'Troy' Dominates US Box Office With $45.6 Mln
Muscle-bound Brad Pitt fought his way through scrawnier competition to help the Greek epic "Troy" claim the top spot at the box office with $45.6 million.
"Troy" was released by Time Warner Inc. (TWX) unit Warner Bros .
A handful of older movies aimed at teenagers continued to dominate the top 10.
Viacom Inc. (VIA) unit Paramount Pictures' high school comedy "Mean Girls" continued its strong run with $10.1 million for third place, dropping only 26% in its third week. "13 Going on 30," from Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Columbia Pictures, fell only 28% to earn $4.2 million for sixth place. Even Warner Bros .' Olsen twins bomb, "New York Minute," fell by a relatively small 37% to earn $3.7 million in seventh place.
Most movies this time of year see earnings drop 50% or more each week.
"These are very minimal drops, which shows that the most consistent audience right now is young girls," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "There are teen guys in the theaters, too. But I'll bet you it's the female in the couple deciding which movie they go to see."
That may also have been a factor with "Troy," which boasted hunky stars Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana.
The film's audience was split equally between male and female viewers, according to Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros . "Males liked it because of the action and epic adventure of the movie. The females liked it because of Brad, Orlando and Eric," he said.
Meanwhile, the Dracula, Wolf Man and Frankenstein action-adventure "Van Helsing" saw 61% of its audience turn to dust in its second week, falling to No. 2 with $20.1 million for a cumulative total of $84.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Van Helsing" was released by Universal Pictures, which this past week officially became part of General Electric Co.'s (GE) newly formed NBC Universal unit.
Despite the apparently strong earnings for "Troy" and "Van Helsing," their massive budgets and the intensity of the summer movie competition suggest they will have a hard time earning their money back in North American theaters.
"Troy" cost a reported $175 million to $200 million to produce, while "Van Helsing" was in the $160 million range. Add to each about $50 million in marketing costs, and they will likely rely on international ticket sales and home video releases to show a profit.
Warner Bros . expressed satisfaction with "Troy" earnings, saying its debut compared favorably with 2000's R-rated "Gladiator," which earned $34.8 million in its opening weekend and rode strong word-of-mouth praise to a $187.6 million total, even before winning the Oscar for best picture.
The only other new movie to open in wide release was Jamie Foxx's anti-romantic comedy "Breakin' All the Rules," in which he played the author of a manual on how to leave your lover. The film, released by Sony's Screen Gems unit, ranked in fourth place with $5.3 million.
Many bombastic movies like "Troy" open with a handful of smaller films aimed at niche viewers. Studio heads think like this: Black audiences who may be bored with armies of ancient white guys hacking each other in "Troy" had the option of "Breakin' All the Rules." On Memorial Day weekend, sensitive women who don't want to see the world end in "The Day After Tomorrow" can see perky Kate Hudson in "Raising Helen" instead.
The weekend's total box-office earnings were down 35% from last year, coming in at $100.2 million. One movie made up most of the total $154.6 million from the same time in 2003: "The Matrix Reloaded," which was No. 1 with $97.1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Troy," $45.6 million
2. "Van Helsing," $20.1 million.
3. "Mean Girls," $10.1 million.
4. "Breakin' All the Rules," $5.3 million.
5. "Man on Fire," $5.2 million.
6. "13 Going on 30," $4.2 million.
7. "New York Minute," $3.7 million.
8. "Laws of Attraction," $2 million.
9. "Kill Bill - Vol. 2," $1.6 million.
10. "Godsend," $1 million.
《特洛伊》美国公映首周票房惨败
时代华纳公司(Time Warner Inc)旗下的华纳兄弟公司(Warner Bros.)正面临如何让耗资巨大的史诗影片《特洛伊》(Troy)收回成本的棘手问题，该片在美国公映首周票房收入仅4,560万美元。
据该公司知情人士透露，此片成本为1.8亿美元，而许多好莱坞业内人士认为成本应至少达2亿美元，这还不包括数千万美元的市场营销费用。但华纳兄弟预计，《特洛伊》能够通过持续热映收回投资。该公司称，初步数据显示，这部以古希腊诗人荷马(Homer)撰写的史诗《伊利亚特》(The Iliad)为蓝本，由影星Brad Pitt主演的影片已在美国以外的47个国家获得约5,400万美元的票房收入，预计该片在国际市场会有不俗表现。
由于今年夏季档期将有多部大制作电影上映，因此对于《特洛伊》此等规模的影片，首映当周的表现变得非常重要，因为它需要在新的影片上映前获得尽可能多的收入。
