http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=1868&p=.htm

'Dukes' Charge the Top Spot, Emperors 'March' On

by Brandon Gray

August 8, 2005

With a hand from the Duke cousins, Warner Bros. dominated the weekend, and overall business was on par with the comparable frame last year.

The Dukes of Hazzard, Warner Bros.' comedic adaptation of the 1979 to 1985 television show, made its way to a decent $30.7 million at 3,785 locations over the weekend. That's just a little bit more than the industry allowed—expectations were closer to $25 million. The picture's $50 million production budget does not include the $17.5 million Warner Bros. recently agreed to pay the TV show's rights holders in an out-of-court settlement.

"The picture played extremely well across the country, but the strongest results came from the South," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' head of distribution. According to studio exit polling, 65 percent of the audience was under 25 years old, essentially too young to have experienced the show in first run, and 53 percent was male. Fellman credited the cast for enticing young crowds. "Males went for [co-star] Jessica [simpson], without a question. They just like the action, and it was the production and marketing campaign that drew them in."

Business fell 21 percent from Friday to Saturday, and a steep drop like that is often a sign of a brief theatrical life, especially in teen-targeted pictures. That doesn't necessarily mean the audience rebuked the Dukes. Opening night pollster CinemaScore indicated that moviegoers under 25 gave the picture an "A-," though the overall grade was "B+."

The marketing campaign made no bones about what the two main attractions were. The rollickingly juvenile trailer kicks off with shots of the Dukes' orange 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee, burning rubber and then shifts to Jessica Simpson having things bounce up her undercarriage as the scantily-clad Daisy Duke. The poster displays Simpson and the General Lee in the center with Luke (Johnny Knoxville), Bo (Seann William Scott), Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson) and Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) off to the sides.

The Dukes of Hazzard hogged the weekend as the sole new wide release—titles such as The Pink Panther remake and Underclassman backed off the Aug. 5 date in recent months—and benefited as the only option for the good ole' action-comedy crowd. The movie was put in motion on the heels of Starsky and Hutch, Warner Bros.' tongue-in-cheek rendition of the '70s cop show. That picture, featuring a 1974 Ford Torino, opened to $28.1 million in March 2004 and ended up with $88.2 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=1868&p=.htm

'Dukes' Charge the Top Spot, Emperors 'March' On

by Brandon Gray

August 8, 2005

With a hand from the Duke cousins, Warner Bros. dominated the weekend, and overall business was on par with the comparable frame last year.

The Dukes of Hazzard, Warner Bros.' comedic adaptation of the 1979 to 1985 television show, made its way to a decent $30.7 million at 3,785 locations over the weekend. That's just a little bit more than the industry allowed—expectations were closer to $25 million. The picture's $50 million production budget does not include the $17.5 million Warner Bros. recently agreed to pay the TV show's rights holders in an out-of-court settlement.

"The picture played extremely well across the country, but the strongest results came from the South," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' head of distribution. According to studio exit polling, 65 percent of the audience was under 25 years old, essentially too young to have experienced the show in first run, and 53 percent was male. Fellman credited the cast for enticing young crowds. "Males went for [co-star] Jessica [simpson], without a question. They just like the action, and it was the production and marketing campaign that drew them in."

Business fell 21 percent from Friday to Saturday, and a steep drop like that is often a sign of a brief theatrical life, especially in teen-targeted pictures. That doesn't necessarily mean the audience rebuked the Dukes. Opening night pollster CinemaScore indicated that moviegoers under 25 gave the picture an "A-," though the overall grade was "B+."

The marketing campaign made no bones about what the two main attractions were. The rollickingly juvenile trailer kicks off with shots of the Dukes' orange 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee, burning rubber and then shifts to Jessica Simpson having things bounce up her undercarriage as the scantily-clad Daisy Duke. The poster displays Simpson and the General Lee in the center with Luke (Johnny Knoxville), Bo (Seann William Scott), Uncle Jessie (Willie Nelson) and Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) off to the sides.

The Dukes of Hazzard hogged the weekend as the sole new wide release—titles such as The Pink Panther remake and Underclassman backed off the Aug. 5 date in recent months—and benefited as the only option for the good ole' action-comedy crowd. The movie was put in motion on the heels of Starsky and Hutch, Warner Bros.' tongue-in-cheek rendition of the '70s cop show. That picture, featuring a 1974 Ford Torino, opened to $28.1 million in March 2004 and ended up with $88.2 million.