Still no brakes for 'Brokeback'
'Munich' solid as 'Mountain' climbs high
By BEN FRITZ
"Brokeback Mountain" continues to buck trends, showing even more heat in its fourth limited frame while "Munich" posted a second solid week on several hundred plays and "Match Point" aced its debut on a handful of courts.
"Brokeback" gained an amazing 61% in its fourth frame despite adding only 52 theaters. Focus' Ang Lee-helmed gay cowboy love story lassoed up $4.8 million at 269 playdates, giving it a three-day per-screen average of $13,407.
Pic expanded to just a few additional mid-sized cities and made boffo grosses in all of them, including $37,000 in Nashville, $44,000 in Columbus, and $32,000 in Milwaukee. Lowest-grossing theaters are in the suburbs, where "Brokeback" is averaging mid-single digits, similar to moderately performing wide pics like "Geisha" and "Rumor Has It."
Focus expects to add around 120 theaters Friday as part of a slow expansion throughout January.
"The process is working, but we still have to judiciously select our new markets and the ones where we expand," Focus distrib topper Jack Foley said. "It's a matter of timing and restraint to let the major competition get out of the marketplace."
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