LOS ANGELES, June 20, 2005
Hollywood's Box Office Blues
Ticket Sales Decline For 17th Straight Week
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(AP)
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Batman (Christian Bale) rescues Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) in "Batman Begins." (AP)
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"Batman Begins" bumped the previous weekend's No. 1 film, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," to second place with $27.3 million, raising its 10-day total to $98 million.
The weekend's only other new wide release, Hilary Duff's "The Perfect Man," opened with a weak $5.5 million, less than half the $13.6 million debut for the teen queen's 2004 romance "A Cinderella Story."
Since opening Wednesday, "Batman Begins," starring Christian Bale as the DC Comics hero in his early days, grossed $71.1 million. The cast also includes Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes and Gary Oldman.
Comparisons to the previous four "Batman" movies, released from 1989 to 1997, are imprecise since they all opened on Friday and ticket prices have risen dramatically since. The earlier "Batman" flicks had opening weekends ranging from $40.5 million to $52.8 million.
Warner Bros. expects "Batman Begins" to finish its first week with $85 million, compared to a range of $59 million to $77 million for the previous "Batman" movies in their first week.
Distribution boss Fellman said "Batman Begins" opened strongly enough that he expects the studio will push ahead with a sequel.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. (Final figures will be released Monday):
1. "Batman Begins," $46.9 million.
2. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," $27.3 million.
3. "Madagascar," $11.1 million.
4. "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," $9.7 million.
5. "The Longest Yard," $8 million.
6. "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D," $6.6 million.
7. "The Perfect Man," $5.5 million.
8. "Cinderella Man," $5.2 million.
9. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," $3.2 million.
10. "The Honeymooners," $2.6 million.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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