The Coming Soon! Box Office Report has been updated with the studio estimates for this weekend. Be sure to stay tuned there for the final figures on Monday afternoon.
While the first big snowstorm in the East had an impact on all the films, Warner Bros.' The Last Samurai still managed to have a big opening of $24.4 million. The $100 million-budgeted Tom Cruise epic film debuted in 2,908 theaters and averaged a strong $8,397 per location. The blizzard is believed to have slashed about $4 million from the film's sales, but it still marks the biggest opening ever for a movie the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
The Universal hip-hop drama Honey, starring Jessica Alba, also performed well in its first weekend. The movie made $14 million from 1,942 theaters and averaged $7,219 per site.
The next three films all suffered big dropoffs. Disney's The Haunted Mansion took third with $9.5 million, but did drop 60.7%. It has earned $46.1 million in two weeks. Will Ferrell's Elf dropped to the fourth spot and 62.5% with $8.1 million for a five-week total of $139.6 million. And Universal's The Cat in the Hat slipped a big 70%, taking in just $7.3 million in its third weekend to bring its total to $85.5 million.
Dimension's Bad Santa did well again in its second weekend with $7.1 million for a total of $27.2 million.
Meanwhile, New Line's extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was brought into theaters and earned $431,000 from 126 theaters for an average of $3,420.
While the first big snowstorm in the East had an impact on all the films, Warner Bros.' The Last Samurai still managed to have a big opening of $24.4 million. The $100 million-budgeted Tom Cruise epic film debuted in 2,908 theaters and averaged a strong $8,397 per location. The blizzard is believed to have slashed about $4 million from the film's sales, but it still marks the biggest opening ever for a movie the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
The Universal hip-hop drama Honey, starring Jessica Alba, also performed well in its first weekend. The movie made $14 million from 1,942 theaters and averaged $7,219 per site.
The next three films all suffered big dropoffs. Disney's The Haunted Mansion took third with $9.5 million, but did drop 60.7%. It has earned $46.1 million in two weeks. Will Ferrell's Elf dropped to the fourth spot and 62.5% with $8.1 million for a five-week total of $139.6 million. And Universal's The Cat in the Hat slipped a big 70%, taking in just $7.3 million in its third weekend to bring its total to $85.5 million.
Dimension's Bad Santa did well again in its second weekend with $7.1 million for a total of $27.2 million.
Meanwhile, New Line's extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was brought into theaters and earned $431,000 from 126 theaters for an average of $3,420.
