Brett Ferino
04-13-2003, 05:45 PM
A little Anger went a long way at the cineplex this weekend.
The blockbuster pairing of Jack Nicolson and Adam Sandler made for blockbuster box office, as Anger Management raged into theaters with a huge $44.5 million over the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
The Columbia-Revolution Studios tag-team comedy, starring Sandler as a mild-mannered guy tortured by his button-pushing court-appointed counselor Nicholson, single-handedly righted the movie biz, which had been in the midst of four down weekends in a row thanks to a combination of war in Iraq and plain bad flicks.
Not only did Anger Management gross more than the rest of the top 12 movies combined, it scored the highest debut of the year (beating Daredevil's $40.3 million), the biggest April debut ever (topping The Scorpion King's $36.1 million last year) and the best opening for both Nicholson (whose previous was 1989's Batman with $40.5 million) and Sandler (Big Daddy's $41.5 million in 1999).
Anger Management opened in a whopping 3,551 theaters, one of the widest debuts in Hollywood history, and averaged $12,532 per, tops among the weekend's major films.
It's also the third comedy to open at number one this year, following the $100 million-plus Steve Martin-Queen Latifah smash Bringing Down the House and the Chris Rock-Bernie Mac political comedy Head of State.
With Anger storming in, last week's chart-topper, Phone Booth, slipped to second with just $7.5 million.
The only other major newcomer to surface over the weekend was Rob Zombie's long-dead House of 1,000 Corpses, which opened in seventh place with $3.4 million.
Originally slated for release in summer 2001, the shock rocker's directorial debut was shelved by Universal. Zombie said studio suits found the gorefest too disturbing; but studio insiders said they felt the film was just plain horrible. Zombie bought back the film and secured a distribution deal with Lions Gate, which released Corpses in 595 theaters, where it pulled in horror lovers and averaged a solid $5,714 per.
On the art-house circuit, the Sundance hit Better Luck Tomorrow, about a group of bored suburban Asian-American teens looking for trouble, had a huge premiere. Playing in just 13 theaters, the MTV Films/Paramount release tallied an impressive $398,489 to average $30,653--tops among all movies this weekend.
Powered by the Adam-Jack attack, the top 12 grossed $86.9 million, according to receipt-tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. That's up 6.3 percent from last year and, as previously mentioned, ends a four-week skid.
Final figures will be announced Monday; meantime, here are the top 10 based on initial estimates:
1. Anger Management, $44.5 million
2. Phone Booth, $7.5 million
3. What a Girl Wants, $6.7 million
4. Bringing Down the House, $4.6 million
5. A Man Apart, $4.5 million
6. Head of State, $4 million
7. House of 1,000 Corpses, $3.4 million
8. Chicago, $3.3 million
9. The Core, $3.2 million
10. Basic, $2.2 million
The blockbuster pairing of Jack Nicolson and Adam Sandler made for blockbuster box office, as Anger Management raged into theaters with a huge $44.5 million over the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
The Columbia-Revolution Studios tag-team comedy, starring Sandler as a mild-mannered guy tortured by his button-pushing court-appointed counselor Nicholson, single-handedly righted the movie biz, which had been in the midst of four down weekends in a row thanks to a combination of war in Iraq and plain bad flicks.
Not only did Anger Management gross more than the rest of the top 12 movies combined, it scored the highest debut of the year (beating Daredevil's $40.3 million), the biggest April debut ever (topping The Scorpion King's $36.1 million last year) and the best opening for both Nicholson (whose previous was 1989's Batman with $40.5 million) and Sandler (Big Daddy's $41.5 million in 1999).
Anger Management opened in a whopping 3,551 theaters, one of the widest debuts in Hollywood history, and averaged $12,532 per, tops among the weekend's major films.
It's also the third comedy to open at number one this year, following the $100 million-plus Steve Martin-Queen Latifah smash Bringing Down the House and the Chris Rock-Bernie Mac political comedy Head of State.
With Anger storming in, last week's chart-topper, Phone Booth, slipped to second with just $7.5 million.
The only other major newcomer to surface over the weekend was Rob Zombie's long-dead House of 1,000 Corpses, which opened in seventh place with $3.4 million.
Originally slated for release in summer 2001, the shock rocker's directorial debut was shelved by Universal. Zombie said studio suits found the gorefest too disturbing; but studio insiders said they felt the film was just plain horrible. Zombie bought back the film and secured a distribution deal with Lions Gate, which released Corpses in 595 theaters, where it pulled in horror lovers and averaged a solid $5,714 per.
On the art-house circuit, the Sundance hit Better Luck Tomorrow, about a group of bored suburban Asian-American teens looking for trouble, had a huge premiere. Playing in just 13 theaters, the MTV Films/Paramount release tallied an impressive $398,489 to average $30,653--tops among all movies this weekend.
Powered by the Adam-Jack attack, the top 12 grossed $86.9 million, according to receipt-tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. That's up 6.3 percent from last year and, as previously mentioned, ends a four-week skid.
Final figures will be announced Monday; meantime, here are the top 10 based on initial estimates:
1. Anger Management, $44.5 million
2. Phone Booth, $7.5 million
3. What a Girl Wants, $6.7 million
4. Bringing Down the House, $4.6 million
5. A Man Apart, $4.5 million
6. Head of State, $4 million
7. House of 1,000 Corpses, $3.4 million
8. Chicago, $3.3 million
9. The Core, $3.2 million
10. Basic, $2.2 million