By Carl DiOrio, Reuters
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Oscar recognition gilded the box office of several nominated pictures that saw broader expansions during the holiday weekend.
Sony Pictures Classics' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon added 450 theaters for a total of 1,651 engagements after fetching 10 Oscar nominations last Tuesday, including a best-picture nod. The Ang Lee-directed picture took fifth place with an estimated $11 million over the four-day weekend to push its domestic total to $73.8 million. Sony Classics aims to add 50 or so venues by next weekend.
Eighth-ranked Chocolat -- another best picture nominee -- similarly added 333 locations for a total 1,481. It concocted $6.1 million last weekend, sweetening the total to $34.5 million.
"You have a movie that's had great word-of-mouth all along," Miramax marketing vice-president David Kaminow observed. "Then, to get the great prestige and word-of-mouth that a best picture nomination gives you -- that makes for a great combination."
USA Films' Traffic -- yet another platformed picture to grab a best picture nomination -- added only two theaters at 1,742. Butt the Steven Soderbergh-helmed drug war drama still finished No. 6 with $7.5 million in estimated four-day grosses to park the $45 million production at a $80.1 million.
Traffic copped a good boost in smaller to mid-sized markets from Oscar-nomination notoriety, USA distribution president Jack Foley said.
Fine Line followed the best-actor nomination for Javier Bardem's performance in biopic Before Night Falls with a 19-theater expansion to 74 engagements. The result was a four-day estimated gross of $425,000, or an encouraging $5,743 per location. The picture is set to hit a total 125 theaters on Friday.
Fox Searchlight exploited nominations, including a best-thesp nod for Geoffrey Rush, to re-expand Quills to 201 theaters, a boost of 165. That produced $318,000 in grosses over the weekend to push the film's total to $6.2 million after 13 weeks.
� 2001 Reuters/Variety REUTERS