Fran Drescher Is Still the Nanny

I guess the most popular fictitious New York nanny will continue to be the one portrayed by Fran Drescher. Oy vey!

The Scarlett Johansson vehicle The Nanny Diaries failed to crack the top five movies in the country with a paltry $7.8 million take over the weekend. In Manhattan, where the film takes place, the film did somewhat better, averaging close to $20,000 per theater and raking in enough to secure the fourth slot on the city’s top-ten list.

The only movie to open this weekend that did better than Diaries in Manhattan was War, the actioner starring international stars Jet Li and Jason Stratham. (Recognize Stratham? He’s the star of those glorified car commercials: The Transporter and The Transporter2. He’s also one of the few people to survive a Guy Ritchie film with his acting career intact …) The movie edged out Diaries—on its home turf, no less—by a mere $2,000.

But neither of these movies could top either Superbad, which clung to the top spot with surprising tenacity, or Bourne Ultimatum. The two holdovers had solid weekends, with the comedy managing a near $40,000 average in Manhattan theaters.

I guess the surprise nationally—even if it didn’t translate into big dollars here in the city—was Mr. Bean’s Holiday. (I guess the character needed a vacation after not working for 10 years ...) Rowan Atkinson has returned, hat in hand, to try improbably to woo America all over again as the bumbling, frog-voiced Bean. The movie made over $10 million nationally, although it couldn’t crack the $10,000 average mark here in the city. That kind of box office success makes him the new Ernest. I hope he goes to camp next!

Manhattan Weekend Box Office: How moviegoers in the multiplexes of middle America choose to spend their ten-spot is probably a big deal in Hollywood. But here in Manhattan, the hottest movies aren't always the ones making the big bucks nationwide. Using Nielsen numbers for Manhattan theaters alone and comparing them to the performance of the national weekend box office can tell you a lot about our Blue State sensibilities. Or nothing at all! Each Monday afternoon, we will bring you the results.