NICOLAS CAGE - GLITTER AT OSCARS; NOT MUCH AT BOX-OFFICE TILL

Moviegoers may have had their eyes on the Oscars over the weekend, but they did not have their eyes on the movies themselves. The top 12 films earned a combined gross of only $101.8 million, according to box office trackers Media by Numbers. The figure was virtually flat with the comparable weekend a year ago. So far this year, box office ticket sales are up less than 1 percent over last year while attendance is down 2.2 percent. Leading the box office was the second week of Ghost Rider, starring Nicolas Cage, which earned $20.1 million, despite dropping 56 percent from its debut a week ago. The Number 23 opened in second place with $14.6 million. Other new films also had lackluster openings including Reno 911!: Miami with $10.2 million (fourth place); The Astronaut Farmer with $4.5 million (ninth place); and Amazing Grace with 4.3 million (tenth place).

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1 Ghost Rider, Sony, $20,067,443, 2 Wks. ($79,027,540); 2. The Number 23, New Line, $14,602,867, (New); 3. Bridge to Terabithia, Disney, $14,157,645, 2 Wks. ($46,805,679); 4. Reno 911!: Miami, 20th Century Fox, $10,273,477, (New); 5. Norbit, Paramount, $9,825,021, 3 Wks. ($74,763,394); 6. Music and Lyrics, Warner Bros., $7,652,433, 2 Wks. ($31,715,552); 7. Breach, Universal, $5,994,950, 2 Wks. ($20,304,675); 8. Daddy's Little Girls, Lionsgate, $4,815,337, 2 Wks. ($25,132,757); 9. The Astronaut Farmer, Warner Bros., $4,454,319, (New); 10. Amazing Grace, IDP Films, $4,054,542, (New).

27/02/2007