Number One at the Box Office, 'Coach Carter' Record 4-Day Opener for MTV Films

Number One at the Box Office, 'Coach Carter' Record 4-Day Opener for MTV Films SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Production's "Coach Carter" scored $29.2 million at the box office this weekend making it the number one film in the country and surpassing the division's previous all-time best opening. "Save The Last Dance" held the record for best MTV FILMS opener since 2001 when it made history at $27.5 million and at the time set a record for being the biggest-ever January opening. "Coach Carter" also marks the third time the division has reached the number one spot at the box office during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The announcement was made jointly today by Van Toffler, President of MTV, MTV2 and MTV Films and David Gale, EVP, MTV Films. The four-day per-screen average was $11,569. Paramount Pictures has also upwardly revised it's original 3-day opening figures from the earlier-reported 23.6 to 24 million. The 3-day per-screen average was $9509. "Not only have we found a sweet spot for our audience over this particular holiday weekend," noted Toffler, "we've also created a film that plays well beyond the MTV demo and to a wide swath of the filmgoing public." "We knew from the beginning that we had a very special story about Ken Carter, and it is enormously gratifying to see that the audience feels the same way -- and the word-of-mouth is reflected in these fantastic numbers," said Gale. Released by Paramount Pictures and co-produced with Tollin/Robbins Productions, "Coach Carter" opened in 2,524 theaters nationwide and is inspired by the true-life story of high school basketball coach, Ken Carter of Richmond, California. The film beat out other newcomers "Electra," "Racing Stripes" and "In Good Company" to grab the number one spot. The film is supported by a soundtrack from Capitol Records and features 14 new songs from some of R&B and rap's hottest stars as well as numerous up-and-coming artists. The soundtrack's lead single, "Hope" teams Twista with Faith Evans. Other highlights include songs by triple Platinum rapper Chingy (featuring GIB) entitled "Professional" and a track from Red Cafe called "All Night Long." Most recently, MTV Films co-presented "Napoleon Dynamite" alongside Fox Searchlight Pictures which proved to be the sleeper hit of Summer 2004. MTV Films will also be releasing two other films with a diverse and exciting complement of talent, including "The Longest Yard," produced with Happy Madison and starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock and "Aeon Flux," produced with Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Pictures, starring Academy Award(R)-winner Charlize Theron as the title character. Both movies are scheduled to be released in 2005. MTV Films is the feature film development and production division of MTV that releases films in conjunction with Paramount Pictures. Since its inception in 1995, MTV Films established itself as a unique movie label with a slate of diverse and successful films that have grossed nearly $600 million dollars at the box office. Under the MTV Films banner eighteen films were released including the sure to be cult classic, "Napoleon Dynamite," "Better Luck Tomorrow," box office hit "jackass the movie," the teen romance, "Save the Last Dance," the animated feature, "Beavis and Butt-head Do America," the Academy Award(R)-nominated and critically acclaimed dark comedy, "Election," the rousing high school football movie, "Varsity Blues," the breakout comedy, "The Original Kings of Comedy," the poignant coming-of-age film, "The Wood" the outrageous comedy, "Orange County" also Britney Spears' debut film "Crossroads," and Tupac's life story picture, "Tupac: Resurrection," as well as "Martin Lawrence: Runteldat." MTV Films' upcoming releases include the inspiring bio-pic "Coach Carter" starring Samuel L. Jackson, the Adam Sandler remake of the "The Longest Yard," with Chris Rock and also starring Burt Reynolds from the original picture and the action feature starring Academy Award(R)-winning actress Charlize Theron in "Aeon Flux." Source: MTV Films CONTACT: M. Janet Hill, +1-310-752-8073, or Alison Mochizuki, +1-310-752-8044, +1-310-699-0817, both of MTV NETWORKS ------- Profile: International Entertainment