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'Shark Tale' Leads Box Office for 2nd Weekend
2004-10-10
LOS ANGELES - The gangster cartoon "Shark Tale" roughed up its rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend, while Billy Bob Thornton scored a touchdown at No. 2 with his new school football drama "Friday Night Lights," according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.Among other new releases, former "Saturday Night Live" star Jimmy Fallon's headlining debut "Taxi" stalled at No. 4, while ubiquitous teen queen Hilary Duff's latest drama "Raise Your Voice" struggled to be heard at No. 6. DreamWorks' "Shark Tale," featuring the voices of Will Smith and Robert De Niro in the story of fishy mobsters, bit off $31.7 million for the three days beginning Friday, taking its 10-day catch to $87.7 million. The film cost about $70 million to make. In an era where most big openers lose more than half their audiences in the second weekend, "Shark Tale" dropped just 33 percent, aided by favorable word-of-mouth and by the U.S. Columbus Day holiday on Monday, when about 35 percent of schools will be closed, said Jim Tharp, the closely held studio's distribution president. Universal Pictures' "Friday Night Lights," a fact-based saga starring Thornton as the coach of a high school football team in the Texas town of Odessa, followed with a better-than-expected $20.6 million in its first weekend. The film, a passion project for producer Brian Grazer for the past dozen years, attracted strong critical reviews as well as favorable exit poll ratings, said Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco. Surprisingly, given its setting, 54 percent of the audience was aged over 25, she added. The film, budgeted at just over $30 million, also stars Derek Luke and Lucas Black as two of Thornton's players. It was directed by Peter Berg. Last weekend's No. 2, Touchstone Pictures' firefighting drama "Ladder 49," starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix, slipped to No. 3 with $13.3 million for a 10-day total of $41.2 million. "TAXI" BUMP 20th Century Fox's "Taxi," a remake of a hit French comedy, flagged down $12.1 million. Its total since opening on Wednesday, stands at $12.7 million. Fallon plays a dumb cop who joins forces with an aggressive New York taxi driver (Queen Latifah) to hunt a gang of sexy bank robbers. Fox distribution president Bruce Snyder said the film opened within the studio's diminished expectations. Several months ago, he had been forecasting a bow in the $20 million range, about equal to its modest budget. He said the movie's 43 percent bump from Friday to Saturday was promising. By contrast, the jump for "Friday Night Lights" was 20 percent. Columbia Pictures' sci-fi conspiracy "The Forgotten," starring Julianne Moore, fell two places to No. 5 with $7.5 million in its third weekend. Its total rose to $48.6 million. New Line Cinema's "Raise Your Voice," in which Duff gets to sing a few songs in her role as a student at a prestigious music academy, earned $4.6 million since opening on Friday. Her last film, "A Cinderella Story," opened at No. 3 with $13.8 million in July. Universal Pictures is a unit of General Electric Co. -controlled NBC Universal. Touchstone Pictures is a unit of Walt Disney Co . 20th Century Fox is a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc . Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp . New Line Cinema is a unit of Time Warner Inc .
Thornton's "Lights" shines in video debut (2005-01-22)'Million Dollar Baby' Wins USC Award (2005-01-14)'Shark Tale' Leads Box Office for 2nd Weekend (2004-10-10)17 (10048)
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