"Brothers" Heads Off "Skeleton"

Oh, Brother!

Business was flaccid again over the weekend at the nation's box office--down almost 15 percent from this time last year. About the best thing going for the studios is that there are only a few weeks left of the summer.

The number one movie was Four Brothers, the urban tale of disreputable adopted siblings seeking revenge for their mother's death, which cleaned up a respectable enough $21.2 million.

In second place was the Kate Hudson-in-scary-mansion thriller The Skeleton Key, which turned over $16.1 million.

Rob Schneider's comic sex romp sequel Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo could only rise to fifth place with a mere $9.6 million.

Last week's top movie, the made-from-TV caper The Dukes of Hazzard crashed down 58 percent to fourth place with $13 million. However, the skirt-chasing comedy Wedding Crashers was still scoring in its fifth week, dipping only 26 percent from second to fourth place with $11.8 million.

The Great Raid, a World War II tale of heroic rescue, with a cast that includes Benjamin Bratt, James Franco and Joseph Fiennes, was finally dropped down off the shelf into a limited 819 sites, where the R-rated Miramax release managed to scrape up $3.4 million from a $4,122 screen average, enough for 10th place.

This time last year the box office was topped by Alien vs. Predator, which scared its way to a $38.3 million debut. This year, with nothing nearly as blockbuster, the ticket take dove down for a third week in a row, back to the doldrums that at one point recorded 19 downers in a row.

"People are very selective right now about how they are choosing to spend their discretionary income," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the receipt-tracking Exhibitor Relations. He noted there are all kinds of films out there, targeted at different audiences, but little is really clicking.

Four Brothers, directed by John Singleton with a cast that includes Mark Wahlberg and Terrence Howard, opened at 2,533 sites, where the R-rated Paramount release averaged $8,360.

The Skeleton Key, a gothic haunted house tale starring Kate Hudson with backup from Peter Sarsgaard and veteran talents John Hurt and Gena Rowlands, opened at 2,771 sites, where the PG-13 Universal release averaged $5,795--a figure that the distributing studio said was "roughly" what was expected, considering the overall state of the box office.

Schneider's Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo sidled into a wider release, 3,127 locations. But the R-rated Sony release only averaged $3,078, well below the $5,683 average that gave the original Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo a third place debut of $12.2 million in 1999.

The best screen average in new limited release was for the documentary Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's exploration of the obsessive and ultimately fatal fascination that the late Timothy Treadwell had for bears. At 29 locations, the R-rated Lions Gate release averaged $9,280 for $269,131.

Also attracting some solid business was Asylum, a psychological tale of doomed love, starring Natasha Richardson . At five sites, the R-rated Paramount Classic release averaged $7,254 for $36,272. And doing almost equally as well was Pretty Persuasion, the youth culture satire starring Evan Rachel Wood. The unrated IDP/Samuel Goldwyn release averaged $7,321 at eight sites for $58,5700.

Adding 91 screens to play at 118 locations in its second week, the rueful love quest Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray, gained 113 percent, averaging $14,553 for $1.7 million to give the R-rated Focus release a total of $2.9 million.

There was also continued good news for the smash hit nature documentary March of the Penguins. Adding 196 sites to play at 2,063 locations in its eighth week, the G-rated Warner Independent release only dropped 4 percent and one slot. Now in seventh place, the cool birds' saga earned $6.8 million from a $3,320 average to bring its current gross to $37.7 million.

The overall gross for the top 12 movies was $104.7 million, about 1 percent above last weekend, but more consequently 15 percent down on this time last year.

Here's a rundown of the top-grossing movies based on studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Four Brothers, $21.2 million
2. The Skeleton Key, $16.1 million
3. The Dukes of Hazzard, $13 million
4. Wedding Crashers, $11.8 million
5. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, $9.6 million
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, $7.4 million
7. March of the Penguins, $6.8 million
8. Sky High, $6.3 million
9. Must Love Dogs, $4.6 million
10. The Great Raid, $3.4 million

(Originally published Aug. 14, 2005 at 5:15 p.m. PT.)