Taking top spot on the Per Theatre Charts in consecutive weeks is not an easy task, but that's just what Big Fish did this week. And it did it by keeping nearly 80% of its premiere audience landing at $27,440 per theatre. Add in a few awards / nominations and an early January wide release and it could add up to box office hit.

House of Sand and Fog, which has also earned more than a few awards / nominations, took second place with an opening weekend average of $22,786. This film opens wider this Friday and if it can maintain this momentum it could find the audience it deserves.

This past week's overall box office champ placed third on the per theatre chart with a $19,614 average. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King's average is great giving its running time, but it is the lowest in the top ten biggest weekends.

The only other film to top $10,000 per theatre was the documentary, The Fog of War. Popular success could hurt its chances at winning an Oscar as the Academy Award Voters tend to pass over documentaries that have mainstream success, Bowling for Columbine not withstanding.

This past week also saw some milestones reached for several Per Theatre Charts alumnus:

In American expanded to over 100 theatres this week and crossed the $1 million mark.
The Station Agent, which is on the other side of its run, lost a few more theatres this week but still had the legs to top $4 million.
And Lost In Translation buoyed by several Golden Globe nominations, including one of Scarlett Johansson two nominations, hit $30 million. That puts it ahead of several big budget busts like and Basic and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.


Submitted by: C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2003-12-23