LOS ANGELES – The angels have lost a little of their kick but they can still pulverize the opposition, even if he’s big and green.
“Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” debuted with $38 million, off $2.1 million from the opening numbers the first movie put up in November 2000, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, “The Hulk,” fell to second place, free-falling 70 percent from its $62.1 million opening. “The Hulk” took in $18.4 million to squeak past the $100 million mark after 10 days in theaters.
“Finding Nemo” held up well in third place with $13.9 million. With $253.9 million in the bank, the animated adventure is on track to pass “The Matrix Reloaded” as the year’s top-grossing movie.
The British fright flick “28 Days Later” lacked the huge advertising blitz of “Charlie’s Angels” and “The Hulk,” but it managed to take fourth place with an unexpectedly strong $9.7 million while playing in barely a third as many theaters as the big-studio movies.
Overall Hollywood revenues fell for the third straight weekend. The top 12 movies grossed an estimated $111.3 million, off 15 percent from the same weekend last year.
Summer revenues are virtually even with last year’s, but domestic grosses for all of 2003 are down 3.5 percent from 2002, when the industry took in a record $9.32 billion, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
“There’s a little malaise out there in the business,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released “The Hulk.” “Hopefully, in the next few weeks it’ll pop up again.”
This week brings two eagerly awaited sequels, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” and “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,” plus the animated family film “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.” All three open Wednesday to get a jump on the Fourth of July weekend.
Universal executives were disappointed with second-weekend numbers for “The Hulk,” though the movie still will turn a profit, Rocco said.
Adapted from Marvel Comics’ “The Incredible Hulk,” the movie took a more dark and dramatic approach than other recent comic-book flicks. Reviews were mixed.
Sony, which released the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, hopes strong weekday business will help the sequel catch up to the first movie, which had a total gross of $125.3 million, said studio vice chairman Jeff Blake.
The movie opened strongly in some overseas markets, including Japan, where its $6.2 million take was double that of the first one, Blake said.
Both “Angels” movies star Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in an update of the 1970s TV detective series.
Factoring in higher admission prices since 2000, “Full Throttle” sold roughly a million fewer tickets domestically than the first “Charlie’s Angels.”
The new movie also played more widely than the original “Charlie’s Angels.” The first opened in 3,037 cinemas, averaging $13,213 a theater, while “Full Throttle” debuted in 3,459 theaters for a $10,986 average.
Top Ten
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” $38 million.
2. “The Hulk,” $18.4 million.
3. “Finding Nemo,” $13.9 million.
4. “28 Days Later,” $9.7 million.
5. “Bruce Almighty,” $6.2 million.
6. “2 Fast 2 Furious,” $5.7 million.
7. “The Italian Job,” $5.4 million.
8. “Rugrats Go Wild,” $3.5 million.
9. “Hollywood Homicide,” $3 million.
10. “Alex & Emma,” $2.7 million.
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