300 Equals $70 Million

Mon., Mar. 12, 2007 3:36 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

The Spartans did it again. And this time, it's movie stars, not opposing armies, who should be worried.

300, the graphic retelling of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae, grossed $70.9 million in its opening weekend without the help of a single Tom, Nic or Uma, per final studio tallies compiled by Exhibitor Relations.

The debut was the biggest three-day take since Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, featuring the evidently worth-his-paycheck Johnny Depp, killed with $135.6 million last July, according to Box Office Mojo stats.

Between Dead Man's Chest and 300, Hollywood has gotten underwhelming performances from movies toplined by the A-list likes of Jim Carrey (The Number 23), Jamie Foxx (Miami Vice), Nicolas Cage (The Wicker Man), and Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson (My Super Ex-Girlfriend).

Not only that, 300's opening was bigger than the latest from one of Hollywood's two towering Toms (Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible III) and nearly as big as the latest from the other (Tom Hanks' The Da Vinci Code).

The animation-look 300 did its dominating with a barely recognizable cast. And even if the actors could be more clearly seen, they still wouldn't be more widely recognized. The movie is led by Gerard Butler, previously best known for hiding behind a mask in Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera.

300 also set records for the biggest ever March opening and the top-grossing three-day debut for an Imax release, grossing $3.6 million on the large-screen format. The film raked in an additional $6.5 million internationally.

The film helped boost the overall box office up 29 percent from last weekend and 38 percent from this week last year.

Elsewhere, Wild Hogs, the coming-of-middle-age comedy, did pretty well for a movie with movie stars such as John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence. Its take (second place, $27.6 million; $77 million overall) was only down 30 percent from last weekend.

Cage's polished-up star helped drive Ghost Rider (fourth place, $6.7 million) past the $100 million mark cumulatively, while Eddie Murphy's drawing power remained evident as Norbit (sixth place, $4.3 million) hit $88.3 million overall.

Music and Lyrics (eighth place, $3.7 million; $43.7 million overall) has quietly grossed about $88.3 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo, a testament to Hugh Grant's international appeal.

In limited release, the Indian film The Namesake was a relative blockbuster, earning $248,552 on six screens for a per-screen-average of $41,425, the best this year, Fox said. By comparison, even 300 "only" averaged $22,844 per screen.

Meanwhile, the family drama The Ultimate Gift, starring Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin, managed just $1.2 million on 816 screens for a weak $1,520 per-screen average. Wonder if the company that paid bloggers to blog about the movie can get its money back.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films based on final Friday-Sunday figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. 300, $70.9 million
2. Wild Hogs, $27.6 million
3. Bridge to Terabithia, $6.8 million
4. Ghost Rider, $6.7 million
5. Zodiac, $6.6 million
6. Norbit, $4.3 million
7. The Number 23, $4.1 million
8. Music and Lyrics, $3.7 million
9. Breach, $2.5 million
10. Amazing Grace, $2.48 million