2 weeks old, '40 Year-Old' is a hit

2 weeks old, ’40 Year-Old’ is a hit

By R. Kinsey Lowe

Aug. 29, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Remaining securely on top in its second weekend, “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” showed impressive endurance as Steve Carell and Judd Apatow’s raunchy comedy declined a modest 23% to take in $16.4 million, Universal Pictures estimated Sunday.

“Virgin” has grossed $48.7 million, which means it has more than doubled its opening-weekend figure in 10 days.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Sept. 2, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday September 02, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 60 words Type of Material: Correction
Movie rating -- An article in Monday’s Calendar section about weekend movie grosses said the R rating for “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” meant people 17 and older were not admitted to the theater unless accompanied by an adult. An R rating means people under the age of 17 are not supposed to be admitted without a parent or adult guardian.

The strong hold bodes well for the movie’s performance over the long haul, following in the footsteps of another R-rated comedy, “Wedding Crashers,” which has taken in $187.7 million and is the sixth-highest-grossing film this year domestically as well as the most commercially successful comedy, all the more impressive because of its restrictive rating (17 and older not admitted unless accompanied by an adult). Down just 22% in its seventh weekend, the comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson took in about $6.25 million.

Interestingly, “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” is the first R-rated film to post two consecutive weeks at No. 1 since “The Passion of the Christ” in March ‘04, box-office tracker Nielsen EDI Inc. noted.

Moviegoers had two “new” scary movies to choose from as Miramax’s long-on-the-shelf “The Brothers Grimm,” which offers a darker perspective on the famed tale-spinners, opened in second place with an estimated $15.1 million.

Meanwhile, Sony’s “The Cave” took in $6.2 million in a tight race, just barely behind No. 5 “Wedding Crashers.”

Rounding out the trio of creep shows in the top 10, Universal Pictures’ “The Skeleton Key” grossed roughly $4.4 million in eighth place for a 17-day total of about $37.9 million.

Unlike most recent PG-13 horror films, “The Cave” attracted slightly more males (53%) than females, Universal’s exit surveys indicated, and about the same percentage under age 25.

With an estimated total for all films of $96 million, box office overall dipped below $100 million for the first time since “Kingdom of Heaven” kicked off the summer, May 6 through 8, with $87.1 million for all the films in release that weekend.

That puts the weekend just ended 8% behind the comparable weekend last year. EDI reports the year-to-date total, about $5.87 billion, is about 8% behind last year’s $6.36 billion.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Box Office

Preliminary results (in millions) based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total The 40 $16.4 $48.7 Year-Old Virgin

The Brothers Grimm 15.1 15.1

Red Eye 10.4 32.7

Four Brothers 7.8 55.3

Wedding Crashers 6.3 187.7

The Cave 6.2 6.2

March of 4.6 55.7 the Penguins

The Skeleton Key 4.4 37.9

Valiant 3.4 11.6