Weekend Box Office

‘Men in Black’ Pushes the Envelope

“Men in Black” decimated the competition, breaking several records along the way. According to Exhibitor Relations, a box-office tracking firm, the sci-fi comedy had the biggest three-day non-sequel opening ever and was the best debut in Sony history. During the Friday-Saturday-Sunday stretch, the film took in more than last year’s “Independence Day” ($50.2 million). However, its five-day gross of $84,133,900 fell a bit short of the record ($84,977,796) set by the 1996 blockbuster.

“I would have been happy with $75 million,” said Bob Levin, Sony’s head of worldwide marketing. “These numbers reflect the movie’s great playability. It did well in small towns, big cities, among all demographics. Those who doubted it could overtake ‘Independence Day’ may have to revise their thinking. ‘Men in Black’ will land in the all-time winners’ circle--it’s in the stratosphere of what it’s possible to do today.”

*--*

Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Men in Black” $51.1 3,020 1 (Columbia) $51.1 $16,910 2. “Face/Off” $16.1 2,637 2 (Paramount) $51.5 $6,093 3. “Hercules” $12.2 2,884 4 (Walt Disney) $50.0 $4,228 4. “My Best Friend’s $10.8 2,233 3 Wedding” (TriStar) $69.3 $4,845 5. “Batman & Robin” $8.0 2,942 3 (Warner Bros.) $90.7 $2,729 6. “Out to Sea” $5.9 1,736 1 (Fox) $7.7 $3,392 7. “Con Air” $3.8 1,902 5 (Touchstone) $85.1 $1,994 8. “The Lost World: $2.6 1,908 7 Jurassic Park” (Universal) $218.3 $1,365 9. “Wild America” $1.8 1,812 1 (Warner Bros.) $2.9 $999 10. “Speed 2: $1.5 1,617 4 Cruise Control” (Fox) $41.1 $939

*--*