Staying Power 101

Sure, you can rank movies by their final gross. But we think there’s a better way to sort out which films audiences really loved. We get our new index by dividing a film’s final projected gross by its first three-day weekend take. The result is a good measure of what films generated great word of mouth and staying power. So while The Italian Job and Charlie’s Angels will pull in similar overall numbers, Job ranks far higher. The index isn’t perfect, penalizing films with huge first weekends, like The Matrix and X2, while rewarding stinkers whose debuts were putrid, like Sinbad. But this list is proof that a blockbuster opening does not a beloved film make.

OPENING PROJECTED ENDURANCE WEEKEND GROSS INDEX

1 Pirates of the Caribbean $46.6 $280.0 6.01 2 Seabiscuit $20.9 $110.0 5.26 3 The Italian Job $19.5 $98.0 5.03 4 Finding Nemo $70.3 $340.0 4.84 5 28 Days Later $10.1 $47.0 4.65 6 Legally Blonde 2: $22.2 $92.0 4.14 Red, White & Blonde 7 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas $6.9 $26.5 3.84 8 Daddy Day Care $27.6 $103.0 3.73 9 Bruce Almighty $68.0 $241.0 3.54 10 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines $44.0 $152.0 3.45 11 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over $33.4 $115.0 3.44 12 Rugrats Go Wild $11.6 $39.0 3.36 13 Johnny English $9.1 $30.0 3.30 14 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: $21.8 $68.0 3.12 The Cradle of Life 15 Bad Boys II $46.5 $145.0 3.12 16 The Matrix Reloaded $91.8 $280.0 3.05 17 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen $23.1 $70.0 3.03 18 Wrong Turn $5.2 $15.4 2.96 19 The In-Laws $7.3 $20.4 2.79 20 How to Deal $5.8 $16.0 2.76 21 Hollywood Homicide $11.1 $30.0 2.70 22 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle $37.6 $98.0 2.61 23 2 Fast 2 Furious $50.5 $127.0 2.51 24 X2: X-Men United $85.6 $215.0 2.51 25 The Lizzie McGuire Movie $17.3 $43.0 2.49 26 Dumb and Dumberer: $10.8 $26.5 2.45 When Harry Met Lloyd 27 Alex & Emma $6.1 $14.3 2.34 28 The Hulk $62.1 $132.0 2.13 29 From Justin to Kelly $2.7 $4.9 1.81

For films opening between May 2 and July 25; dollar figures in millions; box office figures from Exhibitor Relations and Nielsen EDI.