Twentieth Century Fox's film version of Marvel's Daredevil came in as the top-grossing film for its second weekend, taking in $19 million for a ten day total of over $70 million, after opening strong last weekend, taking in more than $45 million in spite of a paralyzing snowstorm over much of the Eastern half of the country (see 'Daredevil Opens Big'). In addition to all of the Daredevil movie hoopla, Marvel also scored some major coups in mass circulation publications that should direct consumers to seek out Daredevil comics and graphic novels. Entertainment Weekly (#969/697, cover date Feb. 21, 2003) featured Daredevil graphic novels as the lead item in the inaugural edition of its 'Comic Book' section. EW's 'Comic Book' section may turn out to be one of the best things that has happened to the industry in years -- and the timing was perfect for Marvel's Daredevil.
(Friday, 2/21/03)
Meanwhile on Friday (2/21/03) USA Today published a review of four Daredevil graphic novels including Daredevil: Yellow, Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra, and Daredevil: Out. With a circulation of over 2 million, USA Today is another great venue for a comic book outreach. Even better, from Marvel's point of view, is the fact that both EW and USA Today plan to do similar features coinciding with the release of X2 in May and the Hulk in June.