FOX - STRANGER DIALS UP $21.6 MILLION

Once again raising the question of why studios should bother to produce expensive adult-oriented films when cheapo horror flicks can garner far greater profits, Sony's When a Stranger Calls, which cost only $15 million to make, debuted in first place at the weekend box office with $21.6 million. It was particularly ironic for Sony, which reported a 25 percent plunge in profits in its last quarter, with particularly disappointing results for Memoirs of a Geisha and Zathura. Memoirs, which reportedly cost $85 million to make has taken in only $54 million at the domestic box office. Zathura, which cost about $65 million, grossed only $28 million. Another low-budget film, Big Momma's House 2, dropped to second place with $13.6 million. In two weeks, it has earned $45.7 million.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. When a Stranger Calls, Sony, $21,607,203, (New); 2. Big Momma's House 2, 20th Century Fox, $13,600,645, 2 Wks. ($45,661,165); 3. Nanny McPhee, Universal, $9,796,465, 2 Wks. ($26,535,740); 4. Brokeback Mountain, Focus Features, $6,003,544, 9 Wks. ($60,102,890); 5. Hoodwinked, Weinstein Co. $5,307,334, 4 Wks. ($44,101,550); 6. Underworld: Evolution, Sony, $5,302,601, 3 Wks. ($52,950,739); 7. Something New, Focus Features, $4,879,736, (New); 8. Annapolis, Disney, $3,415,500, 2 Wks. ($12,883,153); 9. Walk the Line, 20th Century Fox, $3,287,475, 12 Wks. ($110,611,645); 10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Disney, $3,072,090, 9 Wks. ($281,934,379).

07/02/2006