‘Barbershop’ does big business; ‘Miracle’ is No. 2

“Barbershop 2: Back in Business,” starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, drew a strong, culturally mixed audience to propel the film into the top spot at the box office this weekend, while “Miracle,” which traced the underdog victory of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, turned up as No. 2.

MGM estimated that “Barbershop 2” grossed $25.1 million, 22% better than the original film, which came out in September 2002. Ice Cube and Cedric again led the cast of characters populating a neighborhood clip joint in Chicago, with Queen Latifah installed this time in the beauty shop adjacent.

“Miracle,” which starred Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks, leading the USA hockey team to victory over the invincible Soviets at the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, grossed a solid $19.4 million, according to Disney estimates.

Meanwhile, the closely watched “The Dreamers” illustrated that an NC-17 rating doesn’t necessarily doom a film, at least in limited release.

The latest movie directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and distributed by Fox Searchlight, about three sexually adventurous young movie enthusiasts in 1968 Paris, posted an impressive $150,078 in five locations in L.A. and New York.

Although the “Barbershop” sequel, directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, technically may not have set any records, it represented one of the best box office showings and widest releases for a movie made by and starring mostly African Americans, averaging $9,259 per theater in 2,711 locations.

“Barbershop 2” showed a bit more crossover appeal than the original did in its opening, with an audience that was 70% African American (compared to about 85% for the first film), according to Erik Lomis, MGM president of distribution. Controversy over politically incorrect jokes in the original film fueled curiosity that sustained it toward a total gross of $75.8 million and hefty video sales, and the sequel was green-lighted within weeks of its opening.

As for “The Dreamers’ ” prospects, Searchlight distribution president Steve Gilula said the film’s $30,016 per-venue average was the biggest opening per-theater average so far this year.

“At least for this film, the NC-17 has not been a liability at all,” Gilula said. “The rating had been so unused, we had a chance to give it a fresh start.”

Among other limited releases, “Osama,” a well-reviewed drama about a girl passing as a boy to support her mother and grandmother in Taliban-era Afghanistan, grossed a little less than $53,000, or $13,235 per theater in four venues in New York and Los Angeles.

As well as the top two films performed at the box office this weekend, it wasn’t enough to break the continuing slump compared to the same period last year. The estimated $111 million for all films is 16% ahead of last week but down 8.2% from the same weekend last year, according to Dan Marks of box office tracking firm Nielsen EDI. Year-to-date box office is off about 8% from last year.

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Preliminary results based on studio projections.

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

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*--* Barbershop 2 $25.1 $25.1

Miracle $19.4 $19.4

You Got Served $7.7 $26

Along Came Polly $7 $75.2

The Butterfly Effect $6.7 $41.5

Catch That Kid $6 $6

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King $4.4 $351.2

Mystic River $3.5 $69.8

Monster $3.5 $15.3

Cold Mountain $3.2 $82.9 Source: Nielsen EDI Inc. Los Angeles Times

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