'Horton' still roaring in top spot in theaters

By Alana Semuels

March 24, 2008 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

“Horton Hears a Who!” sat atop the box office again over the weekend, holding off openings of “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” and “Drillbit Taylor” to remain in the No. 1 spot, grossing an estimated $25.1 million.

The animated retelling of a Dr. Seuss story about a conscientious elephant has made $86.5 million in two weeks. It’s the first movie of the year to hang on to the top spot two weekends in a row.

“Meet the Browns” was the fourth out of Perry’s five movies to gross more than $20 million in its opening weekend, an impressive number for a movie that didn’t cost much to make.

A small movie also made a big splash at the box office this weekend: “Under the Same Moon” had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Spanish-language film, shattering the previous record by nearly $1 million.

The movie, about a boy’s attempt to cross from Mexico into the United States to reunite with his mother, made $2.6 million, which propelled it to the No. 10 spot at the box office.

“This has never been done before,” said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Weinstein Co., which distributed the film with Fox Searchlight Pictures. “These are enormous numbers.”

The previous record for a Spanish-language movie was set by “Ladron Que Roba a Ladron,” which grossed $1.6 million in its opening weekend in 2007. But it opened in 340 theaters, whereas “Under the Same Moon” was shown in only 266.

The movie was successful because it opened in theaters frequented by Spanish speakers and in art houses throughout the country, Weinstein said. It also was unusual because it was released at the same time in Mexico and the United States. Many Spanish-language movies are released in Mexico six months before they open in the U.S.

The movie was marketed heavily to Spanish speakers through television and radio.

“This shows you can motivate a commercial audience through Spanish-language media,” said Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The success of “Under the Same Moon” and “Meet the Browns,” which was popular with African Americans, illustrates that movies targeted at niche demographics can find success at the box office. “Under the Same Moon” grossed an average of $9,774 per theater, while “Meet the Browns” made $9,975 per theater, on average. “Horton” grossed about $6,337 per theater.

Perry surprised Hollywood with the popularity of his first film, “Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” which grossed $21.9 million in its opening weekend in 2005, as well as “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion,” which made $30 million in its 2006 opening weekend.

“It proves once again the tremendous loyalty of Tyler’s audience,” said Steve Rothenberg, president of domestic distribution at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., which has a multi-picture deal with Perry. Rothenberg said Perry’s next film, “Madea Goes to Jail,” would probably do even better at the box office because it heralded the return of Perry’s popular character Madea in the title role.

Fox Searchlight’s horror film “Shutter” came in third at the box office, grossing $10.7 million, closely followed by Paramount’s Owen Wilson movie “Drillbit Taylor,” which took in $10.2 million. Warner Bros.’ “10,000 BC” slipped to No. 5 in its third week in theaters. It has made $76.1 million.

“Horton” could reach $100 million by the end of this week, said Bert Livingston, a senior vice president and general sales manager at 20th Century Fox, especially because children will be out of school on spring vacation.

The film’s weekend earnings dropped only 44% from the previous weekend -- most movies fall 50% to 60% from their opening weekend. That bodes well for the upcoming week, Livingston said.

“Horton” played in 3,961 theaters, almost double the number of theaters showing “Meet the Browns” and more than 10 times as many as showed “Under the Same Moon.”

alana.semuels@latimes.com

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Box-office results

“Horton Hears a Who!” topped the box office for the second straight weekend, the first movie this year to repeat at No. 1. Tyler Perry continued his streak with “Meet the Browns,” while Owen Wilson can’t seem to catch a break, with “Drillbit Taylor” coming in fourth. “Under the Same Moon” had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Spanish-language film. Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections:

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

1 Horton Hears a Who! (Fox) $25.1 $86.5 2

2 Meet the Browns (Lions Gate) 20.0 20.0 1

3 Shutter (Fox) 10.7 10.7 1

4 Drillbit Taylor (Paramount) 10.2 10.2 1

5 10,000 BC (Warner Bros.) 8.7 76.1 3

6 Never Back Down (Summit 4.9 16.8 2 Entertainment)

7 College Road Trip (Disney) 4.6 32.0 3

8 The Bank Job (Lions Gate) 4.1 19.4 3

9 Vantage Point (Sony) 3.8 65.3 5

10 Under the Same Moon (La Misma 2.6 3.3 1 Luna) -- (Fox/Weinstein) *--*

Industry totals