Game on

As 2005 ended with the whimper of a giant ape and the roar of a crusading lion, a much more diminutive figure tried to make some noise of his own at the box office.

Writer-director Woody Allen, attempting a comeback with his best-reviewed effort in years, did brisk business in a limited opening over the four-day New Year's weekend with "Match Point."

Allen's picture netted a solid $529,434 at eight theaters, averaging a solid $66,179 per site. Distributor DreamWorks has plotted about 300 venues for the thriller on Friday.

Of course, "Match Point" has a ways to go to prove it belongs in the best picture pack at the box office. Allen's films have a tendency to initially draw crowds at a few metropolitan theaters, only to founder in wider release.

Earlier in 2005, Allen's "Melinda and Melinda" made $74,238 at one theater on its opening weekend, but ended up with $3.8 million by the end of its run. Allen's past third-quarter releases, like "Sweet and Lowdown," "Deconstructing Harry," "Everyone Says I Love You," "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Alice" had per-theater averages in the same ballpark or better than "Match Point" (adjusted for ticket price inflation), yet closed with grosses in the low teen millions.

Allen's movies often score Oscar nominations in the screenplay and supporting acting categories, but his last movie to compete for best picture was "Hannah and Her Sisters" 19 years ago.

Elsewhere over New Year's weekend, the Weinstein Co. snuck in with "The Matador," but the dark comedy featuring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear bowed to a middling $92,312 at four theaters. The picture is scheduled to hit national release on Jan. 20.

Also set for nationwide expansion on Jan. 20 is "The New World." Distributor New Line Cinema released director Terrence Malick's colonial meditation at three locations on Christmas Day, but business hasn't been booming thus far.

"The New World" rounded up $79,393 over the four-day weekend, averaging a mediocre $26,464 per site, and grosses have been waning. By comparison, Malick's last picture, "The Thin Red Line," which also opened on Christmas in 1998, averaged more than twice that in its second weekend at more than double the theaters.

That "Match Point" and "The New World" are possible best picture contenders is fitting for the down year that was 2005. Though talk of theatrical business being on its last legs is ridiculous, 2005 did see the steepest year-to-year drop in box office in 20 years, courtesy of an uninspired slate of movies.

It is a product-driven industry after all. And the products the industry is propping up as best picture front-runners aren't exactly enticing moviegoers. Only "Walk the Line" has proven its mettle with the public, and even that picture hasn't crossed the $100 million level.

Portending the 2005 fumble, last year's best picture nominees were the least popular group as a whole in years, almost in defiance of the public, and only two, "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Aviator," eked past $100 million.

This year the crop could be worse, unless a "King Kong" or a "Batman Begins" miraculously sneaks into the top five.

Still earmarked as the likely winner, "Brokeback Mountain" has an outside shot at bucking the box office trend. It's already a far greater draw than "Million Dollar Baby" was prior to its Oscar nominations, and it doesn't hurt that late-night talk shows and other outlets are constantly making jokes about it, suggesting that it's seeping into the culture.

Ang Lee's cowboy love story bounced back 64% over New Year's weekend after a soft expansion into suburban markets the week before. It rustled up $4.8 million at just 269 locations and has made $15.1 million in 25 days.