UNIVERSAL PICTURES' 'ALONG CAME POLLY' DEBUTS WITH IMPRESSIVE FIRST PLACE OPENING.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES' 'ALONG CAME POLLY' DEBUTS WITH IMPRESSIVE FIRST PLACE OPENING.

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ - Universal Pictures' "Along Came Polly" opened in first place at the domestic box office over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, earning a four-day take of $32,450,825 and establishing it as the biggest opening ever for a January comedy. The numbers for writer/director John Hamburg's latest romantic comedy also set "Polly" as the second largest opening for a film over the three-day holiday weekend (the record held by "Black Hawk Down" with $33.6 million) and the third largest opening ever for a film in the month of January (behind "Black Hawk Down" and the 1997 reissue of "Star Wars"). With 2,984 playdates, the Ben Stiller/Jennifer Aniston-starrer earned an impressive $10,875 per screen average.

"This is a great opening for 'Along Came Polly,' proving that this romantic comedy struck a chord with moviegoers," said Nikki Rocco, president, distribution, Universal Pictures. "After a slew of serious films released at the end of 2003, audiences were looking for a lighthearted, entertaining film that both males and females could enjoy. John Hamburg delivered a funny script with his usual comic flair, with a sweet romance at the center of the film-the combination proved winning with our audiences."

Rocco continued, "We're not a studio that believes in the customary wisdom that hits can only be released at the expected times of the year, the big summer and holiday windows. We look at all 52 weeks of the calendar and release our movies when we feel they are best suited to the marketplace. The timing couldn't have been better for 'Along Came Polly.'"

In "Along Came Polly," Ben Stiller portrays risk-averse Reuben Feffer, whose best-laid plans for life and love careen wildly off track when his bride (Debra Messing) dumps him on their honeymoon for a muscle-bound scuba instructor (Hank Azaria). Stunned, humiliated and in the grip of acute indigestion, Reuben plans to play it safer than ever. But a chance encounter with an adventure-craving, childhood friend named Polly (Jennifer Aniston) shoots him into a whirlwind of extreme sports, spicy foods, ferrets, salsa dancing and living in the moment. The film also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bryan Brown and Alec Baldwin. The film is a Universal Pictures presentation of a Jersey Films Production, with Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher producing. "Along Came Polly" is written and directed by John Hamburg.

Universal Pictures is a division of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (VUE) universalstudios.com, the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.

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