Higher Education or Timely Thriller

October 3, 2003

This week we see two movies open wide and to good reviews. And for the first time in nearly a month, there could be a battle for top spot.

I'm a fan of Jack Black, so much so that I own I Still Know What You Did Last Summer cause he's in it. But I never thought I'd see the day when he'd star in such a critically acclaimed movie. School of Rock is currently sitting at 90% positive over on Rotten Tomatoes and even more for the Cream of the Crop. That's one of the best wide scores for a wide release this year. Still, surprisingly high reviews didn't help The Rundown last weekend so look for $19 million this week with good legs in the coming weeks.

Denzel Washington has made a career with movies released at this time of the year. In 2001 it was Training Day, the year before that it was Remember the Titans, next year it's The Manchurian Candidate. His movies generally open well, if unspectacularly, and rely on strong legs to become hits. Expect Out of Time to be no exception. While the reviews are not as strong as some of his previous work, at 65% positive they are not going to be a liability either. $18 million opening weekend and similar legs to School of Rock.

Despite good reviews, The Rundown wasn't able to match predictions last week. And the mid-week numbers have not been kind to the action movie. Look for it to lose a little more than 50% in its second weekend dropping to $9 million.

Unlike the previous movie, Under the Tuscan Sun beat expectations and was rewarded this week by adding nearly 500 more theatres to its count. This increase will counter most of the drop in its per theatre average leaving it with just under $9 million for the weekend.

With the novelty of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer gone, Secondhand Lions will drop more this weekend than last weekend. It will still be left with $5 million and a fifth place finish.

Lost in Translation adds almost 400 theatres this week and will again finish in the top ten with $4 million.


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Filed under: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, School of Rock, The Manchurian Candidate, The Rundown, Lost in Translation, Under the Tuscan Sun, Secondhand Lions, Out of Time