"DreamWorks' ""Match Point,"" the critically acclaimed new drama from writer/director Woody Allen, enjoyed a smashing debut over the extended New Year holiday weekend, it was announced today by DreamWorks head of distribution Jim Tharp. Opening on Wednesday, December 28, on only eight screens in New York and Los Angeles, the film has taken in an estimated $731,000 to date, for an extremely impressive $91,000 per screen average -- far and away the best of any other current release, wide or limited.

On the heels of this success, DreamWorks plans to widen the release pattern of ""Match Point"" to eight more markets on Friday, January 6, two weeks ahead of the expanded release date originally announced by the studio. The film will open in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, in addition to showing on more screens in New York and Los Angeles. DreamWorks will continue to expand the release pattern of ""Match Point"" in the weeks ahead.

In making the announcement, Jim Tharp stated, ""Critics have been raving about 'Match Point' since it premiered at Cannes last May, and now audiences are discovering that this is a film not to be missed. This is the kind of movie that platform releases were made for: It is both entertaining and intriguing and has the kind of twists and turns that make people want to talk about it and then see it again with their friends. We have every confidence that this trend will continue as 'Match Point' expands its run into new markets across the country.""

Source: DreamWorks"