Denzel On Fire!

Some box office stars simply fade away, but Denzel Washington just keeps getting bigger and better. Now firmly in his 40s, he's just recorded his biggest opening weekend to date, after Man on Fire blitzed the US box office over the weekend, with a mighty $23 million haul. The Tony Scott revenge flick, which stars Washington as an alcoholic bodyguard working in Mexico City, who gets medieval on a whole lotta asses when his young charge (Dakota Fanning) is kidnapped, had been very much under the radar in the run-up to its release. Matters hadn't been helped by the movie's obtuse trailer, but then suddenly last week, the reviews started filtering out and were almost unanimously positive, with some Stateside critics hailing the gritty flick as the first great film of 2004. And, while $23 million doesn't quite set the pulse racing, blockbuster-style, those reviews and early audience reaction indicate that Man on Fire might fare better in the word of mouth than any of the other revenge pics clogging up the US Top Ten. Both Kill Bill Volume 2 and The Punisher, which recorded decent openings last weekend, plummeted with declines of over 50% each. The Punisher, particularly, posted a feeble $6 million and looks like topping out at around $40 million which might jeopardise any potential sequels. QT's revenge opus will push the $70 million mark, putting it in line with Volume 1. Away from all the grunting men and sweaty vengeance, Jennifer Garner's big dollop of body-swap cuteness, 13 Going on 30, took second place. Beaten out by Man on Fire by just $1 million (although the Washington flick played on fewer screens), the movie's $22 million opening showed that the Alias star can indeed open a movie which hints at good times ahead for her upcoming Marvel comics adaptation, Elektra. Elsewhere, it was a slightly dull weekend, with no other notable new releases, and average declines for the likes of Hellboy, Ella Enchanted, Home on the Range and Johnson Family Vacation.