"Gran Torino" has certainly 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 the U.S. 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 opening of any Eastwood movie in wide release, far surpassing the $18-million three-day bow of his "Space Cowboys" in 2000, according to box-office tracking firm Media by Numbers.
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 2,808 theaters.
The weekend's turnout for "Gran Torino" not only is 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. Word of mouth built as Warner Bros. slowly rolled out the movie over the last month.
"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.
Also surprising, noted Fellman, was that 52% of the audience were women, who ordinarily account for half or fewer of those who see Eastwood's movies. Even the weekend's NFL playoff games seemed to have had little effect on those wanting to see the movie.
"Gran Torino," which cost about $33 million to make after a hefty tax rebate, has grossed about $40 million so far, and Fellman predicts it will collect close to $50 million by week's end and will become Eastwood's highest-grossing film after "In the Line of Fire," "The Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby."
Audiences looking for lighter fare also turned out this weekend to see 20th Century Fox's new chick flick, "Bride Wars," which landed at the altar in second place with an estimated $21.5 million.
