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‘Rings’ saves biggest for last

Times Staff Writer

Pre-holiday box office blues didn’t faze “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” as the final segment of the trilogy set a December opening-weekend record and grossed significantly more than last year’s “The Two Towers.” “King” brought in $73.6 million Friday through Sunday and $125.1 million since it opened Wednesday.

Julia Roberts’ women’s-college drama, “Mona Lisa Smile,” however, earned only middling grades its first term out, opening in second place with an estimated $12 million. Although the film received OK reviews, it may have a hard time capturing a large share of the female audience because of competition from “Something’s Gotta Give” and even “Return of the King” because of its hunk factor.

But Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson’s “Something’s” held up well in its second weekend, dropping only 28% with an estimated gross of $11.5 million.

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Although the three-day gross for “Return of the King” did not outdo May 2002 opener “Spider-Man’s” standing three-day record of $114.8 million, “Return” did have the biggest-ever Wednesday debut with $34 million.

Some observers speculated that if “Return of the King” had opened Friday, it would have had no problem beating “Spider-Man.” It did improve on the performance of last year’s “Two Towers,” which took in $62 million Friday through Sunday and $102 million in its first five days.

The film, which has been lauded as an epic achievement for director Peter Jackson, also opened in 28 territories around the world this weekend, raking in an additional $121 million, 26% more than last year, for a worldwide total of $246.1 million.

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Rolf Mittweg, chief operating officer and head of worldwide marketing and distribution for New Line Cinema, said “Return” benefited greatly from a broadened audience base established by the first two “Lord of the Rings” films. The first, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” opened with $47.2 million in December 2001, and each film has improved on that.

Additionally, with an estimated 40 million units of DVD and VHS sold on each of the two previous films as well as extensive cable television viewership, Mittweg said there was a pent-up desire to see the story come to a resolution.

“People want closure,” he said, noting that the release of the final chapter is a bittersweet moment for the studio and the filmmakers. “It’s a very emotional ending. It’s been four years of our lives.”

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Among films opening in limited release, DreamWorks returned to theaters after a long sabbatical, with the critically acclaimed drama “House of Sand and Fog,” which grossed a healthy $44,000 in two theaters in New York and L.A. The film will expand to 425 theaters on Friday.

Disney’s women-of-a-certain-age comedy “Calendar Girls” opened in 24 theaters with an estimated $161,000.

Errol Morris’ acclaimed documentary “The Fog of War” opened strongly in three venues in New York and Los Angeles with an estimated gross of $40,779, or $13,593 per screen.

Based on estimates for the top 10 movies, this weekend’s box office was up 71% over last weekend’s top 10, but it was up only 2% over the comparable weekend last year, according to box office tracking firm Nielsen EDI. Last year, “The Two Towers” led the weekend and Sandra Bullock’s “Two Weeks Notice” opened at No. 2 and Jennifer Lopez’s “Maid in Manhattan” had the No. 3 spot in its second week.

Year-to-date box office is in a virtual dead heat with 2002, according to EDI. As of last week, this year’s ticket sales were at $8.3 billion versus $8.4 billion last year. Accounting for inflation, those numbers likely mean attendance is down slightly, but with less than two weeks left in 2003 it is too soon to say whether the year is a disappointment.

This week will see the openings of two family films with high potential, a live-action version of “Peter Pan” and “Cheaper by the Dozen” with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, as well as Disney’s Imax film “The Young Black Stallion.”

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For the action crowd, there’ll be Ben Affleck in John Woo’s sci-fi thriller “Paycheck,” based on a Philip K. Dick story.

Also opening this week are the Civil War drama “Cold Mountain,” which stars Nicole Kidman and Jude Law and led Golden Globes nominations last week, Robert Altman’s ballet drama “The Company,” and “Monster,” starring Charlize Theron as serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

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Box Office

Preliminary results based on studio projections.

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

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*--* Lord of the Rings: Return of the King $73.6 $125.1

Mona Lisa Smile $12 $12

Something’s Gotta Give $11.5 $33.5

The Last Samurai $7.3 $59.1

Stuck on You $5.4 $17.1

Elf $5 $154.3

Bad Santa $4.3 $42.1

The Haunted Mansion $4.2 $59.1

Love Don’t Cost a Thing $4 $11.4

Honey $2.6 $23.5

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Source: Nielsen EDI, Inc.

Los Angeles Times

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