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

November 4 , 2007 Weekend Estimates Domestic Market Share Honey in the Bank ... The multiplexes were abuzz with American Gangster leading the frame on an estimated $46.5 million tally and the animated Bee Movie adding a stinging $38.9 million to a turnaround session at the box office. The leaders didn't leave much more for the national debut of Martian Child that ranked seventh with $3.5 million. The big guns also reigned in the deluge of regional and niche freshmen though the limited bows of non-fiction entries Darfur Now and Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten posted respectable returns. Canadian bows of the comedy Surviving My Mother and The Tracy Fragments were disappointing while a single screen reissue of the seminal thriller Diva trilled to an impressive $5,600. There was no denying the fierce spotlight placed upon American Gangster, the saga of a real life Harlem drug czar during the Vietnam era. The star vehicle's production history had already been interrupted by the studio's decision to halt production once and its revival upped the stakes. Industry consensus was that it had to open to at least $40 million to prove viable and many doubted that a violent saga of lawlessness could attain that benchmark; the apt precedents were not supportive. However, it proved to hit a sonorous chord with audiences and its opening day $16 million salvo allowed for a collective sigh of relief. The picture posted this season's best opening gross and ranked as second best fall premiere in the record books. Also exceeding expectations was Bee Movie. Some sectors had dire predictions for the Jerry Seinfeld inspired family film, believing a discount between his core fan base and kids and parents. Initial reviews buttressed that prognosis but in the end it was families that propelled its box office and hopes to reel in adults can only improve with time. Weekend tallies approached $140 million for a truly expansive 39% boost from the prior frame's debut of the other buzzer Saw IV. It was also 7% improved from 2006 when the cautious bow of Borat bested the $19.5 million opening of Santa Clause 3 and $18.8 million for Flushed Away with a $26.4 million gross. Apart from the merciless 67% decline of Saw IV, most hold over titles appeared to sustain well against the debuting commercial dynamos. Last weekend's newbie romantic comedy Dan in Real Life slipped 31% but generally the erosion factor was between 40% and 50%. The well received human comedy Martian Child had alienating returns that translated into an unrecoverable $1,750 theater average. It was clearly a victim to second choice-itis in the unforgiving marketplace. The session was light on platform expansions other than the crime drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead that saw its gross balloon 365% and still maintained close to a $10,000 average. Also worth keeping a close check on was Darfur Now, the highly lauded documentary that's received an effective TLC marketing campaign. Its initial three screen exposure posted a good but not great $7,800 average and continues a disturbing trend for soft returns for films - real and created - addressing serious contemporary social issues. - Leonard Klady Weekend Estimates - November 2-4, 2007 Title Distributor Gross (average) % change * Theaters Cume American Gangster Uni 46.5 (15,230) - 3054 46.5 Bee Movie Par 38.9 (9,910) - 3928 38.9 Saw IV Lions Gate 10.5 (3,310) -67% 3183 50.6 Dan in Real Life BV 8.1 (4,230) -31% 1925 22.9 30 Days of Nights Sony 3.8 (1,460) -44% 2627 34.1 The Game Plan BV 3.8 (1,330) -38% 2844 81.9 Martian Child New Line 3.5 (1,750) - 2020 3.5 Michael Clayton WB 2.8 (1,320) -43% 2107 33.1 Why Did I Get Married? Lions Gate 2.6 (1,870) -54% 1403 51.1 Gone Baby Gone Miramax 2.3 (1,430) -39% 1617 14.9 Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (reissue) BV 1.5 (2,740) -55% 562 12.8 The Comebacks Fox 1.4 (850) -59% 1632 11.8 We Own the Night Sony 1.3 (810) -61% 1634 27.7 Into the Wild Par Vantage 1.3 (1,950) -19% 660 10.9 The Darjeeling Limited Fox Searchlight 1.2 (1,980) -31% 615 8 Across the Universe Sony 1.2 (1,420) -31% 822 21 Bella Roadside Attract. .85 (4,570) -36% 186 2.4 Lars and the Real Girl MGM .78 (2,430) -16% 321 2.4 Elizabeth: The Golden Age Uni .61 (1,090) -63% 562 15.4 Rendition New Line .56 (920) -76% 609 9.3 Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) - $133.50 - - - % Change (Last Year) - 7% - - - % Change (Last Week) - 39% - - - Also debuting/expanding Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Thinkfilm .34 (9,830) 365% 35 0.45 Lust, Caution Focus .31 (2,540) -34% 122 3.3 Assassination of Jesse James … WB .23 (1,080) -47% 212 3.3 Surviving My Mother Alliance 62,700 (1,140) - 54 0.06 Darfur Now WIP 23,400 (7,800) - 3 0.02 Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten IFC 18,900 (9,450) - 2 0.02 A Broken Sole Prism 10,300 (10,300) - 1 0.01 Diva (reissue) Rialto 5,600 (5,600) - 1 0.01 The Tracy Fragments Odeon 3,260 (1,630) - 2 0.01 Worldwide Box Office - To November 1, 2007 Title Distributor Gross Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End BV 961,653,057 Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix WB 942,294,650 Spider-Man 3 Sony 890,976,387 Shrek the Third Par 795,564,752 Transformers Par 702,463,147 Ratatouille BV 560,837,324 The Simpsons Movie Fox 522,063,442 300 WB 455,946,644 The Bourne Ultimatum Uni 412,395,279 Night at the Museum * Fox 394,697,927 Live Free or Die Hard Fox 374,443,221 Ocean's Thirteen WB 310,940,968 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Fox 286,218,471 Wild Hogs BV 253,658,370 Rush Hour 3 NLC 248,876,584 Ghost Rider Sony 229,847,486 Mr. Bean's Holiday Uni/Wk Title 224,238,605 Knocked Up Uni 215,921,696 The Pursuit of Happyness * Sony 209,859,635 Hairspray NLC 191,401,859   Domestic Market Share - November 1, 2007 Distributor (releases) Gross (millions) Mrkt Share Paramount (18) 1265.2 15.90% Sony (26) 1160.7 14.60% Warner Bros. (27) 1076.5 13.50% Buena Vista (18) 1057.1 13.30% Universal (18) 926.2 11.70% Fox (19) 758.9 9.60% New Line (11) 414.8 5.20% Lions Gate (20) 338.1 4.30% MGM (22) 291.9 3.70% Focus (8) 107.3 1.30% Fox Searchlight (12) 98.1 1.20% Miramax (8) 75.8 0.90% Picturehouse (7) 56.9 0.70% Paramount Vantage (6) 45.1 0.60% Other * (258) 276 3.50% - 7948.6 100.00%