Apocalypto tops US box office
Story by Jack Foley
MEL Gibson has defied his critics by topping the US box office over the weekend of December 8-10 (2006) with bloody epic Apocalypto.
The epic film, about the Mayan civilization, went straight in at No.1 with an estimated $14.2 million.
The figure falls some way short of the $83.8 million opening weekend of Gibson’s last movie, the 2004 religious blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, but it remains an impressive achievement given the controversy surrounding both the film and its creator.
The film itself has taken flak in some quarters for being too violent, while Mayan groups have accused it of misrepresenting the civilization. Read more
And Gibson himself has been in the headlines recently following his drink-driving arrest and anti-Semitic rant.
Welcoming the figures, Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, said: “The movie obviously succeeds on its own level. I think people probably are a bit on the surprised side around town that it’s No. 1 as two months ago, nobody would have bet on that.”
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers, added: “The publicity over Gibson’s problems and his contriteness since last summer may have stoked interested in Apocalypto.
“There was a huge curiosity factor. A movie about Mayan civilization was never destined to be a big hit, let alone a No. 1 movie. But through Disney’s marketing, which highlights Mel Gibson – I believe they associated him very closely with the movie – I think that strategy paid off,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.
What makes Apocalypto‘s triumph even more impressive is that it came out in the same week as two further blockbusters – each of which boasted plenty of box office potential in the form of big name casts and easier subject matter.
But romance comedy-drama The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black, could only debut at No. 2 with $13.5 million, and Warner Bros thriller Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou, opened at No.5 with $8.5 million.
The film is directed by Edward Zwick and follows a mercenary pursuing a rare diamond against the backdrop of Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s.
Better news for Warner Bros was that animated hit Happy Feet held firm at No.3, while Sony’s James Bond adventure Casino Royale hung in at No.4.
Happy Feet took a further $12.7 million, raising its total to $137.7 million so far, while the new 007 movie grossed $8.8 million, lifting its total to $128.9 million.
However, overall box office figures fell sharply, with the top-12 movies only grossing $86.8 million, down 25 per cent from the same weekend last year when blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened with $65.6 million.