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'The Interpreter' Tops N. American Box Office
2005-04-24
LOS ANGELES - "The Interpreter," a political thriller set at the United Nations, took top honors at the North American box office over the April 22-24 weekend, beating two other new wide release films that made their way into the top 10 lineup.The PG-13-rated film marks the return of director Sydney Pollack after a six-year hiatus. It drew $22.8 million in ticket sales, according to box office tracker, Exhibitor Relations. Final results will be available on Monday. Universal is a unit of NBC Universal, which is majority owned by General Electric Co. Taking the No. 2 spot was "The Amityville Horror," a remake of the popular 1979 haunted house flick with $14.2 million in weekend sales in its second week, a 40 percent drop from its opening week, and a cumulative total of $43.8 million. The R-rated film, based on a bestseller by Jay Anson, marked the last wide release managed solely by distributors at MGM, which was acquired several weeks ago by an investor group led by Sony Corp. It was also the first MGM-produced film since that merger to count as part of Sony Pictures' market share. The film is a co-production with Miramax's Dimension films. Meanwhile, last week's No. 2 pick, "Sahara," slipped to third place with $9 million with a cumulative total of $48.9 million. Produced by Bristol Bay and released by Paramount Pictures, "Sahara" features an Indiana Jones-type character played by Matthew McConaughey in search of a lost Civil War battleship. Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc. Taking fourth place was the weekend's second new release, "A Lot Like Love," from Buena Vista Pictures, with $7.7 million. The PG-13-rated romantic film, geared mainly toward young women, stars Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet as a couple who meet repeatedly over seven years before wondering whether their friendship might turn into something more. Buena Vista is a unit of Walt Disney Co. Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" expanded to wide release over the weekend, showing on 2,503 screens, versus the seven screens it opened on April 8. This catapulted the R-rated China-Hong Kong action flick to No. 5 from No. 21 last week. For the weekend. The Sony Pictures Classics film, which has done more than $66 million in overseas business, reaped $7.3 million in North America and a cumulative total of $8 million. Sony Pictures Classics is a unit of Sony Corp. Dropping three notches to No. 6 in its third week was Twentieth Century Fox's "Fever Pitch," a PG-13-rated chick flick with a baseball theme. Fox is a unit of News Corp. The film drew $5.5 million in sales and a cumulative total of $31.5 million. "Sin City," the R-rated film noir adaptation of Frank Miller's comics from Dimension, a unit of Disney's Miramax studio, slid to No. 7 from No. 4 in its fourth week at the box office. The film drew $3.7 million, and cumulative sales-to-date of $67.3 million. Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated "Guess Who," an update of the 1967 classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," came in at No. 8, with $3.5 million and a cumulative total of $62.4 million. "Robots," from Fox, drew $3.3 million in ticket sales and a cumulative haul of $120.2 million. Taking 10th place was a third new release, "King's Ransom," starring Anthony Anderson as a millionaire who plots his own kidnapping so his wife can't take his fortune during their divorce. For the weekend the PG-13-rated New Line release garnered $2.4 million. Reuters
'Kung Fu Hustle' Wins Golden Horse Award (2005-11-13)Taiwan unveils nominees for Chinese Oscars (2005-10-18)'The Interpreter' Tops N. American Box Office (2005-04-24)``Kung Fu Hustle'' breaks box office records in HK debut (2004-12-25)Stephen Chow Said to Reveres Chaplin (2004-12-24)
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