Friday Numbers Analysis

By Tim Briody

March 8, 2003

Martin and Levy watch their dignity whoosh by.

It's March, and it's nearly time for the NCAA Tournament, so maybe an upset wasn't all that surprising for the first full weekend of March. Steve Martin's comedy tops Bruce Willis's war drama in the Friday estimates.

Bringing Down the House

Bringing Down the House took in an estimated $9.7 million Friday. Chalk it up to the funny trailer and advertising, or the Academy Awards connection (Queen Latifah's nomination and Martin's hosting duties), but not many predicted Bringing Down the House would end up at the top of the box office charts this weekend. Bowfinger (a personal fave) may be a decent comparison, so a 3.1 multiplier gives it an impressive $30 million weekend.

Tears of the Sun

Earning an estimated $5.9 million on Friday, Tears of the Sun opens respectibly, but will be viewed as a disappointment when compared to Bringing Down the House. Still, last year's Hart's War did pull a 3.4 weekend multiplier, so the weekend isn't a total loss. Tears of the Sun should pull in a not bad $20 million for the weekend, but will still end up in second place.

Notable Holdovers

Cradle 2 the Grave lives up to its title as it goes from first to fifth in one week. Down a ridiculous 67% from last Friday, it should end with around $6 million for the week. Its only consolation is that is earns its production budget back this weekend.

Old School continues its, um, streak, as it falls a still pretty-good-for-the-genre 35% from last Friday. Another $10 million for the weekend puts it over $50 million total.

Extrapolated Estimates for the Top Ten
Projected
Rank
Film
Estimated Gross (M$)
1
Bringing Down the House
30.0
2
Tears of the Sun
20.0
3
Old School
10.0
4
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
7.5
5
Cradle 2 the Grave
6.0
6
Chicago
5.5
7
Daredevil
3.9
8
The Jungle Book 2
2.9
9
Shanghai Knights
2.2
10
The Life of David Gale
1.8

     


 
 

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