Oscar’s help came in handy over Easter weekend for “A Beautiful Mind,” “Monster’s Ball,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “Gosford Park.”
Universal’s “Mind,” which took home four wins including best picture, maintained its long-running presence in the top 10 with $4 million at 1,560 engagements in its 15th session. The three-day tally, good enough for eighth place, declined only 1% from the previous weekend.
“That is spectacular performance for a movie that’s been in theaters for that long,” ACNielsen EDI VP Dan Marks noted.
Lions Gate’s “Monster’s Ball” clearly benefited from Halle Berry’s groundbreaking actress win, with a 30% bump to $2.1 million at 675 playdates, pushing cume to $23 million. The distrib had added 137 engagements to the run.
“It’s a very nice uptick, and it looks like we’re headed to $30 million,” said Lions Gate topper Tom Ortenberg.
New Line’s “Rings,” which also picked up four Oscars, continued to perform impressively after 15 weeks in theaters, with $2.3 million at 1,120 engagements for a decline of only 3% and a 103-day domestic total of $301.2 million. The epic managed to maintain its drawing power despite leaving nearly 200 screens.
Studio reps said inclusion of a trailer for the second seg — “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” — also helped draw fans.
USA Films’ “Gosford Park,” which won for Julian Fellowes’ original screenplay, declined 36% to $1 million at 545 engagements, but the pic had lowered its run by 35% as it left nearly 300 sites.
“The big winners held up fairly well,” Marks added. “It’s not easy for them to do much better, given that the current crop is doing so well.”
One Oscar recipient did not appear to reap significant rewards. Miramax’s “Iris,” which boasted a supporting actor trophy for Jim Broadbent, fell 37% to $361,000 at 220 playdates despite the addition of 16 screens.
MGM’s “No Man’s Land,” which took home the Oscar for foreign-language picture, grossed $86,000 at 38 engagements to boost cume to $886,000. The distrib has not decided whether the run will be expanded.
