Box Office battle: Bond, birds & 'Borat' - Variety 11/17/06

[ALIASd]

B.O. black-tie affair

Bond, birds, Borat do battle

'Casino Royale'

'Happy Feet'

By Ian Mhor
Variety
November 17, 2006

Can thousands of dancing penguins take down James Bond and "Borat"?In the first big face-off of the holiday season, Warner Bros.' CG-animated "Happy Feet" and Sony/MGM's latest Bond installment "Casino Royale" should be locked in a seesaw battle as the weekend B.O. frame unfolds and the two pics aim for different demos.

"Casino" should post big numbers Friday as the pic draws a core aud of adults, while "Feet" should benefit from strong matinee runs on Saturday, putting the pic in contention heading into Sunday.

Pic dominated the U.K. market on its opening day Thursday with a strong $3.3 million at 988 playdates, accounting for 67% of Brit biz.

Stateside, "Casino" is tracking best with males 25-plus, while "Feet" is drawing most of its interest, not surprisingly, from the under-25 crowd. But "Feet" could have a trick up its sleeve as adult women and teens also seem primed to pounce.

Also a factor will be "Borat," which has taken the No. 1 spot for the last two frames and will still be occupying 2,611 playdates.

Universal comedy "Let's Go to Prison," meanwhile, will try to stay afloat by pulling in some teen biz.

"Casino" will bow in 370 fewer engagements than "Feet."

Revitalized Bond franchise also has added buzz thanks to topliner Daniel Craig, who has taken over as the international superspy and is gaining good word-of-mouth.

Last Bond pic, 2002's "Die Another Day," opened to $47 million in late November, on its way to $160.9 million.

Sony, however, feels that the film will perform as an original, not a sequel, because of the casting change, and will hope for an opening in line with a "National Treasure," which bowed to $35.1 million a year ago.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1