line 4.3 (2,490) - 1736 4.3 The Holiday Sony 4.1 (1,510) -39% 2698 59.1 Happy Feet WB 3.9 (1,530) -49% 2565 185.3 Blood Diamond WB 3.8 (1,980) -22% 1920 43.9 Casino Royale Sony 3.1 (2,420) -33% 1266 159.9 Black Christmas MGM 1.9 (1,240) -50% 1504 15.3 Apocalypto BV 1.6 (1,730) -52% 903 47.1 Notes on a Scandal Searchlight 1.1 (11,830) 163% 93 2 The Queen Miramax 1.0 (3,190) 10% 323 29.9 Thr3e Bigger Pic .77 (1,680) 458 0.77 Pan's Labyrinth Picturehouse .72 (16,360) 27% 44 1.8 Volver Sony Class/Seville .61 (4,840) -2% 126 6.5 Perfume Par .59 (2,110) - 280 0.7 The Painted Veil WIP .51 (7,080) 40% 72 1.3 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $130.10 - - - % Change (Last Year) - 5% - - - % Change (Last Week) - -17% - - - Also debuting/expanding Curse of the Golden Flower Sony Classics .36 (5,480) -19% 66 2.2 Little Children New Line  .35 (3,240) 123% 103 3 Miss Potter MGM .12 (4,540) 1080% 26 0.14 The Good German WB 81,000 (4,050) -30% 20 0.63 Letter from Iwo Jima WB 78,000 (15,600) -11% 5 0.47 Domestic Market Share: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2006 Distributor (releases) Gross Percentage % Change '05 Rank '05 Sony (33) 1718.1 18.60% 87% 5 Buena Vista (25) 1474.4 16.00% 60% 4 Fox (28) 1398.6 15.20% 3% 2 Warner Bros. (25) 1065.9 11.60% -23% 1 Paramount (18) 949.9 10.30% 15% 6 Universal (21) 816.6 8.90% -19% 3 Lions Gate (18) 333.8 3.60% 17% 10 New Line (13) 253.2 2.70% -40% 7 Weinstein Co. (14) 226.5 2.40% 383% 17 Focus (13) 184.8 2.00% 15% 12 MGM (11) 166.8 1.80% -9% 11 Fox Searchlight (14) 165.6 1.80% 62% 14 Sony Classics (23) 59.3 0.60% -6% 15 FreeStyle (9) 56 0.60% N/A N/A Other * (290) 361.6 3.90% -9% - - 9231.1 100.00% 3.80% - * DreamWorks ranked seventh; Miramax ninth in 2005