Will Smith Saves Civilization, Hollywood With ‘I Am Legend’
Posted December 16, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It seems movie fans can’t get enough of Will Smith saving human kind.
” I Am Legend,” which stars Smith as a plague survivor who may be the last living human, debuted with $76.5 million, the biggest December opening ever and a personal best for one of Hollywood’s top box-office champs.
“It’s no wonder Will Smith feels so lonely. Everyone else on Earth is in the movie theatre,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
The film led a boom week at the box office, as family flick ” Alvin and the Chipmunks,” starring Jason Lee in a big-screen take on the cartoon critters, opened a strong No. 2 with $45 million and snapped Hollywood out of a drowsy fall season.
“Forty-five million acorns,” said Chris Aronson, senior vice-president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. “Chipmunks are diurnal animals and they do hibernate, but not right now.”
Overall business soared, with the top 12 movies taking in $153.6 million, up 39 per cent from the same weekend a year earlier, when Smith also was No. 1 with a $26.5 million debut for “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
The previous week’s champ, “The Golden Compass,” nose-dived in its second time around, coming in third with $9 million, down a dismal 65 per cent from its less-than-expected $25.8 million debut a week earlier.
“I Am Legend” smashed Smith’s personal debut record, easily exceeding the $52.1 million opening weekends of “I, Robot” and “Men in Black II,” his previous bests. “I Am Legend” outdid the $72.6 million premiere of 2003’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” the previous best December opening.
“It’s nice to be in the Will Smith business,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. “He is just the No. 1 box-office star in the world today.”
Fox Searchlight’s ” Juno,” a teen-pregnancy comedy whose three nominations included best comedy or musical and an acting honour for Ellen Page, opened strong in limited release, taking in $1.44 million in 40 theatres for a $36,018 average.
Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estiamted according to Media By Numbers LLC.
1. “I Am Legend,” $76.5 million.
2. “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” $45 million.
3. “The Golden Compass,” $9 million.
4. “Enchanted,” $6 million.
5. “No Country for Old Men,” $3 million.
6. “The Perfect Holiday,” $2.97 million.
7. “Fred Claus,” $2.3 million.
8. “This Christmas,” $2.3 million.
9. “Atonement,” $1.85 million.
10. “August Rush,” $1.8 million.
