"The Departed" Arrives in Style

Mon., Oct. 9, 2006 7:08 PM PDT by Bridget Byrne

The Departed sent Leatherface and Jessica Simpson packing as Martin Scorsese's all-star crime drama hauled in nearly $27 million to dominate the weekend box office.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg in a tale of subterfuge and betrayal between Boston cops and Irish mobsters, The Departed represented a new personal milestone for Scorsese. The loose remake of the Hong Kong action film Infernal Affairs took in $26.9 million from Friday to Sunday to eclipse the director's previous best, 1991's Cape Fear, which debuted at number one in November 1991 with $10.2 million and ended up grossing $79.1 million.

At 3,017 sites, the R-rated Warner Bros. film averaged $8,912 per screen, best among all movies in wide release.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, credited studio marketers who placed "the pedigree of the movie front and center" for the film's success.

"It's a well-deserved number one," he said, noting the movie is powered by the talents of "four major stars and a legendary director," has garnered generally good reviews and is positioned for an Oscar run.

While finishing a distant second, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning carved up a nice slice of the box office with $18.5 million.

The R-rated prequel, which showed the formative years of the power-tool-friendly psycho, had a solid body count, averaging $6,563 at 2,280 locations. Still, the New Line entry didn't outgross (moneywise, that is) the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which whirred in with $28 million and eventually tallied $80.1 million, and with Halloween approaching, Leatherface is going to get some scary competition with both The Grudge 2 and Saw III opening soon.

Meanwhile, the weekend third major newcomer, Simpson's Employee of the Month, was a bust. The nominal comedy, costarring Dane Cook, finished in fourth with $11.4 million. The PG-13 Lionsgate release averaged just $4,423 at 2,579 locations.

Last week's chart-topper, Open Season, had a strong second weekend, dropping just 34 percent to $15.6 million in third place. The family-friendly Sony 'toon has hunted up $43.8 million in 10 days.

But a couple other flicks fell flat in week two.

Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher's soggy action drama The Guardian sank 47 percent, down from second to fifth place with $9.6 million to bring its total to $32.3 million. And the nerd comedy School for Scoundrels appears to have completely flunked out, falling 60 percent from fourth to seventh place with $3.4 million for a total of $14 million.

In limited release nothing came close to usurping The Queen. The PG-13 Miramax release, starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, added eight sites for a total of 11 and averaged a royal $36,543 per theater for $401,978. That's a gain of 229 percent over last week and brings the film's 10-day gross to $634,788.

Shortbus, an unrated Think Film release, got off to a strong start. Playing at just six screens in the U.S. and Canada, the relationship comedy directed by John Cameron Mitchell averaged $20,166 for $121,000. It will open at 10 more sites next weekend.

Finally, Little Children, an R-rated New Line drama starring Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly, opened at five theaters. It averaged $19,591--best among the new films on the art-house circuit--for a total of $97,953.

Overall, it was another up weekend, with the top 12 movies registering $100.7 million. That's a gain of 16 percent over last weekend and 14 percent over this time last year.

Here's a rundown of the top-grossing films from Friday to Sunday based on final studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. The Departed, $26.9 million
2. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, $18.5 million
3. Open Season, $15.6 million
4. Employee of the Month, $11.4 million
5. The Guardian, $9.6 million
6. Jackass: Number Two, $6.5 million
7. School for Scoundrels, $3.4 million
8. Jet Li's Fearless, $2.3 million
9. Gridiron Gang, $2.2 million
10. The Illusionist, $1.9 million