“Sith” Happens at 2005 Box Office

By Joal Ryan Wed Jan 4, 3:41 PM ET

Hollywood suffered an off year at the box office.

George Lucas did not.

Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith,
charting the death of Anakin Skywalker and the birth
of Darth Vader, was 2005’s top-grossing movie, tapping
loyalists for $380.3 million, according to the
box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

The film was the only $300 million-plus grosser in a
year in which, Exhibitor Relations said, overall movie
attendance fell about 7 percent, and ticket sales
dipped about 5 percent.

Sith, ostensibly the final chapter in the Skywalker
saga, seemed unaffected by the bad box-office vibes.
It now stands seventh among the all-time box-office
champs, per the stats at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

With Sith leading the way, Hollywood made a lot of
money ($8.9 billion) and sold a lot of tickets (1.4
billion) in 2005, per Exhibitor Relations. It just
didn’t make as much money ($9.4 billion) or sell as
many tickets (1.5 billion) as it did in 2004.

Exacerbating the angina among the executive suite set
are stats like these: lowest yearly gross since 2001;
lowest attendance since 1997; worst ever opening for a

Jim Carrey comedy since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
made him a star.

Other factoids from the box office year that was,
according to stats from Exhibitor Relations and
BoxOfficeMojo.com:

The $100 million Fun with Dick and Jane, the offending
Carrey comedy, made $64.6 million through New Year’s
Day weekend, and couldn’t crack the top 30.

The $200 million King Kong made $175.6 million through
New Year’s day weekend, and couldn’t crack the top 10.
It finished 11th, even as two other holiday releases,

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ($277.1 million)
and The Chronicles of Narnia ($225.7 million), quickly
settled into second and fourth place, respectively.

The penguin-populated Madagascar (eighth place, $193.1
million) was the top-grossing animated film; the
penguin-populated March of the Penguins (24th place,
$77.4 million) was the top-grossing documentary.

In retrospect, perhaps

Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick in Lalawood ($36,039)
could have used from some penguins.

The $130 million-ish Kingdom of Heaven ($47.4 million)
and the $120 million-ish The Island ($35.8 million)
didn’t have penguins, but they did have overseas
audiences ($163.6 million and $124.5 million,
respectively).

Neither penguins, nor international markets, could
save the $130 million disaster Stealth ($31.7
million).
The $5.5 million Diary of a Mad Black Woman ($50.6
million) made just about every studio production look
bad.

Chicken Little (14th place, $132.3 million), the
top-grossing G-rated film, made about $1.6 million for
every bad review counted by RottenTomatoes.com.

Narnia was the top-grossing PG-rated film; Sith, the
top-grossing PG-13 film; and Wedding Crashers (fifth
place, $209.2 million), the top-grossing R-rated film.

Among the few, the proud and the barely released NC-17
movies, Inside Deep Throat, a documentary about the
porn classic Deep Throat, led the way with some
$650,000–about one-tenth of 1 percent of what its
source material allegedly generated during its own
box-office run.

House of Wax ($32.1 million) was the top-grossing Paris Hilton film; Kids in America ($492,078) was the
top-grossing Nicole Richie film.

The Dukes of Hazzard (23rd place, $80.3 million) was
the top-grossing Jessica Simpson film; Undiscovered ($1.1 million) was
the top-grossing Ashlee Simpson film.

In a hotly contested battle, Herbie: Fully Loaded ($66
million) was the top-grossing Lindsay Lohan film; Cheaper by the Dozen 2 ($55.1
million) was the top-grossing Hilary Duff film.

Vexing or no to Empire magazine readers, who voted

Tom Cruise 2005’s most irritating star, the
couch-jumper’s War of the Worlds (third place, $234.3
million) was the biggest box-office success of his
25-year career.
The comedy Sex Sells: The Making of Touche ($2,386)
was Adrian Zmed’s biggest box-office success since a 1999
movie you’ve also never heard of.

One Ice Cube movie (Are We There Yet?, $82.3
million–22nd place overall) was worth more than two
Charlize Theron movies combined (Aeon Flux, $24.6
million; North Country, $18.2 million).

One Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie movie (Mrs. and Mrs. Smith, $186.3
million–ninth place overall) was worth more than two Jennifer Aniston movies, combined (Derailed, $35.7
million; Rumor Has It…, $26.9 million).

Saw II (20th place, $86.8 million) was a hit sequel;
Son of the Mask ($17 million) wasn’t.
Rent ($28.9 million) was the top-grossing musical,
which was not a compliment.

Here’s a complete look at 2005’s top 10 moneymakers,
according to figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith,
$380.3 million
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, $277.1 million
3. War of the Worlds, $234.3 million
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe, $225.7 million
5. Wedding Crashers, $209.2 million
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, $206.5 million
7. Batman Begins, $205.3 million
8. Madagascar, $193.1 million
9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, $186.3 million
10. Hitch, $177.6 million