‘Daredevil’ Clings to Top Box-Office Spot
LOS ANGELES (AP) ó Serious film proved no match for a daredevil and a big old frat party.
Ben Affleck’s superhero adventure “Daredevil” remained the No. 1 movie for the second straight weekend with $18.9 million, pushing its 10-day total to $70.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“Old School,” starring former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Will Ferrell with Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson as thirtysomething partiers who form a college fraternity, debuted a close second with $17.5 million.
A rush of heavy new dramas had modest to weak openings. “The Life of David Gale,” starring Kevin Spacey as a capital-punishment opponent who lands on death row, was No. 6 with $7.2 million.
The Civil War epic “Gods and Generals,” featuring Robert Duvall in a follow-up to “Gettysburg,” debuted at No. 8 with $4.8 million. “Dark Blue,” with Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames in a police thriller set in the days leading up to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, opened in ninth place with $3.75 million.
Hollywood had a solid weekend overall, with the top 12 movies grossing $96.2 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year.
Among the new movies, “Old School” had a healthy $6,508 average in 2,689 theaters. “The Life of David Gale” averaged $3,580 in 2,002 cinemas, “Gods and Generals” did $3,115 in 1,533 theaters and “Dark Blue” managed just $1,723 in 2,176 locations.
Critics welcomed “Old School” as a lowbrow but fun successor to the campus classic “Animal House,” with Ferrell earning high marks compared to other “Saturday Night Live” alumni, whose big-screen efforts often draw bad reviews.
Men made up 58 percent of the audience for “Old School,” and 56 percent of viewers were younger than 25.
“The genius of the movie, if you can call it genius, is it had appeal across a pretty broad age range,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “You had older teens and twentysomethings interested, then you had thirtysomethings who wanted to see people they could relate to in this frat-house setting.”
“Daredevil,” based on the Marvel Comics character, is poised to become the first movie released in 2003 to top $100 million. The movie began with a largely male audience but drew solidly among women this past weekend, said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released “Daredevil.”
“It’s a legitimate across-the-board movie today,” Snyder said.
The musical “Chicago” continued to trade on its leading 13 Academy Awards nominations, coming in at No. 5 with $8.5 million. Considered the front-runner to win best picture, “Chicago” pushed its two-month total to $94.4 million.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Daredevil,” $18.9 million.
2. “Old School,” $17.5 million.
3. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” $11.9 million.
4. “The Jungle Book 2,” $8.6 million.
5. “Chicago,” $8.5 million.
6. “The Life of David Gale,” $7.2 million.
7. “Shanghai Knights,” $6.4 million.
8. “Gods and Generals,” $4.8 million.
9. “Dark Blue,” $3.75 million.
10. “The Recruit,” $3.5 million.
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