November 26th, 2002

00 or Nothing

Looks like the 20th film in the James Bond franchise will have to Die Another Day, as the film beat out a certain tween wizard with an incredibly robust 47 million dollars. Harry himself was not far behind though, as Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets took in another 42.2 million over the weekend. It's a big drop, but given the film's running time and the size of the gross, it still is strong.

Ice Cube's Friday After Next had a pretty modest opening, raking in a solid 13 million dollars. The Santa Clause 2 brought in 10.2 million, while 8 Mile and The Ring each added 8.6 and 7.5 million to their grosses, respectively. The Kevin Kline drama The Emperor's Club, which only opened in several hundred theaters, took in a somewhat lackluster 3.8 million. I actually saw this film over the weekend and loved every minute of it. Despite what critics are saying, it's not a rip on "Dead Poets Society" and is certainly one of my favorites for the year 2002.

The last three in the top ten, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Half Past Dead and Frida each took in 3.6, 3.1 and 2.3 million. But next week is a slew of new holiday releases. Will George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh work magic again? Will "Treasure Planet" have an out of this world opening? And what about an animated Adam Sandler? Like usual, who knows... but it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting film season.

-Zach B.