The Cell Tops Weekend Box Office
Aug. 20 -- Audiences took a journey into the mind of a serial killer this weekend, helping The Cell command the box office with a $17.2 million take, according to industry estimates.
The solid open for the New Line release should come as especially good news to its cast, who are clearly no longer just up and comers. “Jennifer Lopez has proved she can open a picture now, the two Vinces, D’Onofrio and Vaughn, these guys are good in everything they do,” said New Line’s Distribution President David Tuckerman.
The other big open of the weekend is Spike Lee’s documentary, The Original Kings of Comedy, which took in $11.7 million to debut in second place. Lee filmed two nights of a comedy tour starring Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac.
Space Cowboys is holding steady in third place, with $9.9 million for the weekend. The Clint Eastwood hit has grossed $54.2 in its 17 day run. However, last week’s box office champ Hollow Man dropped to 7th place with $6.1 million.
Visual Head Trip
The Cell is the first feature film from Tarsem Singh, best known for directing music videos including R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” In The Cell he literally brings viewers into the mind of a serial killer played by D’Onofrio.
“He’s got a great visual style…he took a story and made it come to life both visually and with a great deal of inventiveness,” said Tuckerman.
Tuckerman was surprised by the particular audience which lined up this weekend, “the people that came skewed 35 and under but it’s interesting to see that we got couples. The men wanted to see a serial killer and Jennifer Lopez, and the women wanted to see Lopez in a strong role.”
Despite its leading position, The Cell drew fewer audiences per theater than Spike Lee’s documentary which is in just 847 cinemas. The Original Kings of Comedy posted a $13,813 per-theater average, compared with $7,134 at 2,411 locations for The Cell.
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