'Lemony Snicket' Tops Box Office in Debut
LOS ANGELES - "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" brought in $30.2 million of good fortune to debut in first place at the weekend box office.
The film based on the first three children's books by Lemony Snicket, who is actually author Daniel Handler, knocked the star-driven sequel "Ocean's Twelve" to second place, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
"Spanglish," a new Sony film starring Tea Leoni, Adam Sandler and Spanish actress Paz Vega, made its debut at third with an estimated weekend haul of $9 million.
Final figures were to be released Monday.
"Lemony Snicket" tells the story of a trio of orphans who try to defend themselves from greedy Count Olaf, played by Jim Carrey, who pursues the children by concealing himself as a variety of thinly veiled characters.
Playing in wide release at 3,620 theaters, "Lemony Snicket" averaged $8,343 a cinema.
"Jim Carrey and the books are really the primary driving forces behind it and the marketing seems to have worked very well," said Wayne Lewellen, president of distribution for Paramount.
"The Aviator," starring Leonardo DiCaprio as eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, opened in 40 theaters in New York, Los Angeles and "resort towns" — near ski resorts and in Hawaii and Palm Springs — in an attempt to catch vacationing Academy Awards voters, said Mike Rudnitsky, head of domestic distribution at Miramax.
The film earned $831,124 with a per screen average of $20,778.
"The Aviator," which also features Cate Blanchett as Hughes' legendary love Katharine Hepburn, will expand to about 1,750 screens on Christmas Day.
Other films in limited release that have been receiving Oscar buzz include Bill Murray's quirky oceanography tale "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," and "Million Dollar Baby," with Hilary Swank portraying a woman who tries to improve her life of hard knocks by training as a boxer.
In its second week, "Life Aquatic" played on two screens in New York and Los Angeles and brought in $100,595, a drop of only 11 percent from its debut weekend. "Million Dollar Baby" has brought in $233,230 since its opening Wednesday with a per screen average of $29,153.
The success of "Lemony Snickets" continues a trend that has seen family oriented films scoring well at the box office, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
"It just seems the family market is insatiable in their need for new entertainment options," Dergarabedian said.
"The Polar Express," in particular, has continued to draw in family audiences, earning $8.6 million to bring its cumulative total over six weeks to $123.6 million. "Polar Express" saw only an 11 percent drop in its audience from the week before, while other top films had steeper falls, including "Ocean's Twelve," which lost 53 percent, and "Blade: Trinity," which lost 59 percent and dropped from second to fifth.
Revenues from the top 12 movies were down 25 percent compared to last year, but the numbers were skewed because "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" made $72.6 million during its 2003 debut, Dergarabedian said.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.
1. "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," $30.2 million
2. "Ocean's Twelve," $18.3 million.
3. "Spanglish," $9 million
4. "The Polar Express," $8.6 million.
5. "Blade: Trinity," $6.6 million.
6. "National Treasure," $6.1 million.
7. "Christmas With the Kranks," $5.7 million.
8. "The Flight of the Phoenix," $5.1 million.
9. "Closer," $3.5 million.
10. "The Incredibles," $3.3 million.
Band Aid Takes Christmas Top Spot on British Charts
LONDON (Reuters) - The reworked Band Aid charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has clinched the coveted Christmas number one spot on the UK pop charts, the Official UK Charts Company said Sunday.
As expected, Band Aid 20, a nod to the two decades that have passed since Bob Geldof (news) assembled the leading pop stars for the 1984 smash hit record, clung on to the top spot beating off competition from Ronan Keating and pop queen Kylie Minogue.
Proceeds from the new Band Aid recording -- featuring vocals from stars such as Jamelia and Coldplay's Chris Martin and rap from Dizzee Rascal -- will go toward relief efforts in Ethiopia and Sudan.
Geldof welcomed the number one spot. "It's an excuse to think about someone else this Christmas," he told BBC radio. "Thank you very much everybody. What you have done is remarkable and important."
Bookmakers William Hill stopped taking bets on Band Aid taking the top Christmas spot two months ago and instead focused on the festive number two. The charity single has outsold Keating and Minogue by five to one, William Hill said.
Despite missing the number one spot, Christmas came early for Irish heartthrob Keating. His duet "Father and Son" with Yusuf Islam, who first recorded the song when he was known as Cat Stevens, went straight in at number two.
The melancholic remake pushed Minogue's typically upbeat "I Believe In You" down a spot to third.
Rapper Ice Cube's "You Can Do It," featuring Mack 10 and MS Toi, also moved down a spot to fourth place.
Bo Selecta's double comedy charity single "Soda Pop/I've Got You Babe," featuring Patsy Kensit and Davina McCall, was one of three new entries in the top 10, going straight to number five.
Music veteran Morrissey's "I Have Forgiven Jesus" was also new at number ten.
But the man who has become a perennial feature on the festive charts, Cliff Richard, stayed outside the top 10. His ballad "I Cannot Give You My Love," entered at number 13.
The top spot on the Christmas album chart went to British crooner Robbie Williams whose "Greatest Hits" was followed by opera quartet Il Divo. Irish rockers U2 were third with their "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" album.