Smith and Sony Feeling a Lot of Love

February 14, 2005

Valentine's Day brought a lot of love to both Will Smith and Sony, as records were set. This led to a massive 16.6% increase from last weekend, however, the box office was down 3.6% from last year. But the latter comparison isn't completely accurate since this time last year was the President's Day Long Weekend. Year to date 2005 is up on 2004 by 9%, but before the industry starts to celebrate, 2004 got off to a very slow start before taking off mid-way through the month, so the race is far from over.

Hitch, which is released by Sony, easily took top spot, beating even the highest predictions with $43.1 million. That is a record for romantic comedy, and with Valentine's Day tonight, it should pull in another $12 million or so. With pleasing reviews and President's Day next weekend, the film should hold up well, but the news isn't all good as the budget may be a little higher than expected at roughly $70 million. Still, the film should come close to making a profit domestically even after P&A budget and the theaters' share are taken into account.

The second placed film was Boogeyman, which is released by Sony, with $10.2 million - down just 46%. At this pace the film should top expectations and easily earn enough to ensure profitability sometime during its international run.

Coming in third was Are We There Yet?, which is released by Sony with $8.2 million… Yes, that's right, Sony managed to snag the top three places this weekend, completing a Trifecta that hasn't been seen since 1989 years, when Universal pulled it off. Like the previous two films, this one is running full steam to profitability, which it should reach early in its home market run.

Million Dollar Baby was close behind, adding $7.4 million to its $45 million total so far. The film is a major Oscar contender and it is far from done at the box office.

Rounding out the top five was Pooh's Heffalump Movie, which had a disappointing $5.8 million debut. This despite pleasant reviews. Still, this film will make the lion's share of its profit at the home market, ensuring many more sequels to come.

It looks like strong competition and weak reviews helped kill off The Wedding Date. The film saw its box office sliced in half to just $5.5 million over the weekend. Still, its total of nearly $20 million is close to initial expectations anyway.

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Filed under: Hitch, Million Dollar Baby, Boogeyman, The Wedding Date, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Are We There Yet?