“Enchanted” Has Fairy Tale Debut As Box Office Champ
Posted November 25, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
” Enchanted” was just that, and the fairy-tale romance debuted as the No. 1 movie in Hollywood over the weekend, in the process lifting the movie business out of a recent slump with a $35.3 million opening.
Starring Amy Adams as a cartoon princess exiled to real-world Manhattan by her fiance’s wicked stepmother Susan Sarandon, the film bested ” This Christmas,” an ensemble cast holiday feature that starred Delroy Lindo, Regina King, Mekhi Phifer and Idris Elba and opened at No. 2 with $18.6 million.
All in all Hollywood had reason to give thanks over the holiday weekend, with the top-12 movies pulling in $218.1 million from Wednesday to Sunday, up six per cent from the same period last year.
“That’s good for an industry that’s been in a downtrend for almost two months,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “Thanksgiving sets the tone for the rest of the year and the holiday season in general. This was a key weekend, and it delivered.”
“Enchanted” had the second-best five-day Thanksgiving debut ever, behind the $80.1 million haul of Disney’s ” Toy Story 2.”
“It’s a really good place to launch a movie,” said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney. “When you get a movie as strong and well-playing as this, it bodes well for us right through the Christmas holiday.”
Other new wide releases included video-game adaptation ” Hitman,” which debuted at No. 4 with $13 million and drama ” August Rush,” which opened in seventh-place with $9.4 million. Stephen King adaptation ” The Mist” premiered in ninth place with $9.1 million.
Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Media By Numbers LLC.
1. “Enchanted,” $35.3 million.
2. “This Christmas,” $18.6 million.
3. “Beowulf,” $16.2 million.
4. “Hitman,” $13 million.
5. “Bee Movie,” $12 million.
6. “Fred Claus,” $10.7 million.
7. “August Rush,” $9.4 million.
8. “American Gangster,” $9.2 million.
9. “The Mist,” $9.1 million.
10. “No Country for Old Men,” $8.1 million.
