'A Mighty Wind' blows hot

An enjoyable and funny mocumentary, A Mighty Wind, is turning into one of the surprise hits of the season. It added nearly 600 theatres over the weekend, after playing in a limited run for three weeks. This takes its theatre count to 765 and its gross to $2.8 million.

The spoof, which takes an affectionate look at the world of folk music, shot up seven places to number 7 this weekend on the box-office chart led by X2: X-Men United.

Apart from the Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care, which took second position on the box-office chart with $27.6 million, A Mighty Wind was the only new entry on this week's Top 10.

The story about folk musicians getting together after three decades since they went their separate ways is also drawing younger audiences.

The steady appeal of Wind has surprised Hollywood. Made for less than $5 million, it is one of the best reviewed films in recent months. 'It had me begging for more,' wrote Peter Travers in Rolling Stone magazine.

The film, which also portrays the tension between traditional folk and commercial folk music of the early 1960s, is directed by actor-filmmaker Christopher Guest. Guest was a co-writer and actor in This Is Spinal Tap, the sensationally successful 1984 mocumentary.

Often 'the movie [A Mighty Wind] is so deadpan that sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realise how potently satirical it is,' wrote USA Today in a glowing review. Providing a clue to the film's universal appeal, Atlanta-Journal Constitution wrote: 'You don't have to be an aging baby-boomer folkie-manque to laugh yourself silly at A Mighty Wind.'

Another surprise hit of the season, Bend It Like Beckham, spent its second week on the Top 10 chart, earning $1.6 million, up 12 per cent from last week. It was the ninth highest grossing film of the week. The Gurinder Chadha-directed coming-of-age comedy added 80 more screens over the weekend, taking its total to 563. Now in its ninth week and having grossed $13 million, the film could earn about $20 million by the time it exits.

The sci-fi adventure X2 lost about 52 per cent of its box-office altitude, but still grossed a mighty $41 million over the weekend, with a $149 million gross in 10 days.

Next weekend, The Matrix Reloaded, the eagerly awaited sci-fi thriller starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, is expected to have a huge opening. Many Hollywood observers think the film will gross $100 million in three days. X2 grossed about $85 million in its opening weekend. Spider-Man, which holds the opening weekend record, had soared to $140 million.

X2 is expected to end its North American run with about $225 million; the first film in the series grossed about $157 million.

While 20th Century Fox basked in the worldwide success of X2, which grossed about $280 million in 10 days, Sony Columbia took pride in three of its movies on the Top 10 chart in North America. Its suspense thriller Identity was fourth, with $6.3 million ($39 million total), followed by the comedy Anger Management with $5.5 million ($122.9 million total). The former is expected to exit with a strong $65 million and the latter with $135 million.

The other picture in the top five was the Disney comedy The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which ranked third in its second weekend, where it earned $7.8 million. Though it lost about 55 per cent of its audience, its total rose to $27.2 million. The movie, made for less than $20 million, will end its run on a profitable note.

According to many box-office observers, The Lizzie McGuire Movie suffered considerably because of the Eddie Murphy film.

Another Disney movie, Holes, which was sixth on the chart, earned $4.6 million. The family film, about a group of young people who have to use their inner strength and resources to fight a sadistic system, is heading for a solid $65 million run in North America. It has already grossed $51 million. It is one of the few family films to have impressed major critics in recent months; they believe it has considerable appeal for adults too.

The tenth film on the chart, Confidence, is a low-budget heist drama starring Dustin Hoffman. The film, which grossed a meagre $1.5 million, is on its way to a disappointing $15 million run.