A scene from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

'Fantastic' Sequel Storms Top Spot
by Brandon Gray
June 17, 2007

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer blazed to the top of the weekend box office with an estimated $57.4 million on approximately 6,200 screens at 3,959 theaters. The opening gross was a bit higher than the first Fantastic Four's $56.1 million at 3,602 sites, however attendance was down slightly.

Aside from the X-Men pictures, the norm for comic book franchises is to lose their audiences with subsequent movies, and Rise of the Silver Surfer is poised to follow suit, likely falling short of Fantastic Four's $154.7 million final tally. Its retention level, though, should land in the success column as far as the genre is concerned.

Rise of the Silver Surfer served as both a sequel and a big screen debut for the Silver Surfer, another Marvel Comics property, and distributor 20th Century Fox's marketing revolved around the mysterious Surfer. Contrary to the recent trend of mopey comic book adaptations, Fantastic Four has appealed as a straightforward, fun, family-friendly superhero franchise.

The weekend's other new wide release, Nancy Drew, disappointed, uncovering an estimated $7.1 million at 2,612 locations. Instead of establishing the character with a serious approach like the Harry Potter movies, the marketing took Nancy Drew for granted and then transplanted her to a high school fish-out-of-water scenario, loosely attempting a colorful comedy for young girls. The picture didn't have enough consistency or connection to reality to score on that front, exacerbated by its self-reflexive Hollywood theme.

Among holdovers, Ocean's Thirteen fell 47 percent to an estimated $19.1 million in its second weekend, its drop-off rate landing between Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve. With $69.8 million in ten days, Thirteen's gross is the same range as Eleven and Twelve through the same point (albeit lower in attendance), but the previous pictures had Christmas to bolster their third weeks, and Thirteen lacks such a holiday booster.

Knocked Up held strongly in its third weekend, off 26 percent to an estimated $14.5 million for $90.5 million in 17 days. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End leveled off somewhat, down 43 percent to an estimated $12 million for $273.8 million in 24 days—its gross enhanced by Saturday sneak previews of Ratatouille—yet continues to fade at a quicker rate than predecessor Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Two computer-animated comedies, Surf's Up and Shrek the Third, grossed about $9 million apiece. Surf's Up tumbled 47 percent in its second weekend for a $34.7 million total, while Shrek the Third was off 41 percent in its fifth weekend. The latter is about to cross the $300 million mark but trails Shrek 2 by a wide margin.

Both At World's End and Shrek the Third will retain more of their predecessors' audiences than Hostel Part II. The torture horror sequel plunged 63 percent to an estimated $3 million for $14.2 million in ten days. The first Hostel had $35.1 million at the same point.