Post Golden Globes: #1 'Stomp'-ing B.O.; 'Queen', 'Babel', 'Dreamgirls' All Helped

SUNDAY AM ANALYSIS: The Golden Globes broadcast last Monday did exactly what it’s supposed to: help the winning films. While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association behind the show is meaningless, the awards are a powerful marketing tool for the studios. So Dreamworks / Paramount’s Dreamgirls went up 4% after six weeks at the box office, and should pass $100 mil in future weeks, which is exceptional box office for a musical. Also enjoying a small but sassy Golden Globes bounce is Paramount’s Brad Pitt starrer Babel, up 451% after 13 weeks (in 889 theaters, new cume $23.6 mil) and Miramax’s Helen Mirren showcase The Queen, jumped into the Top 10 by expanding its post-Globes release to 1,586 venues after 17 weeks in release (up 213%, new cume $35.6 mil). Also up 310% was Clint Eastwood’s Letters From Iwo Jima, from Dreamworks / Warner Bros after expanding into 360 theaters five weeks in release for a new cume of $2.5 mil. Meanwhile, Screen Gems/Sony’s Stomp The Yard continues to step on rivals as No. 1 its second week out with a new cume of $41.5 million. The Hitcher from Focus Features opened weakly in 4th place. And Picturehouse’s wondrous Pan’s Labyrinth, which is Oscar-touted, upped its theater count to 609 theaters and popped up #7 in its 4th week of release.

Stomp, playing in 2,051 venues, made $3.7 mil Friday and $6.1 mil Saturday for was a $13.3 mil weekend. Woo-hoo: After only five weeks in release, Fox’s four-quadrant hit Night At The Museum passed the major marker of $200 mil this weekend. Its cume stands at $205.8 million domestically after taking in another $3.1 mil Fri and $6.1 Sat from 3,483 playdates for a $13 mil Fri-Sat-Sun (estimated). Dreamgirls was a strong #3 with a $8.7 mil weekend after adding another $2.2 mil Fri and $4 mil Sat for a new cume of $78.1 mil. No. 4 Hitcher, with a 2,831 theater count, opened with $2.8 mil Fri and $3.4 mil Sat for an $8.3 mil weekend. No. 5, Sony’s The Pursuit Of Happyness, should shoot past $150 mil by the end of this month after raking in another $3 mil Fri and $3.1 mil Sat its sixth week out for a $6.7 mil weekend and new cume of $146.5 mil. Paramount’s Freedom Writers, whose new cume is $22.9 mil, eked out another $1.6 mil Friday from 2,286 theaters for 6th place and an anticipated $6 mil weekend. Pan’s Labyrinth, #7, enjoyed a 107% bump in wider release and earned $1.4 mil Fri and $1.9 mil Sat for a $4.5 mil weekend and new cume of $9.9 mil. No. 8 is Universal’s Children Of Men, which took in $1.1 mil from 1,100 venues Fri and $1.7 mil Sat for a $3.8 mil weekend and new cume of $27.6 mil after four weeks in release. And The Queen, upping its theater count to 1,586, finished #9 making $930K Fri and $1.5 mil Sat for a $3.4 mil weekend. Weinstein / MGM’s disappointing Arthur And The Invisibles, in 2,248 playdates, slipped into 10th place with $630K Fri and $1.5 mil Sat for a $3.1 mil weekend and new cume of $9.2 mil. Finally, Universal’s critically panned Alpha Dog, starring Justin Timberlake, its second week out fell out of the Top 10 after only a $2.9 mil weekend and a dismal new cume of $11.6 mil.