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My Big Fat Greek Wedding steals a march
18 weeks and still going strong at the US BO
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Arthur J Pais
'In space, everyone can hear you laugh,' says the tagline for The Adventures Of Pluto Nash, the costly fantasy comedy starring Eddie Murphy.
But in more than 2,300 movie houses where the film opened Friday, there must have been just a few chuckles, let alone the kind of laughs we usually associate with Eddie Murphy movies.
Pluto Nash, which was not screened to reviewers and for which Murphy did no promotion, grossed about $2 million last weekend, the worst ever flop in the actor's career. It is also the biggest big budget debacle so far this year. The list of costly flops include K-19: The Widowmaker, the Harrison Ford submarine drama that has grossed just about $40 million.
Murphy was also co-producer of Pluto Nash, which cost $80 to $89 million, and is sure to lose most of the screens by next Friday. Murphy's other recent dud, Showtime, which also starred Robert de Niro grossed about $70 million
worldwide.
Apart from the debacle of Pluto Nash, and the second disastrous week for Clint Eastwood's Blood Work which has taken a tepid $15 million in ten days, the box-office was generally upbeat.
Sony/Columbia's XXX lost about 48 per cent of its first weekend gross, but came out with a strong $23 million, making it the week's box-office leader. With a forecast of $150 million in North America, the movie is headed for solid profits.
Enjoying a solid third weekend, M Night Shyamalan's Signs reaped about $19.5 million, declining by about 35 per cent from its previous weekend. With its gross reaching $150 million, the sci-fi drama is in for a long run. If it does not go for dramatic declines in the coming weeks, it might even reach $200 million, overtaking Mel Gibson's current box-office topper, What Women Want, which earned $183 million in North America and had a solid run abroad.
The romantic drama Blue Crush, set against the surfing world in a dazzling part of Hawaii, was third among the top 10, but at $15.2 million had a somewhat disappointing opening. But there is no doubt that it is going to be a profitable film.
The biggest surprise of the week was My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a comedy that added over 300 theaters and grossed $5.8 million ($3.3 million, previous weekend) in its 18th week. The movie had played only at a handful of theatres in its opening week and went on adding dozens of theatres with each passing week, thanks to strong word of mouth. It was produced for about $3.5 million.
At its current pace, Greek Wedding, which evolved from a play and which has grossed $52.8 million, could end up with $80 million. But don't be surprised if it reaches $100 million.
There are still thousands of moviegoers flocking to see Austin Powers In Goldmember. With a $8.7 million weekend gross, the Mike Myers comedy has grossed $183 million.
The most critically acclaimed movie among the top 10, Road to Perdition, had another good week. With $4.2 million and a $90.3 million gross, it will be yet another $100-million winner for Tom Hanks, arguably the most bankable of Hollywood stars.