The Covenant Debuts In Top Box Office Spot
Posted September 10, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
When the top film at the box office takes in a paltry $9 million, you know it’s a slow week.
But the Covenant, a tale of supernatural teens trying to destroy one another at an elite boarding school, did just that over the weekend, sparking concerns that the post-blockbuster season will be rife with disappointment.
“The summer season ended on a pretty high note, but the fall season is starting off a little slow,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
“I don’t think anyone expected this weekend to set the world on fire in terms of box office.”
Opening in 2,681 theatres with a screen average of $3,357, the film knocked off previous nu,mber one, Disney’s football drama “Invincible.” The Mark Wahlberg flick dropped to third place with $5.8 million.
In at second, attracting a much older audience than the top film was Hollywoodland, which debuted with $6 million thanks to a cast that features Ben Affleck, Diane Lane and Adrien Brody.
It opened in just 1,548 cinemas but posted a per-theatre average of $3,881, highest among the top 10 movies.
The only other debut to crack the top 10 was The Protector, which edged out the high-octane action of Crank for fourth place with $5 million.
In limited release, Yari Film Group’s “The Illusionist,” a drama set in 1900s Vienna that stars Edward Norton as a magician, continued its strong expansion taking in $4.6 million and sixth spot.
Little Miss Sunshine, starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell, dropped three notches to seventh with $4.4 million.
Meanwhile, moviegoers made history over the weekend, pushing the year’s biggest hit, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, past the $1 billion box office threshold, making it just the third film to do so behind “Titanic” and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.”
Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.
1. “The Covenant,” $9 million.
2. “Hollywoodland,” $6 million.
3. “Invincible,” $5.8 million.
4. “The Protector,” $5 million.
5. “Crank,” $4.8 million.
6. “The Illusionist,” $4.6 million.
7. “Little Miss Sunshine,” $4.4 million.
8. “The Wicker Man,” $4.1 million
9. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” $3 million.
10. “Barnyard: The Original Party Animals,” $2.6 million.