by Blade Runner on Tue Jul 20, 2004 7:37 pm
I, Robot Topples Spider-Man 2 at U.S. Box Office
Sun Jul 18, 2:18 PM ET Add Entertainment
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Will Smith ended the two-week reign of "Spider-Man 2" at the North American box office as his sci-fi thriller "I, Robot" opened with better-than-expected weekend ticket sales of about $53.3 million, the film's distributor said on Sunday.
The film marks the fifth consecutive summer hit for 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc .
The studio had hoped the film would open in the $40 million range for the three days beginning Friday, said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Fox. It was budgeted in the $100 million to $120 million range, he said. If estimates hold when final numbers are released on Monday, it will mark Smith's best opening, surpassing the $52.2 million bow of "Men in Black II" in 2002.
"There's a coldness to the science-fiction genre, but Will Smith brings a warmth to it and makes it palatable for the ladies," Snyder said.
Indeed, audiences for the film were evenly split both by gender, and either side of 25 years of age, Snyder said.
Loosely based on a story by Isaac Asimov, "I, Robot" is set in the year 2035, when robots are integrated into society. Smith plays a Chicago cop who suspects a machine has committed murder. Alex Proyas ("Dark City") directed and Bridget Moynahan co-starred.