Despite being ridiculed by critics, Men In Black 2 scored $87 million in its first 5 days, on its way to $190 million. The sequel left a bad aftertaste in many fans. Tom Hanks scored big with audiences playing a mob man in Road to Perdition and garnered fantastic buzz for his portrayal (The film made its way to $104 million). The month’s biggest hit came late in the month when Austin Powers 3 smashed its way into theaters, breaking the July opening weekend record with a $73 million opening weekend, on its way to a monstrous $213 million, securing a spot in the top 5 of the summer. Solid performers of the month including the kid flick, Like Mike, with its $51 million tally. The rest of the month was rampant with disappointments as pictures just crashed and burned even if they had budgets over $100 million. The $100+ million budgeted K-19 and Stuart Little both disappointed, grabbing $35 million and $65 million respectively.

Stuart Little had to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year. It had many factors in its favor yet just could not capture much attention from the public. If Stuart Little 2 had opened in December like its predecessor, I truly believe it could have easily pulled in over $100 million. The Powerpuff Girls opened over Independence Day with a measly $3.6 from 2340 theaters before finishing with close to $11.4 million, while Disney’s first ride to movie project, The Country Bears, scored disappointing numbers as well with a total of just $17 million. Reign of Fire, Halloween: Resurrection, The Crocodile Hunter, and Eight Legged Freaks also performed dismally. The month was truly one of the most unpredictable of the year.

Business in the first two weeks of August used to be dismal compared to the rest of the season, but things have changed over the past few years. Signs and xXx proved this when they opened with $60 million and $45 million this past August. Signs finished its run with a great $228 million, and xXx grabbed close to $142 million from moviegoers. The other strong performer was Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, which grossed close to $86 million on a $38 million budget. Dana Carvey’s The Master of Disguise and (producer) Brian Grazer’s Blue Crush performed solidly while Blood Work, Serving Sara, Undisputed, Simone, and Feardotcom all performed poorly but should find more success on video/DVD shelves.

The month’s biggest loser and perhaps the biggest flop of the year would have to be Eddie Murphy’s second release of the year, The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Budgeted at $90 million, Nash had an opening day of just $727, 870 from 2320 theaters, averaging $314 per theater. It pulled in $2.2 million opening weekend before finishing its quick and disastrous run with just $4.4 million.

Eddie Murphy’s awful year was not over yet, as Showtime and Nash would soon be joined by another disappointment, I Spy. Summer 2002 totaled $3.14 billion, 2.5% more than 2001’s tally. The big winner of the summer was Spider-Man with its $400+ million tally. A small independent film began expanding more quickly at the end of the summer, however, and would really take away some of Spider’s glory. Spider-Man was seen by many to be the story of the year by August, but IFC’s My Big Fat Wedding was just heating up by summer’s end and would captivate millions into the fall months, and secure and cement its spot in the record books.

September was perhaps the slowest month of the year, but helped tremendously by female-skewed pictures such as Greek Wedding and Sweet Home Alabama, and the Ice Cube picture Barbershop. While Wedding never once hit the top of the box office, it consistently remained a dominant box office player in September. Barbershop, on the other hand, took many by surprise and grossed close to $75 million in total on a $12 million budget. Sweet Home Alabama solidified Reese Witherspoon’s A-list star status, as it grabbed close to $36 million opening weekend on a $30 million budget, on its way to a fantastic $126 million. It also became the biggest September opening weekend of all time. The Tuxedo, The Banger Sisters, Swimfan, and One Hour Photo performed fairly well (Sisters, Swimfan, and Photo all had relatively low budgets).

On the other hand, City by the Sea, The Four Features, Stealing Harvard, Trapped all performed dismally. Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever was the month’s biggest disappointment, as it made just $14 million in total despite a $70 million budget. Many also felt that Spirited Away also had a disappointing run. The Japanese film played in limited release and made close to $5.4 million. But some felt that the film had the potential to pull in much more based on its status as Japan’s all-time box office champion, along with its almost universal critical praise. It may have a second life at the box office once Oscar nominations are announced.

Part 4 (October - December 2002)

October started with a bang as Hannibal Lector crept back into theaters in Red Dragon, the prequel to 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. It broke the October opening weekend record with its $36.5 million bow, but finished with a somewhat disappointing $93 million. The month’s surprise hits were The Ring and Jackass: The Movie. The Ring opened with $15 million, displayed incredible legs, and has grossed close to $127 million to date. An interesting fact about The Ring is that its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weekends were all greater than its opening weekend tally. Word of mouth on the horror flick was incredible. Jackass scored close to $64 million from audiences, incredible for a film with a mere $5 million budget. Solid performers of the month included Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie, Ghost Ship, Brown Sugar, The Transporter, and Bowling for Columbine.

Columbine never played in more than 250 theaters, but grossed a great $15.8 million so far in its run. October had many releases that resulted in many disappointing box office runs. Abandon, The Truth about Charlie, White Oleander, Tuck Everlasting, Knockaround Guys, The Rules of Attraction, and Formula 51 were some of October’s casualties. The biggest casualty of all, however, was Madonna’s box office dud, Swept Away, which floundered with just $600,000 in total. Madonna’s luck would improve with the James Bond film Die Another Day, in which she had a cameo and sang the title song. October had many other casualties, but the month was clearly The Ring’s time to shine.

As October winded down, the lucrative month of November began and set the box office ablaze. The clear winner was Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, as it grabbed close to $247 million so far and could finish with close to $265 million. While this is an impressive figure, it is lower than the original Harry Potter, which finished its run with close to $317 million. Die Another Day, on the other hand, became the biggest Bond picture of all time with a gross of over $150 million. The Halle Berry/Pierre Brosnan pairing clearing pulled in huge crowds, and the success of the film may even result in a Bond spin-off starring Halle Berry. Other big performers of the month would include The Santa Clause 2 with a tally close to $137 million, and Eminem’s 8 Mile with $115 million. Mile opened with $51 million, but did not display the best legs. Some solid November performers would include Friday after Next and The Emperor’s Club.

Eddie Murphy experienced his third straight disappointment of the year, as the $70 million-budgeted I Spy under performed with a total of just $33 million. To put things into perspective, Eddie Murphy’s three films of 2002 (Showtime, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, I Spy) cost close to a $245 million combined yet only grossed about $76 million domestically. Other November films that did not catch on with moviegoers included Femme Fatale, Half Past Dead, Extreme Ops, They, Solaris, Eight Crazy Nights, and Disney’s Treasure Planet. The latter cost close to $140 million to produce yet has only made $35 million so far in its disappointing box office run. Disney’s business should pick up next year when they release the Pixar-animated Finding Nemo.

Some of 2002’s most anticipated films were saved for December when Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers hit theaters, along with the long-delayed Gangs of New York. Most, however, were anticipating the December 18 release of The Two Towers, which was to set the box office on fire. Rings opened with $26 million (Wednesday) on its way to a $62 million weekend. The sequel is destined to outperform its predecessor and has a slim chance of out-grossing Spider-Man by the end of its run.

Gangs of New York finally hit theaters two days after Two Towers, grabbing $9.5 million from the pockets of moviegoers. It has made close to $40 million so far in its run, but carries a budget of close to $100 million (Oscar should be generous to the Leonardo DiCaprio picture). The other big players of December were Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can, Two Weeks Notice, and Maid in Manhattan, as all four of these films are likely to be members of the $100 million club. Other solid performers included Empire, The Wild Thornberrys, and Drumline. The latter took many by surprise and became a sleeper hit.

December 2002 also had its share of losers, including Pinocchio, The Hot Chick, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Analyze That. Analyze made significantly less than its predecessor and was seen by many as an unnecessary sequel. Star Trek: Nemesis became box office road-kill and will finish as the all-time lowest grossing Star Trek film. With December also comes the busy release and expansion of multiple films seeking award recognition, and December 2002 was no different. Adaptation, About Schmidt, Antwone Fisher, Chicago, and The Hours were some of the movies opening in limited release, all longing for Oscar gold. Greater expansions should take place in January.