Hot on a cold weekend

By Lorenza Munoz

Feb. 18, 2003 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Snowstorms and icy conditions may have chilled moviegoing in the East, but “Daredevil” still grossed an impressive $47.3 million, the best ever for a Presidents Day weekend, according to studio estimates released Monday.

The Ben Affleck-Jennifer Garner superhero flick took the No. 1 spot, while the romantic comedy “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” came in a distant second with an estimated $21 million.

“Daredevil” did suffer from the bad weather, studio executives said, as many theaters closed on Sunday.

“They got whacked,” said one. Even so, grossing a muscular $13,627 per theater in 3,471 locations, it also was the second-best February opening, behind “Hannibal,” which took in $58 million two years ago.

Bruce Snyder, president of distribution for 20th Century Fox, surmised that the killer storm probably kept the movie from reaching $50 million. Snyder said that on Friday night the film’s demographics were split 50-50, female-male, as well as equally divided among moviegoers over and under 25 -- mainly because of Valentine’s Day. The film likely played more to the male and under-25 crowd later in the weekend, Snyder said.

Despite the weather, this weekend’s top 10 movies grossed $139 million, a 19% increase over last year’s Presidents Day weekend, according to box office tracking firm Nielsen EDI Inc.

“The box office is better than last year, but it is hard to project the lack of business we got from the Eastern Seaboard,” said Dan Marks of Nielsen EDI.

“Daredevil,” which was made for about $80 million, is the latest in a string of comic-book superhero tales that have successfully been transferred to the big screen.

The movie follows last year’s record-breaking “Spider-Man,” as well as the older “Batman” and “Superman” movie franchises.

This summer holds more comic-book movie adaptations with “The Hulk” and “X2.”

In the No. 3 spot was “Chicago,” which added more than 400 screens for a four-day total of $15.5 million. That movie has grossed nearly $84 million, benefiting from the 13 Academy Award nominations it received last week.

Coming in at No. 4 four was Disney’s “The Jungle Book 2,” a sequel to the beloved 36-year-old original.

Bad weather may have dampened Disney’s expectations for the film even more than “Daredevil,” considering families usually are less likely to go out in bad weather than younger moviegoers. The animated movie made $15.1 million during the four-day holiday weekend in 2,806 theaters.

Disney’s two returning films, “Shanghai Knights” and “The Recruit,” came in with an estimated $12.8 million and $7.6 million, respectively.

Other opening films included the French romantic thriller “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not,” starring “Amelie’s” Audrey Tatou.

The film, which was released in only 13 theaters in five cities, took in an estimated $100,500. Michael Silberman, president of distribution for Samuel Goldwyn Films, which released the movie, said it too was hurt by the weather, because many of the film’s typical moviegoers would be older people unlikely to brave the icy conditions.

“All the Real Girls,” from Sony Pictures Classics, opened on six screens in Los Angeles and New York with an estimated total of $42,657.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Box Office

Preliminary results based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total (millions)

*--*

*--* “Daredevil” $47.3 $47.3

“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” $21 $49.7

“Chicago” $15.5 $83.6

“The Jungle Book 2” $15.1 $15.1

“Shanghai Knights” $12.8 $35.9

“The Recruit” $7.6 $39.7