‘Bringing Down the House’ Beats ‘Tears Of The Sun’ And Tops Box Office
LOS ANGELES – “Bringing Down the House” brought down big box office numbers.
The comedy starring Queen Latifah and Steve Martin took in $31.7 million to debut as the weekend’s No. 1 film, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was the third-biggest March opening ever, behind the 2002 releases “Ice Age” and “Blade 2,” and the strongest opening ever for a Martin film.
The Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci war movie “Tears of the Sun” took in $17.2 million to open at No. 2.
“Bringing Down the House” follows Latifah as an escaped convict who worms her way into the affluent suburban home of an uptight attorney played by Martin and the uproar that follows. The film was panned by critics but drew huge audiences, thanks in part to strong marketing by Disney.
“This is just one of those outrageous comedies where people love to sit back and be entertained and laugh,” said Chuck Viane, Disney’s head of distribution.
The movie averaged $11,317 per theater.
“Tears of the Sun” has Willis as a Navy SEAL who takes his squad to rescue a doctor (the lovely Bellucci) from a war zone in Nigeria. It took in $5,785 per theater playing to audiences that were 61 percent male, said Tom Sherak, a partner at Revolution Studios, which produced the movie for distributor Sony.
“I don’t have to tell you that it’s interesting to have a war film out at this time but it appears people really wanted to see it,” Sherak said.
“Tears of the Sun” marked a shift from the escapist fare that’s dominated the box office in recent weeks, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
“You look at the top two movies and they couldn’t be more different. For the past few weeks it’s been all about escapism at the movies in the top five,” Dergarabedian said. “‘Tears of the Sun’ is decidedly not escapist, but still, as an R-rated, very intense movie that, considering the world situation, is pretty timely, $17.2 million is very strong for that film.”
Last weekend’s No. 2 film, “Old School,” dropped to No. 3 with $9.2 million. “Chicago” stayed strong in its 11th weekend, taking in $6.9 million for the No. 4 spot.
“Chicago just seems unstoppable at this point. It’s just the must-see movie of the season,” Dergarabedian said.
Overall, the weekend’s top 12 films grossed $95.4 million, up almost 15 percent from the same weekend last year and up more than 10 percent from last weekend.
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. “Bringing Down the House,” $31.7 million.
2. “Tears of the Sun,” $17.2 million.
3. “Old School,” $9.2 million.
4. “Chicago,” $6.9 million.
5. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” $6.8 million.
6. “Cradle 2 the Grave,” $6.6 million.
7. “Daredevil,” $5.2 million.
8. “The Jungle Book 2,” $4.2 million.
9. “Shanghai Knights,” $2.7 million.
10. “The Life of David Gale,” $2.1 million.
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