Box Office: September 2006 Archives

Good thing I caught "The Devil Wears Prada" in my hotel room Sunday night in Miami because on the plane ride home yesterday, the movie showing was NACHO LIBRE! Delta doesn't give you any choice! So, I read and listened to music instead. "Prada," starring a delicious Meryl Streep and co-starring Stanley Tucci as a gay magazine executive who works for her, is still in the box office top 25 where is has resided for most of the summer. The movie added $474,500 over the weekend as it continues to wind down its theatrical run. It is the highest-grossing film of Streep's career with a domestic total of $122.7 million.

Other movies with gay characters were represented throughout the top 125 movies but all seem to be on the downswing so new fall releases will be much welcomed. I will preview the fall schedule later this week. For now, here are last weekend's figures:

"Little Miss Sunshine" which features Steve Carell as a gay man on a road trip with his dysfunctional family, saw a significant decline in its audience during a weekend where overall moviegoing was down. Seventh-place "Sunshine" took in $4.3 million, a 43.9 percent drop from last weekend. Still, the movie has grossed $41.5 million so far - terrific for a movie that had a production budget of $8 million.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" starring Will Ferrell as a NASCAR champ challenged by a gay French race car champ played by Ali G, took ninth place with $3 million in ticket sales. The comedy is finally losing speed but is still one of the summer season's biggest hits with a gross-to-date of $142.2 million.

Movies in more limited release were:
"Quinceanera," a drama set in Echo Park which won a top prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film features several gay characters, including a teenager sent to live with his uncle after his family kicks him out for being gay. The film earned $115, 532 and has grossed $1.3 million to date.

The raucous comedy "Another Gay Movie" took 51st place with a weekend gross of $42,861. It has taken in $535,572 tro date. It was announced Tuesday that the movie will also be distributed internationally.

The romantic comedy "Queens," a Spanish movie about a large group of gay men getting married in a mass ceremony, was in 70th place with a weekend gross of $15,469. It has grossed $74,273 so far.

Just hanging in the top 100 is the comedy "The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green" which, playing in a single theater, took in $2,120 for a total gross of $150,958.

If there weren't that many gay people at the movies Labor Day weekend, I think I know why: they were ALL in West Hollywood, every single one of them. The town was jam-packed with visitors and locals alike. But some people did go to the movies and here is a recap of how films with gay characters did over the four days:

"Little Miss Sunshine," which features Steve Carell as a gay man on a road trip with his dysfunctional family, continues to impress as it slowly expands into more theaters each week on the strength of strong word of mouth. "Sunshine" finished in fourth place with estimated tickets sales of $9.7 million. This wonderful film has earned $35.8 million so far and appears to have plenty of momentum remaining.

The Will Ferrell comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," features Ali G as a gay French racing champion who is Ferrell's nemesis. "Talladega" dropped out of the top two for the first time finishing in sixth place with estimated ticket sales of $7.7 million. It is still one of the biggest hits of the summer with a gross-to-date of $138.4 million.

The delicious "The Devil Wears Prada" is still in about 500 theaters and took in just under $1 million over the weekend. The comedy starring Meryl Streep in a brilliant performance as the fashion magazine editor from hell, also features Stanley Tucci as her openly gay colleague. The movie is the biggest box office hit of Streep's career with a cumulative gross of $121.9 million. I can't wait for its DVD release so I can watch her scenes again and again: "That's all."

Sundance Film Festival winner "Qunceanera," which has several male gay characters, remains in limited release and took in $258,000 over the four days. It has grossed $1.2 million to date.

"Another Gay Movie" added five theaters (19 locations in all) and finished in 47th place with a weekend gross of $65,390, a 44.5 percent increase over the previous weekend. The "American Pie" type comedy is closing in on the $500,000 mark.

The Spanish-language film "Queens," about a group of gay men getting married in a mass wedding and their meddling mothers, is playinng in eight theaters and took in $21,053 for a cumulative gross of $45,621.

Adding less than $3,000 each as they reach the end of their runs were "The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green" (total gross: $148,597) and the Ed Burns-directed "The Groomsmen" (total gross: $125,373).