'Die Another Day' wins mild box office

HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The third weekend of "Die Another Day" led a relatively mild weekend at the nation's box office with an estimated $13 million at 3,347 theaters during the Friday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.

MGM's "Die Another Day," the studio's 20th James Bond film, topped the slate for the second time after narrowly losing last weekend to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." "Day" has now grossed $120.4 million after 17 days and needs less than $7 million to top 1999's "Tomorrow Never Dies" as the leading domestic grosser among the Bond movies.

"'Die Another Day' is not a blockbuster but it's certainly a solid hit," said movie industry analyst Arthur Rockwell of Rockwell Capital Management, who is a former MGM executive. "It's a remarkable performance for a franchise that's 40 years old."

"Die Another Day" declined 58 percent from the previous weekend, which saw overall moviegoing at the traditionally high levels during the post-Thanksgiving session.

Warner Bros.' comedy sequel "Analyze That" finished a close second with $11.3 million at 2,635 theaters, coming in at the low end of expectations. The original "Analyze This" performed far better as it opened with $18.3 million in 1999 on its way to a surprisingly strong $106.8 million final gross.

Rockwell said the studio was not able to take full advantage of the popularity of the original and the star power of Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal.

"Historically, the first weekend after Thanksgiving can be a tough time because people's minds tend to be on other things like shopping," he added. "Additionally, 'Analyze That' did not seem to create much excitement."

"Chamber of Secrets" came in third with $10 million at 3,387 theaters as it fell 69 percent, the largest decline among holdover films. That performance lifted its 24-day total to $213.9 million, placing it 37th on the all-time list ahead of "Austin Powers in Goldmember."

"Secrets" is now $105 million behind last year's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Universal's opening of gangster drama "Empire," starring John Leguizamo, Denise Richards and rappers Treach and Fat Joe, performed above expectations in fourth with $6.3 million at 867 theaters. Its per-theater average of $7,235 was far above any other film in wide release.

Overall business was lukewarm with the top 10 totaling $63.8 million, off nearly $17 million from the same weekend a year ago when the opening of "Ocean's Eleven" led with $38.1 million. However, the 2001 weekend took place two weeks after Thanksgiving.

Year-to-date performance has gone past $8.3 billion, up 12 percent from the same time last year.

Disney's second weekend of "Treasure Planet" led the rest of pack in fifth with $5.7 million at 3,227 sites, a 53 percent decline from its previous weekend. "Planet" has now grossed only $23.8 million in 12 days and its parent company took a $47 million write down on earnings last week due to its performance coming in far below forecasts.

''Treasure Planet' has been a disaster for Disney, since animation is usually their strong suit," Rockwell noted.

By contrast, Disney's sixth weekend of "The Santa Clause 2" continued to draw well in sixth with $5.4 million at 2,356 theaters to lift its 38-day total to $120.2 million. That leaves the sequel less than $25 million behind the total taken in by the 1994 original.

Sony's second weekend of its animated "Eight Crazy Nights" followed in seventh with $5.2 million at 2,503 theaters.

Three films rounded out the top 10 in a battle for eighth place, led by New Line's third weekend of "Friday After Next" with $2.8 million at 1,450 theaters, followed by Universal's fifth weekend of "8 Mile" with $2.6 million at 2,015 sites and DreamWorks' eighth weekend of "The Ring" with $2.52 million at 1,450 locations. "The Ring" has topped $123 million after 52 days.

Miramax's second weekend of "They" and 20th Century Fox's second weekend of "Solaris" may have also cracked the top 10 with "They" taking in $2.5 million at 1,623 sites and "Solaris" following with $2.3 million at 2,406 theaters. "Solaris" continues to post disappointing numbers as it lost 66 percent from its opening weekend.

By comparison, IFC's 34th weekend of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" continued to draw exceptionally as it grossed $2 million at 1,257 sites to move its total to $213.3 million overall.

On the art-house circuit, Miramax's opening of science-fiction drama "Equilibrium" grossed $528,000 at 301 sites but Sony's much-praised drama-comedy "Adaptation" performed well with $400,000 at seven theaters. Artisan's "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" grossed $132,000 at 55 locations to boost its total to $825,000.

Overall box office performance should improve next weekend with four major openings -- Paramount's "Star Trek: Nemesis," Disney's comedy "The Hot Chick," Fox's drama-comedy "Drumline" and Sony's romantic comedy "Maid in Manhattan," which the studio put into sneak previews Saturday night.