LOS ANGELES (AP):
HORROR FANS remained on the line for "When a Stranger Calls, a remake of the scary movie about a terrorised baby sitter that debuted at number one with US$22 million over the typically sluggish Super Bowl weekend.
Distributor Sony, whose Screen Gems banner released When a Stranger Calls, said it was the best Super Bowl debut ever, beating the US$19 million haul the studio's horror flick Boogeyman took in over the same weekend last year.
20th Century Fox's Big Momma's House 2 slipped to second place with US$13.35 million, lifting its 10-day total to US$45.4 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.
The weekend's other new wide release, Focus Features' romantic comedy Something New, opened at number seven with US$5 million.
With fans staying home yesterday for the big game, theatres were quiet, though key Academy Awards contenders including Focus Features' best-picture front-runner Brokeback Mountain benefited from last week's nominations.
"The Super Bowl is one of those television events like the Academy Awards that really dominates and monopolises the audience," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The top 12 movies took in US$81.7 million, down seven per cent from Super Bowl weekend last year.
On the heels of its leading eight nominations, the cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain expanded to its widest release yet in 2,089 theatres and came in fourth with US$5.7 million. The film has taken in US$59.8 million domestically since debuting in December.
Among other best-picture nominees:
Sony Pictures Classics' Truman Capote tale Capote nearly quadrupled its theatre count to 1,239 and grossed US$2.5 million, increasing its take to US$18.2 million.
Universal's assassination thriller Munich, from director Steven Spielberg, expanded slightly to 1,151 theatres, grossing US$1.9 million and raising its total to US$43.1 million.
Warner Independent Pictures' Edward R. Murrow drama Good Night, and Good Luck went into its widest release yet at 929 theatres and took in US$1.5 million, pushing its total to US$26.7.
"There's always a segment of the audience that wants to see all five films nominated for best picture," said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for Warner Independent. "It's our American version of the running of the bulls at Pamplona."
The fifth best-picture contender, Lionsgate's ensemble drama "Crash," already is out on DVD.
Though shut out of the best-picture race, 20th Century Fox's Johnny Cash biography Walk The Line climbed back into the top 10 on the strength of acting nominations for Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Walk the Line was number nine with US$3.4 million, raising its domestic total to US$110.7 million.
The Weinstein Co. cashed in on best-actress nominations for Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents and Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.
Mrs. Henderson Presents, about a society dame who starts a nude stage revue in 1930s London, quintupled its theatre count to 260 and grossed just under US$1 million, raising its total to US$3.2 million. Transamerica, a road-trip tale about a man preparing for sex-change surgery, expanded to 101 theatres, up 19, and took in US$509,000, pushing its take to US$2.2 million.
BUILT-IN AUDIENCE
When a Stranger Calls did not screen in advance for critics, the custom when the studio expects bad reviews. But fright flicks have a built-in audience of horror fans who pay little attention to reviews.
"You do have to have the right components to get there. I think it has to have that sort of edge-of-your-seat appeal where people know they are going to be stimulated in a visceral sort of way," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony.
Here are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be today.
