No 1 at The Box Office, 'Coach Carter' proves to be a slam dunk for MTV Films

SANTA MONICA, CA. (MTV Networks) - MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Production's "Coach Carter" scored $23.6 million at the box office this weekend making it the number one film in the country. The feature marks the third time the division has reached the number one spot at the box office during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The announcement was made jointly today by Van Toffler, President of MTV, MTV2 and MTV Films and David Gale, EVP, MTV Films.
"We've found our January sweet spot in the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend," said Toffler. "Save the Last Dance" (2001) and "Varsity Blues" (1999) proved that our audience craves good movies year round and the performance of "Coach Carter" really drove the point home."
"We knew from the beginning that we had a very special story about Ken Carter and it is rewarding to see fantastic numbers to reflect this," said Gale. "The talented and diverse cast along with a great hip-hop soundtrack also appealed to our audience and got them into theaters."

Released by Paramount Pictures and co-produced with Tollin/Robbins Productions, "Coach Carter" opened in 2,524 theaters nationwide and is inspired by the true-life story of high school basketball coach, Ken Carter of Richmond, California. The film beat out other newcomers "Electra", "Racing Stripes" and "In Good Company" to grab the number one spot.

The film is supported by a soundtrack from Capitol Records and features 14 new songs from some of R&B and rap's hottest stars as well as numerous up-and-coming artists. The soundtrack's lead single, "Hope" teams Twista with Faith Evans. Other highlights include songs by triple Platinum rapper Chingy (featuring GIB) entitled "Professional" and a track from Red Cafe called "All Night Long."

Most recently, MTV Films co-presented "Napoleon Dynamite" alongside Fox Searchlight Pictures which proved to be the sleeper hit of Summer 2004. MTV Films will also be releasing two other films with a diverse and exciting complement of talent, including "The Longest Yard," produced with Happy Madison and starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock and "Aeon Flux," produced with Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Pictures, starring Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron as the title character. Both movies are scheduled to be released in 2005.