Posted on 01/22/2006 7:19:26 PM PST by Mr. Blonde
Golden Globe-winning films saw significant boosts at the weekend box office, but the action-packed vampire flick "Underworld: Evolution" was the top earner, debuting with $27.6 million in ticket sales.
The blood-drenched thriller, starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, edged out last weekend's winning family fare, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
"Hoodwinked," the animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood story, fell to second place with $11 million in ticket sales, while inspirational films "Glory Road" and "Last Holiday" ranked third and fourth, taking in $9.1 million each.
Horror movies and family films "probably have the biggest built-in audience at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The animated family friendly film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the horror flick "Hostel" also retained spots in the weekend top 10.
Last week's Golden Globe Awards provided a big box office bump for its winning films, most notably "Brokeback Mountain," which ranked fifth in weekend ticket sales.
The film, which follows the 20-year forbidden romance between two rugged ranch hands, won four Golden Globes, including best motion picture in the drama category and best director. It earned $7.8 million, an increase of 35 percent over the previous weekend.
"The Golden Globes gave more validation and importance to the film, and the box office shows it," said Jack Foley, president of theatrical distribution for Focus Features. "It's created a whole new level of momentum."
The Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line," also gained newfound spunk. The film didn't climb into the top 10, but its weekend earnings jumped 77 percent after Golden Globe wins for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. The film also won the trophy for best motion picture in the musical or comedy category.
"I've never seen a boost of this magnitude," said Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox. "It has to be Golden Globe-oriented."
"Capote," which earned Golden Globe acting honors for its star Philip Seymour Hoffman, and "Transamerica," which won an acting award for star Felicity Huffman, also saw weekend box office boosts.
"The Golden Globes are now a force to be reckoned with in terms of the box office bump they provide," Dergarabedian said. "We've never really seen a Globes bump like this."
Overall, the top 12 films grossed an estimated $97 million, up nearly 17 percent from last year's $82.9 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Underworld: Evolution," Sony, $27.6 million.
2. "Hoodwinked," Weinstein Co., $11 million.
3. "Glory Road," Disney, $9.1 million.
4. "Last Holiday," Paramount, $9.1 million.
5. "Brokeback Mountain," Focus, $7.8 million.
6. "Fun With Dick and Jane," Sony, $6.1 million.
7. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Disney, $6 million.
8. "Hostel," Lions Gate, $4.3 million.
9. "The New World," New Line, $4.2 million.
10. "End of the Spear," Rocky Mountain, $4.2 million.
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I saw Underworld and it was one of the best Sci-Fi hits I've ever seen.
Can't ever be enough vampire movies.
After sweeping the Golden Boob awards Fag Mounting only gets 5th??
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
It rocked.
It was awesome. Kate Beckinsale was beyond hot!
Also, it didn't totally disregard what happened in the first movie. Some sequels tend to do that.
It also left it open for another one.
She is sizzling, but the movie was great as well.
Good writing, effects, continuity, drama and originality.
Exciting all the way through, none of the movie dragged.
You mean more people want to see a sci-fi movie than one about gay shepherds? What is this world coming to?
I agree completely!
Well, I won't see Pirates due to certain French loving actors.
I hope you enjoy yourself though.
I don't like his politics either but he is too damn good as Capatin Jack Sparrow to pass up watching.
He is too good in any role for me to pass up. His movies are mostly apolitical, and I'm not going to begrudge anyone their personal beliefs.
This is one vampire I won't run from.
I hated the first Underworld movie. Ok, you have a story about vampires against werewolves, pretty cool idea, ok? And then you ruin it by "Matrix-ifying" it. You could have taken the vampires and the werewolves out of it and it would have been the same movie. When you offer a movie about two iconic horror concepts, and turn it into an excuse for redundant "gun fu", you've broken into the negatives on a Creative IQ test. I want werewolves and vampires clawing at each other, vampires turning into bats and sniping out werewolf eyeballs, werewolves eating the limbs of vampires like chicken legs, that's what I want from a werewolf vs. vampire heavyweight match, not a replay of a slow mo John Woo gunfight! There's been five billion gun fu movies, and after the Blade series, good guy vampires out to save the world, but has there ever been a movie where a werewolf ate a vampire's organs on screen?!? NO. BAIT AND SWITCH, BAIT AND SWITCH!
Frothing at the mouth rant over.
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