Things went much as predicted this Fourth of July weekend. New Yorkers fell in love with a homeless wino with a penchant for busting road signs and throwing live whales into the ocean. Hancock landed on top of Manhattan’s sales charts with an $850,956 box office showing. It was the same story nationally. Sony’s film scored $66 million in ticket sales, putting it way ahead of Wall-E ($33.4 million) and Wanted ($20.6 million). Since first hitting theaters on July 2, Will Smith’s jaded superhero has made a total of $107.3 million.
Much like his alky antihero, Smith is a force to be reckoned with. According to the Times, this marks the eighth consecutive time Smith has opened the July 4th weekend with a No. 1 film—beginning with 2002’s Men in Black II.
Back home, Wanted continued its dominance over the critically indomitable Walle-E (apparently, Frank Rich saw the film over the weekend and now the guy’s got a new favorite presidential candidate) by collecting $433,108, though that was still less than half Hancock’s‘s take, and a 58 percent drop from last week. Our little bug-eyed trash man did manage to trim Wanted‘s lead to just over $27,000—a significantly better showing then last week’s $396,000 drubbing. Next weekend, we predict Wall-E will finally pull past Angelina Jolie and co., especially if another Times columnist comes out for Pixar’s film (we bet green-friendly Friedman’s a fan).
And finally, a distinctly hometown battle seems to be upon us. Stubborn Sex and the City ($108,966) remained in the top five this week just behind No. 4 Get Smart, while The Wackness—the story of a young Upper East Side pot dealer in 1994—managed an impressive $96,023 box office draw from just three theaters citywide.
Which decade will New Yorkers prefer? Will Carrie’s glamorous millennium-era New York weather the rise of precocious 90’s nostalgia? Will it be martinis or joints? Glitz or grime? With Sex and the City already in theaters for six weeks, Jonathan Levine’s hazy coming-of-age tale seems to have the advantage. But who knows—we’re not so sure about a long-haired Ben Kingsley in a Hawaiian shirt.
List of theaters: Paris, Zeigfeld, Oprheum, East 85th St., 86th St. East, 84th St., Lincoln Plaza, 62nd and Broadway, Lincoln Square, Magic Johnson, 72nd St East, Cinemas 1, 2 &3rd Ave, 64th and 2nd , Imaginasian, Manhattan Twin, First and 62nd St., Angelika Film Center, Quad, IFC Center, Film Forum, Village East, Village Seven, Cinema Village, Union Square, Essex, Battery Park 11, Sunshine, 34th Street, Empire, E-Walk, Chelsea, 19th Street East, and Kips Bay.
Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren’t always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.
