And the weekend after Thanksgiving was always a nothing weekend until Behind Enemy Lines opened well there in 2001. Last Samurai took the risk (and so did Honey) in 2003 and both succeeded, though obviously TLS had the legs.

Getting this days-late update in, and then I swear I will get back on track every weekend.

This (or Last) Weekend: You Got Served somehow defies all logic and expectations.

1 N You Got Served SGem $16,123,105 - 1,933 - $8,340 $16,123,105 $8 1
2 1 The Butterfly Effect NL $9,556,280 -44.0% 2,605 - $3,668 $31,735,064 $13 2
3 2 Along Came Polly Uni. $9,310,060 -43.1% 3,052 +57 $3,050 $66,002,555 $42 3
4 5 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $5,310,803 -21.7% 2,256 -302 $2,354 $345,331,815 $94 7
5 N The Perfect Score Par. $4,873,819 - 2,208 - $2,207 $4,873,819 - 1
6 4 Big Fish Sony $4,533,655 -36.2% 2,280 -158 $1,988 $55,316,067 $70 8
7 10 Mystic River WB $4,378,417 +30.0% 1,370 +43 $3,195 $64,858,601 $25 17
8 6 Cheaper by the Dozen Fox $4,285,230 -32.8% 2,396 -414 $1,788 $128,034,055 $40 6
9 3 Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! DW $4,211,395 -42.5% 2,808 +97 $1,499 $13,107,536 $22 2
10 7 Cold Mountain Mira. $4,074,047 -18.6% 2,500 -302 $1,629 $78,375,713 $79 6
11 13 Monster NM $3,397,404 +64.1% 668 +338 $5,085 $10,482,689 $8 6
12 9 Something's Gotta Give Sony $3,353,974 -16.5% 1,601 -542 $2,094 $111,884,639 $80 8
13 N The Big Bounce WB $3,336,374 - 2,304 - $1,448 $3,336,374 - 1

Adjusted for Inflation
1 N You Got Served SGem $21,679,200 - 1,933 - $11,200 $21,679,200 $8 1
2 1 The Butterfly Effect NL $12,849,400 -44.0% 2,605 - $4,900 $42,671,100 $13 2
3 2 Along Came Polly Uni. $12,518,400 -43.1% 3,052 +57 $4,100 $88,747,400 $42 3
4 5 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $7,140,900 -21.7% 2,256 -302 $3,200 $464,335,000 $94 7
5 N The Perfect Score Par. $6,553,400 - 2,208 - $3,000 $6,553,400 - 1
6 4 Big Fish Sony $6,096,000 -36.2% 2,280 -158 $2,700 $74,378,300 $70 8
7 10 Mystic River WB $5,887,200 +30.0% 1,370 +43 $4,300 $87,209,200 $25 17
8 6 Cheaper by the Dozen Fox $5,761,900 -32.8% 2,396 -414 $2,400 $172,155,300 $40 6
9 3 Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! DW $5,662,700 -42.5% 2,808 +97 $2,000 $17,624,500 $22 2
10 7 Cold Mountain Mira. $5,478,000 -18.6% 2,500 -302 $2,200 $105,384,400 $79 6
11 13 Monster NM $4,568,200 +64.1% 668 +338 $6,800 $14,095,100 $8 6
12 9 Something's Gotta Give Sony $4,509,800 -16.5% 1,601 -542 $2,800 $150,440,700 $80 8
13 N The Big Bounce WB $4,486,100 - 2,304 - $1,900 $4,486,100 - 1

I still clearly remember being shocked when I looked at the Sunday estimates (I wasn't on BOM at the time, so I didn't see anything about daily numbers unless they showed up under news on MSN's movies page) and saw that You Got Served had opened at #1. Talk about an out-of-nowhere breakout. It makes more sense now, especially in the wake of other dance movies having been successful a few years later (most prominently Step Up and Stomp the Yard); however, this one was a stunner at the time. I never saw it, but I remember the other guys on my middle school baseball team ripping the shit out of it after it hit DVD that spring.

The Butterfly Effect was a solid performer.

It feels all too appropriate to talk about Along Came Polly again in the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. The movie wasn't bad, but I remember far more about his performance than anything else in it. Within the context of its time, it was also the beginning of a huge year for Ben Stiller, as he still had Starsky & Hutch, Dodgeball, and Meet the Fockers to go after that. He did also have Envy, but hey: four out of five ain't bad. Its performance also makes me wonder why more studios don't release more star-driven comedies in January; sure, we've had duds like The Dilemma, but then we also have the successes of Polly, Paul Blart, and now Ride Along. $100 million is $100 million whenever you get it (and Along Came Polly's total adjusts to $118.5 million in total), so...

Return of the King surpassed Finding Nemo as the highest-grossing film of 2003. It was inevitable that such an event would happen (given that that's about where The Two Towers ended up the year before), but it was still mightily impressive to see a 200-minute movie climb so high (and it still would be!).

The Perfect Score landed with a thud. It had a concept that seemed conducive to box office success (I swear, I'm getting sick of hearing SAT this and SAT that, and I'm in a profession where I'll have to hear it for the rest of my life), but the campaign was tepid (and the same was probably true of the movie itself). Nevertheless, there's some mind-blowing retroactive recognition in the fact that Captain America and Black Widow are both in it. :thumbup:

Mystic River's run has to have been one of the most overlooked of 2003. It's a gritty, cynical, and decidedly depressing drama, and yet it still made $90 million - which would adjust to an even more mind-boggling $123 million. Don't doubt the potential power of glowing reviews and Oscar buzz, I guess; even so, its success was much larger than I ever anticipated it would be.

Man, The Big Bounce was pitiful. That star power surely should have been good for a halfway-decent opening, but no...

LOL You Got Served. A dark day in box office history.

The audiences got served.

The Butterfly effect has done more damage. That made people think Kutcher could do more.

Cheaper By The Dozen was just a monster!

This (Past) Weekend 10 Years Ago: Barbershop 2 Cuts Its Way to #1, Miracle Scores





1 N Barbershop 2: Back in Business MGM $24,241,612 - 2,711 - $8,941 $24,241,612 $30 1
2 N Miracle BV $19,377,577 - 2,605 +1,498 $7,438 $19,377,577 - 1
3 1 You Got Served SGem $7,518,860 -53.4% 1,943 +10 $3,869 $25,865,203 $8 2
4 3 Along Came Polly Uni. $6,846,305 -26.5% 2,958 -94 $2,314 $75,046,055 $42 4
5 2 The Butterfly Effect NL $6,512,743 -31.8% 2,519 -86 $2,585 $41,312,767 $13 3
6 N Catch That Kid Fox $5,824,860 - 2,847 - $2,045 $5,824,860 $12 1
7 4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $4,293,671 -19.2% 1,878 -378 $2,286 $351,133,343 $94 8
8 7 Mystic River WB $3,638,203 -16.9% 1,370 - $2,655 $69,880,053 $25 18
9 11 Monster NM $3,513,456 +3.4% 892 +224 $3,938 $15,291,762 $8 7
10 10 Cold Mountain Mira. $3,242,434 -20.4% 1,917 -583 $1,691 $82,869,814 $79 7

Adjusted for Inflation
1 N Barbershop 2: Back in Business MGM $32,595,400 - 2,711 - $12,000 $32,595,400 $30 1
2 N Miracle BV $26,055,200 - 2,605 +1,498 $10,000 $26,055,200 - 1
3 1 You Got Served SGem $10,109,900 -53.4% 1,943 +10 $5,200 $34,778,500 $8 2
4 3 Along Came Polly Uni. $9,205,600 -26.5% 2,958 -94 $3,100 $100,907,300 $42 4
5 2 The Butterfly Effect NL $8,757,100 -31.8% 2,519 -86 $3,500 $55,549,400 $13 3
6 N Catch That Kid Fox $7,832,100 - 2,847 - $2,700 $7,832,100 $12 1
7 4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $5,773,300 -19.2% 1,878 -378 $3,100 $472,135,800 $94 8
8 7 Mystic River WB $4,891,900 -16.9% 1,370 - $3,600 $93,961,100 $25 18
9 11 Monster NM $4,724,200 +3.4% 892 +224 $5,300 $20,561,400 $8 7
10 10 Cold Mountain Mira. $4,359,800 -20.4% 1,917 -583 $2,300 $111,427,200 $79 7

The Barbershop movies did really well in a really short span of time. I would say that I'm surprised that MGM never opted for a third, but this was also a time when Hollywood was trying to make "Ice Cube the Action Hero" happen, and at the time, a spin-off with a then on-the-rise Queen Latifah didn't sound like a bad idea. Given how well The Best Man Holiday did after such a long gap, it's not at all beyond the realm of possibility that we might see a third installment after all.

Miracle was definitely the bigger story that weekend, though. Even with the Disney brand and the magnitude of the event it was based on, a 135-minute sports drama isn't always an easy sell. It's especially significant to think that it pulled off such strong box office in a year that didn't have a Winter Olympics connection to further boost its visibility. It also helps that the movie was really good, of course, and Disney was very smart to get the word out early via sneak previews. It's also quite fitting that the ten-year anniversary of the film's release falls on the same weekend as the beginning of the latest winter games.

Catch That Kid bombed, but... duh. At least it's an easier dud for its future Twilight-er to live down than, say, Shark Boy and Lava Girl.

Monster did pretty well considering that it's a downer and that it didn't have any awards buzz beyond Charlize Theron's performance (although she did run away with the Best Actress Oscar, which probably helped the film rather significantly).

Outside of the top ten, Lost in Translation pulled in $1.9 million over the same weekend that it first hit DVD. It had a very impressive run almost entirely under the radar. On a more personal note, it was also a really big deal for my development as a movie watcher, as I watched it on DVD for the first time over this weekend ten years ago. Even though my taste was fairly typical of a teenage boy of the time (seriously, this was a time when I knew most of the dialogue to Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, among some other dubious distinctions), I loved Lost in Translation when I first saw it. It was probably the first time that I was ever really on board with a slow, more character-driven comedy.

The quiet before the storm of TPOTC. Can't believe its been 10 years since that time!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

Oh man, I remember that. I couldn't grasp why Miracle was so popular.

Mean Girls was released 10 years ago today. A monumental day in history.

On Wednesdays, we wear pink.

Although she doesn't like to admit it, Libs is a real Summer blockbuster girl:



Her end of year top ten list will certainly not feature any of those, but they will undoubtedly be her most enjoyed experiences.

Like last year when she didn't include Gravity and Hunger Games in her Top 10...

Those weren't Summer releases.

They're blockbusters, what's the difference.

The difference, among others, is that I stated 'Summer blockbuster'.

ugh