For Moviegoers, ‘Barbershop’ Still a Cut Above

This weekend’s specialty films proved stronger at the box office than big-budget epics, with MGM’s “Barbershop” once again coming in at No. 1, followed by Fox Searchlight’s “The Banger Sisters.”

“Barbershop,” which stars Ice Cube and was marketed mainly to an African American audience, grossed an estimated $13.3 million, dropping a respectable 36% in its second weekend.

The movie, which cost from $10 million to $12 million to make and about as much to market, has grossed $38.9 million so far. (Studios usually receive roughly half of what a movie earns at the box office; theater operators keep the other half.)

Like “Barbershop,” “The Banger Sisters” also played to a specialized audience--mainly women over age 25, said Steve Gilula, head of distribution for Fox Searchlight. The film, which also cost about $10 million to make and about $12 million to market, stars Susan Sarandon and Goldie Hawn as friends who reunite to reminisce about their days as rock groupies.

It was extremely difficult to find a home for the film because no studio wanted to make a movie about two middle-aged women, according to the producer, Mark Johnson.

Once it was made, Fox Searchlight began test-screening it and found that audiences’ response was extremely positive. Based on those results, the studio gambled on a wide release--2,737 screens nationwide.

It has been a good season for Fox Searchlight, the specialty arm of 20th Century Fox. In addition to “The Banger Sisters,” the studio has done well with such films as “One Hour Photo,” a creepy thriller starring Robin Williams that came in this weekend at No. 5 with an estimated $4.7 million (and $21.8 million through its fifth weekend), and “The Good Girl,” a drama starring Jennifer Aniston, which did not make it into the top 10 but has grossed $12.8 million through its seventh weekend and has brought Aniston critical kudos.

Still going strong at No. 3 was the summer’s biggest independent hit, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which grossed $10 million over the weekend for a total of $124.3 million since its opening in May.

Paramount’s costly epic “The Four Feathers” came in fourth, grossing only $7.1 million in its first weekend. The film, which cost from $40 million to $60 million to make, was not well-reviewed--in contrast to director Shekhar Kapur’s last film, “Elizabeth,” which garnered star Cate Blanchett an Oscar nomination. It also failed to bring in the hordes of younger moviegoers who might have been drawn to a historical picture only because of its stars, Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson.

Warner Bros.’ spy/action film “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever,” starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu, tied with “Four Feathers” at No. 4, also grossing $7.1 million.

Buena Vista’s “Signs” and Sony’s “Stealing Harvard” tied at No. 6, each grossing an estimated $3.5 million. “Signs,” which has been in release since August, has brought in a total of $217.9 million, compared with $10.8 million for “Stealing Harvard,” which has been out for two weeks.

Teen thriller “Swimfan” dropped to seventh, grossing $3.45 million in its third week, for a total of $24.4 million. Sony’s “Trapped,” a kidnapping thriller the studio released with a subdued ad campaign and no other publicity, debuted at No. 8 with $3.2 million.

The weekend’s third pair of tied films, for ninth place, were Sony’s “XXX” and Warner Bros.’ “City by the Sea” with an estimated $2 million apiece. “XXX” has grossed $138.3 million to date. “City by the Sea” has taken in $20.2 million.

Box office tracking firm Nielsen EDI reported that business was down about 7% from last weekend but was 32% ahead of last year, when the nation was still reeling from the Sept. 11 attacks and no major movies debuted.