AOL's `Terminator 3' Opens as Top Film With $44 Mln (Update2)
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- AOL Time Warner Inc.'s ``Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,'' the third installment of the science- fiction movie series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, opened as the No. 1 film in the U.S. and Canada this weekend with an estimated $44 million in ticket sales.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s comedy ``Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,'' the sequel to the 2001 film that starred Reese Witherspoon, opened in second place with $22.9 million, according to Encino, California-based Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box office sales.
Sony Corp.'s ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' dropped to third from the top spot with $14.2 million in its second week.
``Terminator 3'' has brought in $72.5 million since Tuesday, when the studio had a limited release. The film, produced by Munich-based IM Internationalmedia AG and distributed by Warner Bros., adds to AOL Time Warner's success this year with films such as ``The Matrix Reloaded,'' which has grossed more than $270 million, and New Line's release of ``Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' which grossed almost $340 million.
``Sci-fi has the most ardent following of any genre,'' Anthony Kusich, analyst for Reel Source Inc., which tracks box- office receipts said.
He's Back
The latest ``Terminator,'' which also stars Claire Danes and is directed by Jonathan Mostow, follows the character John Connor as he lives out of sight from Skynet, the network of machines that once tried to kill him. Skynet's most sophisticated killing machine, T-X, is sent back in time to complete the job left unfinished by her predecessor.
Connor's only hope for survival is his former assassin, the Terminator, played by Schwarzenegger.
``Every day of the weekend, we had between 33 and 37 percent of the box office,'' said Dennis Higgins, spokesman for IM Internationalmedia. ``We're very encouraged by that consistency.''
The franchise's first film, ``Terminator,'' released Oct. 26, 1984, brought in $38.4 million. The sequel, ``Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' brought in $49.9 million in its Wednesday-to-Sunday opening weekend in 1991, with an eventual gross of $204.9 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.
``Arnold hasn't been in a good movie in seven years,'' Kusich said. ``Warner Bros. definitely shouldn't be disappointed by'' opening-week sales, he said.
Lawyers, Pirates
``Legally Blonde 2'' follows Witherspoon as Elle, who is juggling a demanding career as a rising young lawyer while planning her wedding. The film, which also stars Luke Wilson, has grossed $39.2 million since Wednesday.
``Charlie's Angels,'' a Columbia Pictures release, has grossed $67.2 million in two weeks. Like the first one, it stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as crime-fighting, wisecracking martial-arts experts.
Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Co.'s animated adventure ``Finding Nemo'' fell to fourth from third with $11 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. The tale of a cautious clown fish, Marlin, and his son, Nemo, has grossed $274.9 million. Disney's 1994 release ``The Lion King'' is the biggest-grossing animated film ever with $328.5 million.
Vivendi Universal SA's ``The Hulk'' dropped to fifth from second with $8.2 million. The film has grossed $117 million.
Dreamworks SKG's animated ``Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas,'' featuring the voices of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michelle Pfeiffer, opened in sixth place with $6.8 million. It has grossed $10 million since Wednesday.
Sales Fall
``28 Days Later,'' a science-fiction thriller from News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox studio, came in seventh place with $6.07 million. Viacom Inc.'s ``The Italian Job'' was eighth with $4.28 million. The Paramount release has taken in $84 million in six weeks.
``Bruce Almighty,'' a Jim Carrey comedy, dropped to ninth from sixth with $4 million in receipts. The Universal movie has grossed $228.7 million in seven weeks. Universal's action film ``2 Fast 2 Furious'' fell to 10th from fifth with $2.4 million and has grossed $119.3 million in five weeks.
Weekend sales for the top 12 films fell 8.8 percent to $127 million from $139.2 million in the year-earlier period, Exhibitor Relations said.
For the top 10, AOL Time Warner had the largest market share this weekend with $44 million, followed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with $22.9 million and Vivendi with $14.6 million. Sony was fourth with $14.2 million, followed by Disney and Pixar with $11 million, Dreamworks at $6.8 million, News Corp. at $6.07 million, and Viacom at $4.28 million.
Weekend results were based on actual grosses for Friday and Saturday and estimates for today. The following chart contains figures provided by studios to Exhibitor Relations.
Rev Movie Weeks Avg/ Pct Total
($Mln) Screens Out Screen Chg ($Mln)
1. Terminator 3 $44.0 3,504 1 $12,570 -- $72.5
2. Legally Blonde 2 22.9 3,350 1 6,836 -- 39.2
3. Charlie's Angels 14.2 3,485 2 4,075 -62% 67.2
4. Finding Nemo 11.0 2,902 6 3,790 -21 274.9
5. The Hulk 8.2 3,291 3 2,492 -56 117.0
6. Sinbad: Legend 6.8 3,086 1 2,203 -- 10.0
7. 28 Days Later 6.1 1,407 2 4,314 -40 20.7
8. The Italian Job 4.3 1,584 6 2,699 -22 84.0
9. Bruce Almighty 4.0 1,929 7 2,074 -35 228.7
10. 2 Fast 2 Furious 2.4 1,779 5 1,349 -61 119.3
Last Updated: July 6, 2003 16:29 EDT
