The eagerly anticipated biopic Ali, starring Will Smith as the legendary boxing champ, took in $10.2 million on Tuesday, earning the title of best Christmas Day opening in US history.
The film had been scheduled to hit screens the weekend before, but executives at Sony pushed it back to December 25. “It just seemed like a big event day was a perfect fit for a big event movie like this,” said Sony president of worldwide marketing and distribution, Jeff Blake.
But despite Ali’s merry Christmas, the Michael Mann-directed film failed to capture the top spot for the day. The first instalment in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Fellowship Of The Ring, took the honour with $11.5 million. Since its December 19 debut, the fantasy adventure flick has earned a staggering $95.3 million.
“This is a film that will have legs,” says president of box office-tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, Paul Dergarabedian. “It’s an epic that plays to both younger and older audiences… It’s getting great buzz, great reviews, and the word of mouth is fantastic.” The Peter Jackson-directed film is up for Best Drama at January’s Golden Globes ceremony.
The Meg Ryan romantic comedy Kate & Leopold also bowed on Tuesday, but failed to cause much of a stir. The flick took in a modest $2.5 million for third place.
Tinseltown generally rolls out its prestige films and Oscar hopefuls over the Christmas season. Russell Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind opened last week in New York and Los Angeles to qualify for the awards season, before expanding on Christmas Day. The film was well received and, with solid performances from Oscar winner Crowe and actress Jennifer Connelly – both nominated for Golden Globes – A Beautiful Mind seems set for box office glory.
Tom Cruise’s Vanilla Sky, however, doesn't. The enigmatic thriller soared upon its debut, banking $25 million in its first weekend of US release, but has since lost altitude.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter continues to work its magic, and this week surpassed Shrek as the top-grossing film of the year. As of Christmas Day, Harry Potter had earned $267.75 million, outstripping the green ogre's $267.65 million by a slender margin.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
