Second 'Lord of the Rings' Film Breaks December Box Office Records MONDAY , DECEMBER 23, 2002 10:16 AM Dec 23, 2002 (Daily News - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" achieved the biggest December opening by any movie in film industry history as it grossed an astounding $101.5 million in its first five days of release, according to studio estimates Sunday. New Line Cinema's "Two Towers" is the second film in a trilogy of movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic books and managed to improve upon last year's stellar grosses for the first film, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," by 33 percent. "It's way beyond where we thought it would be," said David Tuckerman, New Line's president of domestic distribution. "It's in the area where we dreamed about but wouldn't dare hope for." The benchmarks already set by "Two Towers" include a record opening-day gross of $26 million -- the largest ever for a December release -- and the biggest five-day and three-day ($61.5 million) opening grosses for a December movie. If estimates hold, the film will also be the 22nd movie in 2002 to gross more than $100 million, tying 2000's record total. Fueled by "Two Towers," the movie industry -- already having a record box office year -- remains on pace to reach $9 billion in annual grosses for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.' new romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" pairing Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock came in a distant second place, earning an estimated $14.4 million. "That's a sensational opening for us," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros. "We have had great audience reaction and are on our way to a good run." Finishing close behind in third place was another romantic comedy, "Maid in Manhattan," which surprised many by coming in No. 1 last weekend. The Sony Pictures Entertainment release starring current media sensation Jennifer Lopez took in an estimated $11 million for a cumulative gross of $35.5 million. Miramax Films' highly anticipated and big-budgeted "Gangs of New York" could manage only a fourth-place finish with an estimated opening weekend of $9.1 million. "Gangs," directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, played in 1,504 theaters, less than half of the 3,622 locations for "Two Towers." "I think it's a solid opening even though it came in fourth," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "The per-screen average ($6,064) was higher than any other film in the top 12, except for 'Two Towers."' Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek: Nemesis" had a disastrous second weekend, plummeting from second place to ninth as its attendance fell by a devastating 76 percent. The film grossed an estimated $4.4 million over the weekend for a cumulative total of $26.4 million. It looks destined to become the lowest-grossing entry in the long-running "Star Trek" film franchise. Paramount's highest grosser for the weekend was the debut of its animated film, "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," which bowed in sixth place with a gross of $6.1 million. The Cinderella success story of the year, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," dropped just out of the top 12 as it completed its eighth month in theaters. The IFC Films release, which had a budget of just $5 million, earned another $1.5 million over the weekend to bring its cumulative total to a big fat $217.8 million. ESTIMATED TICKET SALES Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday. 1. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," $61.5 million. 2. "Two Weeks Notice," $14.4 million. 3. "Maid in Manhattan," $11 million. 4. "Gangs of New York," $9.1 million. 5. "Drumline," $7.6 million. 6. "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," $6.1 million. 7. "The Hot Chick," $4.5 million. 8. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $4.46 million. 9. "Star Trek: Nemesis," $4.4 million. 10. "Die Another Day," $4 million. By Greg Hernandez To see more of the Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailynews.com. (c) 2002, Daily News, Los Angeles. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
