Top Grossing Movies

Who amongst us hasn't seen this weepy, overblown melodrama of the sinking of the big ship? (Sorry to spoil the ending on you.) It started out making a strong (but not ridiculous) amount of money its first weekend out . . . but people kept returning to see it over and over again. It was the #1 movie in the U.S. for 13 weeks in a row.

Titanic is also #1 on the list of the most expensive movies ever made, and it turned out to be worth every penny. It wasn't entirely the teenage girls going to the movie eleven times each that brought in the big bucks (they probably made up a mere 80% of the audience). And while this movie's box office may seem to hold an unbreakable record, just wait until ticket prices are up to $25 a person

The Top Grossing Movies at North American theaters during first week of May 2004 followed by distribution studio, gross, total gross and number of weeks in release:

1. "Mean Girls," Paramount, $24.4 million, $24.4 million, one week.

2. "Man On Fire," Fox, $15 million, $44.2 million, two weeks.

3. "13 Going On 30," Sony, $9.8 million, $35 million, two weeks.

4. "Godsend," Lions Gate, $6.8 million, $6.8 million, one week.

5. "Laws of Attraction," New Line, $6.7 million, $6.7 million, one week.

6. "Envy," DreamWorks, $6.1 million, $6.1 million, one week.

7. "Kill Bill - Vol. 2," Miramax, $5.8 million, $52.6 million, three weeks.

8. "The Punisher," Lions Gate, $3.4 million, $29.7 million, three weeks.

9. "Home on the Range," Disney, $2.3 million, $45.5 million, five weeks.

10. "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," Warner Bros., $2.2 million, $79.6 million, six weeks.

Reviews of Last Week's Top 10, Top Grossing Movies (During the second week of May 2004)[1]

1. Troy  ($ 46.9/$ 46.9)

2. Van Helsing  ($ 20.7/$ 85.1)

3. Mean Girls  ($ 10.2/$ 55.4)

4. Man on Fire  ($ 5.1/$ 64.2)

5. Breakin' All the Rules  ($ 5.1/$ 5.1)

6. 13 Going on 30  ($ 4.1/$ 48.5)

7. New York Minute  ($ 3.8/$ 10.8)

8. Laws of Attraction  ($ 2.0/$ 15.3)

9. Kill Bill Vol. 2  ($ 1.6/$ 60.8)

10. Envy  ($ 1.0/$ 11.9)

Unlike its namesake city, Warner Bros.' "Troy" won the battle for the box-office crown this weekend, grossing an estimated $46.9 million. Although impressive, the figure doesn't position "Troy" as the first breakout hit of beach season, perhaps hampered due to its 2 1/2-hour-plus running time and male demos diverted by the NBA playoffs. The period actioner starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom averaged $13,739 from 3,411 theatres. The bow marked the biggest ever for both director Wolfgang Peterson, surpassing "The Perfect Storm's" $41.3 million 2000, and Pitt, out-grossing "Ocean's Eleven's" $38.1 million in 2001. "Troy" also was the largest May opening for an R-rated non-sequel, besting "Gladiator's" $34.8 million in 2000. Studio polls reveal that the audience was nearly split between men and women, with 52 percent male and 48 percent female, with 60 percent under age 30.

"Troy" displaced Universal's "Van Helsing" from the top spot as the Hugh Jackman vampire vlick dropped 60 percent in its sophomore frame to $20.7 million. Meanwhile, Paramount's "Mean Girls" dropped to third with $10.2 million, dipping 26 percent in its third weekend of release. Fox's "Man on Fire" was fourth with $5.1 million.

Also new in theatres this weekend was Screen Gems' "Breakin' All the Rules," starring Jamie Foxx, which earned $5.1 million for an average of $3,861 from 1,318 moviehouses. Studio polls reveal that 52 percent of the audience was under 25, 60 percent female and 65 percent African-American.

Rounding out the top 10 were Columbia's "13 Going on 30" ($4.1 million); Warner Bros.' "New York Minute" ($3.8 million); New Line's "Laws of Attraction" ($2.0 million); Miramax's "Kill Bill Vol. 2" ($1.6 million); and DreamWorks' "Envy" ($1.0 million). Dropping off the list were "Godsend" and "Home on the Range."

In limited release, UA's "Coffee & Cigarettes" consumed $99,162 from five theatres in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, averaging $19,832 from each; Wellspring's "Strayed" earned $19,531 from two houses in the Big Apple; Lions Gate's "A Slipping Down Life" slipped in $9,066 from five theatres; and Sony Classics' "Carandiru" grossed $17,945 from a half-dozen in New York and LA.

Overall, the weekend saw $112.0 million in ticket sales, down 30 percent from the same timeframe last year, when "The Matrix Reloaded" loaded the timeframe's $160.9 million total. So far 2004 is up 1.2 percent from 2003 with $2.91 billion.[2]