Friday Box Office Analysis (4/22)

Despite worries that Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn might not be a hot mainstream duo, The Interpreter opened strongly with $7.5 million in ticket sales on Friday. Playing in 2,758 theaters, the film averaged a fairly hot $2,712 per-screen, and opened alongside Denzel Washington?s kidnapper thriller, Man on Fire, which collected $7.3 million and $2,470/screen.

The Interpreter partly benefited from the reputation of (director) Sydney Pollack, whose previous thriller, The Firm, starring Tom Cruise, debuted with $32.5 million and $13,572 per-screen on its opening weekend. Though Kidman?s last thriller (if you consider The Others a horror movie), The Peacemaker, only took in $12.3 million in its debut, that was eight years ago when she wasn't quite considered an icon, as the remake of The Stepford Wives had taken in $7.9 million on opening day last summer. Sean Penn was the oddball of the two, who only had Mystic River to judge his mainstream appeal, and that film had Oscar buzz and an ensemble cast alongside his presence.

The Interpreter managed to glide past last summer?s political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, which opened to $6.1 million on its first day and finished with $20.0 million over the weekend. That film was edgier in comparison, and Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep aren?t a duo that most audiences would rush to see (the film had solid word of mouth, though). A second day jump in the high-10% to low-20% range should be in store for Interpreter, which should give it a weekend haul of around $21 - 22 million.

Coming right off the hit status of Guess Who, Ashton Kutcher?s new comedy, A Lot Like Love, debuted modestly on Friday with $3.0 million. The movie was booked in 2,502 theaters (in comparison, Guess Who had 3,147 theaters) and averaged $1,183 per-screen. The opening was alongside a similar romantic comedy, The Prince & Me ($3.3 million - $1,248 per-screen).

The ad-campaign simply featured two recognizable faces flirting in various circumstances without any real joke setups, and the ads gave away most of the plot points. While spoilers for this genre can put teenagers in the seats (it gives them a feel-good promise), the material in the ads wasn?t memorable. Just Married ($6.4 million - $2,315 per-screen) had benefited from a trailer that showcased the chaotic situations in dating, which its audience can relate to, and it helped that Brittany Murphy had established herself already.

Amanda Peet was running off The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, and they had turned in $3.4 million and $2.7 million, respectively, on their opening day. And the first installment also featured a promising pairing of Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, which helped the film gross $13.8 million by the end of the weekend (with a robust Saturday boost). A second day jump of around 17% could result for A Lot Like Love, putting the weekend at about $8.5 million.

Kung Fu Hustle didn?t quite catch on with mainstream audiences despite a powerful two-week run in Los Angeles and New York. The film turned in $2.3 million in 2,500 theaters, averaging a slow $922 per-screen. Given the off-the-wall nature of the proceedings, appeal was going to be questionable beyond the tolerance at the art houses, even with its friendly genre.

The attempt to send this film into wide release was reminiscent to the expansion of Open Water, which also saw a strong bow in limited release. That film expanded to 2,709 theaters and grossed $3.9 million ($1,434 per-screen) on its Friday, leading to a weekend of $11.5 million. The studio was smart, though, and advertised the flick (in the commercials) as a very mainstream shark thriller in which its heroes are haunted by killer sharks and are likely eaten up at some point. But moviegoers looking for a blood bath found out that it was treated as more of a true story in the league of The Blair Witch Project (without it being a hoax), which sent potential fans into a rage.

Kung Fu Hustle?s ads have just featured characters pulling very strange fight moves (and any hint of a story hasn?t been noticeable), and the director?s previous flick, Shaolin Soccer, hasn?t quite been discovered yet. Both films probably take a certain tolerance to enjoy, and specifically with Kung Fu Hustle, the offbeat style could give it more of a cult status. Young males are likely going to be the driving force this weekend, a demographic that usually picks Friday night over Saturday. As a result, the film might not receive more than a 15% Saturday increase, which should put the weekend at around $6.5 million.

King?s Ransom, which is Anthony Anderson?s first turn as a leading man in a comedy, crashed and burned, grossing $665,000 in 1,508 theaters for an embarrassing $441 theater average. The movie looked like it was getting dumped by its studio in a similar fashion as Alone in the Dark, which had grossed over $900,000 on opening day and averaged $431 per-screen.

Anderson may be well-liked by his niche of fans considering the decent debut of My Baby?s Daddy, but in that movie, along with Scary Movie 3 and Me Myself & Irene, he was a supporting player beside marketable comedians. The ad-campaign for this (if there was much of one) tried to play off his charm but the trailer failed to provide a sufficient quantity of jokes, and the story was even somewhat of a mystery for what seemed like a straightforward flick. King?s Ransom should follow through with about $2.0 million for the weekend.