300 Makes $27.7 Million Opening Day!

[Brian Damage]

In what could turn out to be one of the most astounding box office stories of the year so far, ShowbizData is reporting that Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's Greek war epic 300 has earned an estimated $27.7 million on its opening Friday, including midnight previews and IMAX receipts.

This could be a watershed opening for Snyder and Warner Bros. who took a big chance on the stylized film based on Miller's graphic novel after the failure of Oliver Stone's Alexander at the box office in 2004, but it's a good sign that Snyder's next proposed project, an adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen, will be fast-tracked come Monday morning.

Although 300 had a bigger opening day than last year's Ice Age: The Meltdown, which currently holds the March weekend opening record with $68.03 million, the guy-friendly movie is also likely to be more frontloaded to Friday, which means it might be a close one if it's going to break that record for the weekend.

[comedyfreak]

Heads rolled at the weekend box office in North America as the blood-soaked ancient epic "300" slaughtered its foes in spectacular fashion.

The grim warrior tale sold an estimated $70 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release, setting a new record for a March release, the film's distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, the most bullish oracles had forecast an opening in the $50 million range. The special-effects extravaganza, with a largely unknown cast, cost in the mid-$60 million range to produce, the Time Warner Inc-owned studio said.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler stars as Leonidas, the hunky king of the Spartans, who leads 300 of his warriors to glorious death at the Battle of Thermopylae against a massive Persian army commanded by the fey king Xerxes (Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro). Zack Snyder ("Dawn of the Dead") directed the adaptation of comic book writer Frank Miller's graphic novel.

"300" earned largely positive reviews, despite or because of its myriad decapitations and balletic battlefield carnage. The last few chart-toppers, incumbent champ "Wild Hogs," "Ghost Rider" and "Norbit" were slammed by the critics.

FEMALE APPEAL

Audiences were "hungry to go to something that looks this unique," said Mark Canton, one of the film's producers.

Even though "300" is tailor-made for male moviegoers, it also rated highly with women, because the filmmakers enlarged the role of Leonidas' queen (played by Lena Headey) to make her a "true partner" of the king, Canton said.

Its achievement was all the more noteworthy given that the previous record-holder for the month, 2006's "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," with $68 million, was a family-oriented cartoon, while "300" is an unabashedly gruesome spectacle with an "R" rating that prevents viewers under 17 attending without adult supervision.

In fact, the opening for "300" ranks as the third-highest for an R-rated movie, behind "The Matrix Reloaded" ($91 million) and "The Passion of the Christ" ($83 million).

"300" also opened in a few small Asian markets, and reaches Britain in two weeks, said Canton. Action-packed period epics, such as 2004's "Troy," often do much better overseas.

Walt Disney Co.'s surprise hit "Wild Hogs," starring John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and Tim Allen as unlikely road warriors, slipped to No. 2 with $28 million; its 10-day total rose to $77.4 million.

The next three movies were separated by less than $100,000, and rankings could change when final data are released on Monday. Disney's childhood saga "Bridge to Terabithia" rose one to No. 3 with $6.9 million, followed by Columbia Pictures' Nicolas Cage action movie "Ghost Rider" and Paramount Pictures' serial-killer thriller "Zodiac" with about $6.8 million each.

"Bridge to Terabithia" has earned $67.0 million after four weeks, and "Ghost Rider" $104.1 million, also after four weeks. "Ghost Rider" is the first 2007 release to cross the century mark; the "Ice Age" sequel took the honors last year in the second week of April. "Zodiac" has $23.7 million after two weeks. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp . Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc.

Weekend Box Office Estimates (U.S.)
This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative
Gross Rlse
Wks # of
Theaters
1 - 300 Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $70,025,000 $70,025,000 1 3103
2 1 Wild Hogs Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $28,021,000 $77,437,000 2 3296
3 4 Bridge to Terabithia Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $6,865,000 $67,020,000 4 3210
4 3 Ghost Rider Sony Pictures Releasing $6,800,000 $104,142,000 4 3347
5 2 Zodiac Warner Bros. Pictures International, Paramount Pictures $6,773,000 $23,727,000 2 2379
6 5 The Number 23 New Line Cinema $4,330,000 $30,481,000 3 2489
7 6 Norbit Paramount Pictures $4,314,000 $88,331,000 5 2505
8 7 Music and Lyrics Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $3,830,000 $43,847,000 4 2280
9 10 Breach Universal Pictures Distribution $2,611,000 $29,127,000 4 1505
10 11 Amazing Grace Samuel Goldwyn Films, Roadside Attractions $2,525,000 $11,439,000 3 1000
11 8 Black Snake Moan Paramount Vantage $1,862,000 $7,272,000 2 1253
12 9 Reno 911!: Miami 20th Century Fox Distribution, Paramount Pictures $1,390,000 $19,120,000 3 1745

[TJL]

I'm not really surprized the movie did so well.

"300" was the hardest ticket to get here in NYC this weekend. Just about all the Saturday shows (regular theaters and the IMax) at the theater I saw it in were sold out.

[Lex Luthor]

It was an incredible movie and I will have to go see it at least once more. I would give it a 9.5/10 it is certainly a testostorone packed flick.

The only thing I was not keen on (not a spoiler if you have seen any trailers) was the "lord of the Rings" type creatures that were thrown in. Although I guess that was taken from the graphic novel and obviously not historical accounts.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

The only thing I was not keen on (not a spoiler if you have seen any trailers) was the "lord of the Rings" type creatures that were thrown in. Although I guess that was taken from the graphic novel and obviously not historical accounts.

Yes. The movie (along with the graphic novel) never claims to be historically accurate. But you've got to admit, some of that stuff they threw in was pretty damn cool.