'Disturbia' still in top spot

By Josh Friedman

April 23, 2007 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Make it four in a row for Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures and its DreamWorks Pictures unit.

Their thriller “Disturbia” topped the movie industry box office for the second straight weekend, grossing $13.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to Sunday’s studio estimates. The surprise hit, starring Shia LaBeouf, came on the heels of the studio’s goofy comedy “Blades of Glory,” which also ranked No. 1 in its first two weekends.

The PG-13 “Disturbia,” in which the up-and-coming LaBeouf plays a troubled young man who suspects that his neighbor is a serial killer, dropped a relatively slight 39% despite competition from two new, R-rated thrillers: “Fracture” and “Vacancy.”

“We’ve got the younger demographic with Shia and the PG-13 rating, and the movie has gotten good reviews,” said DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy.

A crisp marketing campaign focusing on the LaBeouf character’s voyeurism also has attracted audiences, he said.

After mixed results in 2006, Paramount leads domestic distributors in market share so far this year, according to research website ShowBizData, with a slim edge over Warner Bros.

New Line Cinema’s “Fracture,” starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, opened a solid No. 2 with an estimated $11.2 million in weekend ticket sales. That was at the high end of expectations for the murder mystery, said David Tuckerman, the studio’s distribution president. “The idea was to get established and navigate our way through into May,” he said.

The film, which also has earned solid reviews, is aimed at adult audiences.

Sony Pictures’ horror-thriller “Vacancy,” which had been expected to vie for the top position in a three-way race, instead opened No. 4 with an estimated $7.6 million.

The movie, starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson as bickering spouses trapped in an isolated motel and fighting for their lives, was hurt by the surprising strength of “Disturbia,” said Rory Bruer, the studio’s president of domestic distribution.

Bruer said Sony would “come out OK” financially on the film, which cost about $19 million to make. Not surprisingly, he said the studio was eagerly awaiting the start of the summer moviegoing season.

Sony’s “Spider-Man 3” will kick off Hollywood’s extended summer season May 4. Prognosticators are looking for the big-budget sequel to post a blockbuster opening weekend that could top $100 million.

Theater owners and studios also are looking ahead. Overall ticket sales of $85 million were down 22% from the same weekend in 2006, according to research firm Media by Numbers. Year to date, revenue is up 4.7% and attendance has risen 2.4%.

Two other major films opened over the weekend. The crime comedy “Hot Fuzz,” described by some as a British variation of “Bad Boys,” was No. 6 with an estimated $5.8 million. That was a robust debut for the release from Universal Pictures’ Focus Features unit, considering that the film debuted at only 825 venues. “Hot Fuzz” averaged about $7,000 per theater, highest in the top 10.

Warner Bros.’ “In the Land of Women” had the weakest opening among the major releases, grossing an estimated $4.9 million at more than 2,000 theaters. The romantic comedy-drama stars Adam Brody as a brokenhearted writer caring for his ailing grandmother.

Among holdover films, the ice-skating comedy “Blades of Glory” continued to rack up solid sales, ranking third for the weekend and topping $100 million in total receipts through four weekends.

Several movies that opened a week ago dropped sharply in their second weekends amid sluggish overall results. Sony’s “Perfect Stranger,” a thriller starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, sank 63% to rank No. 9.

Outside the top 10, 20th Century Fox’s battle epic “Pathfinder” and Chicago Releasing’s action movie “Redline” fell 67%, First Look International’s animated “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” dropped 70% and Lions Gate Films’ thriller “Slow Burn” declined 85%.

In its third weekend, the comedy-drama “The Hoax,” starring Richard Gere, fell 11% for Walt Disney Co.’s Miramax Films despite an expansion to more than 1,000 theaters and positive reviews.

This Friday’s notable releases include “Next,” a science-fiction thriller starring Nicolas Cage; the teenage mystery “The Invisible”; the action thriller “The Condemned,” starring wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin; and the break-dancing comedy “Kickin’ It Old Skool.”

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Box office results

Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total Disturbia $13.5 $40.7

Fracture 11.2 11.2

Blades of Glory 7.8 101.1

Vacancy 7.6 7.6

Meet the Robinsons 7.1 82.2

Hot Fuzz 5.8 5.8

Are We Done Yet? 5.2 39.6

In the Land of Women 4.9 4.9

Perfect Stranger 4.1 18.1