October 21 - 23, 2005
THTRS = Number of Screens
* Denotes new release.
Click on title to read CB Review
| 1. | Doom* |
| $15,382,000 - Total: $15,382,000 | |
| LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3044 |
| 2. | Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story* |
| $9,300,000 - Total: $9,300,000 | |
| LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2007 |
| 3. | Wallace and Gromit:The Curse of the Were-Rabbit |
| $8,700,000 - Total: $44,034,000 | |
| LW: 2 WR: 3 THTRS: 3472 |
| 4. | The Fog |
| $7,300,000 - Total: $21,548,000 | |
| LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 2972 |
| 5. | North Country* |
| $6,470,000 - Total: $6,470,000 | |
| LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 2555 |
| 6. | Elizabethtown |
| $5,725,000 - Total: $18,953,000 | |
| LW: 3 WR: 2 THTRS: 2517 |
| 7. | Flightplan |
| $4,712,000 - Total: $77,282,000 | |
| LW: 4 WR: 5 THTRS: 2513 |
| 8. | In Her Shoes |
| $3,900,000 - Total: $26,194,000 | |
| LW: 5 WR: 3 THTRS: 2237 |
| 9. | A History of Violence |
| $2,700,000 - Total: $26,300,000 | |
| LW: 8 WR: 5 THTRS: 1308 |
| 10. | Two for the Money |
| $2,404,000 - Total: $20,689,000 | |
| LW: 6 WR: 3 THTRS: 1693 |
Doom wasn't just the number one movie this weekend, it also describes the future of the box office as ticket sales continue to plummet dragging down hopes for movie budget recovery right along with them.
Game sites and movie sites alike considered Doom to be the worst movie released this week. Chock it's success up to a handful of obsessive fans and the fact that non-Star Wars Ewan McGregor movies can't seem to catch a break this year. A lot of people seem surprised that Doom only made $15 million, expecting Rock fans to turn out en masse. They seem to have fallen prey to the same thing everyone else in America has, choosing to stay home with the World Series instead of wandering out to the theater. I say more power to them. Video game hack-craps like Doom deserve to lose money. Maybe Hollywood will realize that we're done shelling out for junk movies and it's time to start making shows worth paying $10.00 to see. Or maybe we're all just bracing for those winter heating bills. Who knows.
The movie I expected to take number one. Dreamer, came in a distant second instead, making less than $10 million. Family films have fared well this year, but not even feel-good animal films seem to be able to break the strangle hold of a deflated movie market.
North Country, the other new release in the top ten, barely eeked out enough to make it into the top five. Doing even worse was Stay which didn't even make it into the top ten despite a moderate release and an all star cast. Based on their published budgets and likely marketing budgets, it's possible that none of the new movies this week stand a chance of recovering their costs in theaters, and some may be lucky to ever break even after DVD sales and foreign receipts are thrown in.
Next week begins Hollywood's holiday push to try and gain some box office ground. Next week Zorro slashes back into theaters and Disney's animation department launches its first in-house 3D effort Chicken Little the week after that. With other major releases like King Kong, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Harry Potter 4 right around the corner, expect the numbers to start looking up. Will they be able to match the holiday numbers from the last few years? Will 2005 be able to pull out of slump that has made it the worst box office in four years? This week, who really cares? It's the week of the World Series! The important question this week is, 'Will the White Sox win the world series?'
