Holiday Profits Trail Records Set Last Season

Even with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Monsters, Inc.” packing theaters, ticket sales for the five-day Thanksgiving holiday ran an estimated 13% behind last year’s record-setting pace, according to the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

The reason: Of the three films that debuted, only the espionage tale “Spy Game,” starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, managed to makes its presence felt, collecting an estimated $30.5 million in its first five days in 2,770 theaters.

The Martin Lawrence star vehicle “Black Knight” didn’t show much oomph, tallying a mediocre $16.1 million in 2,571 theaters since it opened last Wednesday to mostly downbeat reviews. The low-budget teen snowboarding comedy “Out Cold” never warmed up either, grossing an estimated $6.9 million in its first five days in 2,011 theaters.

“Harry Potter” remained the stellar attraction with $129.5 million in its first full week in theaters and an additional $58.5 million estimated over the last three days in 3,672 theaters and more than 8,000 screens. Its five-day total of $83.5 million is a record for the Thanksgiving span, outdoing the $80.1 million grossed by “Toy Story 2” in 1999.

With $188 million in the till after only 10 days, “Harry Potter” has its eye on reaching $200 million in the next few days, probably arriving there slightly behind “Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace,” the current record holder, which crossed the threshold in only 13 days.

Since “Harry Potter” reached $100 million in five days, the same time it took “Phantom Menace” to gross that amount, “Harry” seems destined to follow the same trajectory, though it is expected to head downward during the traditional pre-Christmas lull that begins today and extends to the weekend before the Yuletide.

“Spy Game” got mixed to favorable reviews, but since it’s aimed at an older audience, it only got a solid footing in theaters, no more. Almost 70% of the film’s audience was over age 30, which could prove to be a problem in the coming weeks, since adults will be busy with holiday shopping. And “Spy Game” will have to share those filmgoers with the action-adventure “Behind Enemy Lines,” starring Gene Hackman, which opens Friday, followed by the Dec. 7 debut of the all-star caper film “Ocean’s Eleven,” also featuring Pitt, along with George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

The time-travel comedy “Black Knight” may have some trouble in its future based on its modest first five days in theaters, and “Out Cold” is not likely to have strong legs either. The former attracted Lawrence’s core audience, while the teen comedy played mostly to the under-21 crowd.

“Monsters, Inc.” is one of the year’s biggest hits and benefited from the holiday surge in attendance, collecting about $33.1 million over the five-day holiday in 3,649 engagements, taking it to almost $193 million after only four weeks. “Monsters” is expected to join “Harry Potter” in the $200-million club next weekend.

In fifth place, “Shallow Hal,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow, keeps the Farrelly brothers’ winning streak alive, grossing an estimated $12.5 million since last Wednesday in 2,643 theaters and more than $51 million so far.

Grosses for the top 12 films are estimated at $203 million for the five-day holiday, according to Exhibitor Relations, falling short of the record $232 million set last year, when the dozen leaders were topped by “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Unbreakable.” Between them, “Harry Potter” and “Monsters” accounted for more than one out of every two tickets sold over the holiday.

“Domestic Disturbance,” starring John Travolta, rounded out its first month with $40 million, of which $5.5 million came over the last five days in 2,386 theaters. David Mamet’s “Heist” got sideswiped by “Spy Game,” grossing $4.3 million over the holiday in 1,711 theaters and $20.2 million in three weeks. “The One,” starring Jet Li, is showing signs of exhaustion with $3 million expected over the last five days in 1,727 theaters and $42 million to date.

At the bottom of the top 10 is the drama “Life as a House,” which welcomed $2.8 million over the holiday in 1,119 theaters and $12.3 million to date.

Edward Burns’ romantic comedy “Sidewalks of New York,” delayed after the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, finally arrived over the holiday in 99 theaters and generated about $713,000 in its first five days. “Sidewalks” widens to about 200 screens next weekend.

The drama “In the Bedroom,” starring Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson, opened Friday to rave reviews, collecting $95,000 in just four theaters over three days.

The real star in the limited-release area, however, is the whimsical French import “Amelie,” which continued to thrive in 217 theaters, with $2.3 million estimated over the last five days, just missing the top 10. “Amelie” has grossed $7.8 million so far in its North American run (it opened in Canada earlier).