'300' victorious at box office battle
Category: 300 News | Posted by: admin
Article Date: March 11, 2007 | Publication: Variety | Author: Ian Mohr
Publication/Article Link:http://www.variety.com
Warner Bros.' bloody, f/x-heavy battle pic "300" made an outright assault on the B.O. over the weekend, hauling in just over $70 million off more than 3,100 theaters.
Pic was the third biggest R-rated opening ever - behind "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Passion of the Christ" -- and was also the biggest R-rated pic to open in March.
As the frame's only new wide rollout, "300" smashed expectations: Pic had been pegged to hit in the $40-million range according to its tracking data.
Disney's "Wild Hogs" held well, however, dipping just 29% and landing in the No. 2 slot. Pic hit $28 million in its second frame to raise its cume to $77.4 million.
Top two pics helped boost B.O., with estimates indicating this weekend would be up a full 50% from the same frame a year ago.
Among other pics, Sony's "Ghost Rider" rode past the $100 million mark as the first film of the year to cross that mark. Pic's cume has gunned to $104.1 million after taking in $6.8 million.
Paramount's serial killer pic "Zodiac" came in just behind "Ghost," at $6.77 million in its second frame. Pic's perf has been somewhat anemic so far, with a cume of $23.7 million.