No One to Fight for Anger Management

April 11, 2003


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This weekend only one movie is opening wide, but it should open huge.

Anger Management is opening in over 3500 theatres, and it should be first by a huge margin - maybe even breaking Adam Sandler’s previous record for opening weekend, ($41 million for Big Daddy). Reviews are surprisingly high give Adam Sandler’s track record, or to look at it another way, a little low give Jack Nicholson’s track record.

The next largest opening is Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses. Opening in only 500 theatres, it won’t land in the top five, and maybe not even in the top ten. Reviews for House of 1,000 Corpses are horrible, so far there has been only 1 positive review out of 7, and no ‘Cream of the Crop’ reviewer has even bothered to review it. Also, there has been a lack of promotion for this film. I’ve seen more TV spots for Bend it Like Beckham, which is in almost 400 less theatres.

Having possibly a better chance to land in the top ten is Ghosts of the Abyss. Opening in only 97 theatres, this IMAX film could pull in $30,000 or more per theatre. If it does it could be the first IMAX film to ever land in the top 10. The closest so far what Fantasia 2000 at 12th place. Ghosts of the Abyss does have some factors that will help out. Specifically, the lack of IMAX openings, (this is the first one since The Lion King almost 3 months ago) and the high level of talent behind it (James Cameron and Bill Paxton.)

Holdovers will dominate the rest of the top five this weekend, with Phone Booth and What a Girl Wants battling for second place. Phone Booth had quite a lead on What a Girl Wants last weekend, but the difference in CinemaScores and their target audiences suggest this week it will be a closer contest. A Man Apart will be slightly farther behind with a moderate to poor drop-off. Lastly, Bringing Down the House should climb ahead of Head of State to stay in the top 5 for the sixth weekend in a row.

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Filed under: Anger Management, Bringing Down the House, Phone Booth, Head of State, What a Girl Wants, A Man Apart, Ghosts of the Abyss,