MATRIX - IT'S V FOR VICTORY

While some box office analysts were predicting that Warner Bros.' V for Vendetta would emerge as the first big blockbuster of the year, it opened instead with an estimated $26.1 million -- a V for valiant effort, but hardly explosive. The film, written and produced by the Wachowski brothers, took in about $2 million less than their original Matrix did in 2000 and was the fourth-highest opening of the year. Overall, the box office was down 9 percent from the comparable week a year ago. Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman attributed the failure of the movie to open with big numbers to competition from college basketball's "March Madness." The counterprogrammed film She's the Man, aimed at female audiences, debuted in fourth place with $11 million. Paramount's Failure to Launch, last week's box-office champ, slipped to second place with about $15.8 million, to bring its total to $48.5 million. Meanwhile, opening in limited release, the satire Thank You for Smoking posted a banner $260,000 in five theaters in New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. But the Sidney Lumet-directed Find Me Guilty was unable to find an audience as it opened with just $628,000 in 439 theaters.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
1. V for Vendetta, $26.1 million; 2. Failure to Launch, $15.8 million; 3. The Shaggy Dog, $13.6 million; 4. She's the Man, $11 million; 5. The Hills Have Eyes, $8.1 million; 6. 16 Blocks, $4.7 million; 7. Eight Below, $4.2 million; 8. Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, $3 million; 9. The Pink Panther, $2.5 million; 10. Aquamarine, $2 million.

20/03/2006