Irish actor Colin Farrell and U.S. actor Jamie
Foxx, right, pose during a photo call to promote the movie Miami Vice in Berlin
Saturday, July 29, 2006. (AP Photo/ Jan Bauer)
The "Miami Vice" speedboat overtook the "Pirates of the Caribbean" juggernaut
to capture the top spot at the weekend box office.
The film, which pairs Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as the iconic TV
characters Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, took in $25.2 million, compared to
$20.5 million for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," according to
studio estimates Sunday.
"It's nice to be number one," said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at
Universal Pictures.
The gritty, dark action film was directed by Michael Mann, who created the
1980s TV show. The movie was especially attractive to older audiences, with 62
percent of the audience over 30, according to the studio's exit polling.
The audience was pretty evenly split between men and women, the polling
showed.
"It's what our expectations were," Rocco said. "We tried to do something
different. There has been a lot of criticism regarding unoriginal product. We
took a TV series and made it very different."
The news was not necessarily bad for The Walt Disney Co., which produced
"Pirates."
In its third week, "Pirates" has earned $358.4 million to become the highest
grossing film in Disney's history, passing the $339.7 million earned by the
Pixar Animation Studios film "Finding Nemo."
"After posting the biggest opening weekend of all time, it is living up to
the promise created that opening weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of
Exhibitor Relations.
"Pirates" is on track to break the $400 million mark in the coming weeks,
Dergarabedian said.
The Pixar film "Cars" has also raked in $234.6 million to date. And while the
film is no longer in the top 10 at the box office, its cumulative gross makes it
the second highest grossing film of the year, giving Disney the top two spots so
far.
"It's a very happy weekend," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.
The teen flick "John Tucker Must Die" from 20th Century Fox debuted in third
place with a respectable $14 million.
The film, with a budget of about $18 million, attracted a predominantly young
female audience with its story of four high school girls who seek revenge
against an unfaithful boyfriend.
"The Ant Bully," an animated film from Warner Bros., opened with a mere $8.1
million.
The film featured the voice talents of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and
Nicolas Cage and was produced by Tom Hanks. But it just couldn't compete against
a crowded field of family pictures.
"It's much less than what we had wanted," said Jeff Goldstein, general sales
manager at Warner Bros. "The marketplace is crowded. The kids have been
bombarded."
The independent film "Little Miss Sunshine" opened strongly in limited
release.
The quirky film starring Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell, took in $356,863 in
only seven theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a per screen average of
$50,980.
Overall, box office revenue was up 6.3 percent and attendance was up 3
percent.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian
theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be
released Monday.
1. "Miami Vice," $25.2 million.
2. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," $20.5 million.
3. "John Tucker Must Die," $14 million.
4. "Monster House," $11.5 million.
5. "The Ant Bully," $8.2 million.
6. "Lady in the Water," $7 million.
7. "You, Me and Dupree," $7 million
8. "Little Man," $5.1 million.
9. "The Devil Wears Prada," $4.8 million.
10. "Clerks II," $3.9 million.