'Gran Torino' motors to No. 1 at the box office
Clint Eastwood marks a personal best as the wide release of his drama earns an estimated $29 million. In second is Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway's 'Bride Wars.'
"Gran Torino" has made Clint Eastwood's day.
In his latest movie, the 78-year-old Hollywood icon plays one of the grouchiest characters in screen history. But the actor-director is surely smiling now. As his R-rated drama expanded across America this weekend, it raced past the competition to become the top-grossing film in the box-office derby with an estimated $29 million. This marks the biggest wide release of any Eastwood movie, far surpassing the $18-million three-day bow of his "Space Cowboys" in 2000.
Warner Bros.' "Gran Torino" is a redemptive tale starring Eastwood as a cynical Korean War vet bent on reforming his next-door neighbor, an Asian teen who tries to steal his prized 1972 car. The film had generated strong business -- $11 million -- in limited release since mid-December. Some industry watchers were skeptical the film could lure big crowds beyond die-hard Clint fans once it expanded from 84 to more than 2,800 theaters.
The strong turnout for "Gran Torino" is not only a testament to the veteran actor's enduring appeal among his customary fan base of older moviegoers, but also shows his popularity among the under-30 crowd.
"What the platform release has done is take his core audience and broadened it out to an audience he hasn't had for years -- young males," said Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman, referring to fans of Eastwood's decades-old "Dirty Harry" films. It was in the fourth film of the series, "Sudden Impact," that Eastwood uttered the classic line, "Go ahead, make my day," holding a gun to someone's head. Now being talked about is his similarly threatening line in "Gran Torino": Pointing his gun at a gang, he growls, "Get off my lawn!"
Also surprising, noted Fellman, was that 52% of the audience was female, who ordinarily account for half or fewer of those who see Eastwood's movies.
With a to-date total of an estimated $40 million, "Gran Torino" -- which cost about $33 million to make (after a hefty tax rebate) -- is sure to be profitable. Fellman predicts it will collect close to $50 million by week's end and go on to be Eastwood's highest-grossing film after "In the Line of Fire," "The Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby."
