Bad reviews, stiff competition no prob for Will, once more he is the fireworks for Independence Day holiday box office

By Keith Williams

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 7/6/08 — It was no lost weekend for alcoholic superhero Hancock as the Will Smith-starrer soaked up an estimated $107 million over five days-plus on 3965 screens over the Independence Day holiday period.

The competition proved strong, the film was weighted down with largely negative reviews and the fact that the film’s tone and narrative is muddled and not that much fun.

But Will Smith, Mr. Fourth of July (“Independence Day,” “Men in Black”) came through in spite of all. It marks his 12^th $100 million-plus film, which ties him with Harrison Ford. Tom Hanks leads with 15, followed by Tom Cruise with 14 and Eddie Murphy with 13. Below Smith and Ford comes Jim Carrey and Robin Williams with 11 each. And if you’re counting double digit stars, then comes Mel Gibson and the only female in that rarefied group, Julia Roberts, with 10 each.

Last week’s champion “Wall-E” took an estimated $54M over the same period, $128M total so far, while “Wanted” proved less than so with $30.7, though $93 mil since opening is still a lot more than anyone ever anticipated. Once “Hancock’s” opening figures drop dramatically by next weekend, expect the Pixar robot to keep on chugging along, but steep drop dealt a fatal blow to Angelina Jolie’s action-ship which it’s unlikely to recover from.

Faves “Kung Fu Panda” raked in another $10.7 mill over five days, “Get Smart” $14.9, “The Incredible Hulk” $6M, and “Indiana Jones 4” found El Dorado agin, with another $6M to cross the $300 mil mark domestic. .

Opening wide, “Kit Kittredge” failed to draw in the fans with a sad $3.5 mil,” according to analyst Steve Mason, “The Love Guru” sank lower still to $2.2,while “The Happening” just didn’t this week.

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, JULY 4-6, 2008 (These weekend figures from Boxofficemojo do not include entire holiday time frame, only Friday-to-Sunday estimates.

Rank. Movie Title (Distributor)
Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Hancock (Sony / Columbia)
$66.0 million | 3,965 | $107.3 million | 1

2. Wall-E (Buena Vista)
$33.4 million | 3,992 | $128.1 million | 2

3. Wanted (Universal)
$20.6 million | 3,185 | $90.8 million | 2

4. Get Smart (Warner Bros.)
$11.1 million | 3,574 | $98.1 million | 3

5. Kung Fu Panda (Paramount (DreamWorks))
$7.5 million | 3,347 | $193.4 million | 5

Photo: Will Smith and Charlize Theron by Emily Smith at “Hancock” premiere