USA Today article
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

The middle of the country squared off against the coasts this weekend at theaters, and the heartland pushed Sahara to No. 1 at the box office.

The desert action film starring Matthew McConaughey took in $18.5 million during the weekend, according to studio estimates from industry tracking firm Nielsen EDI. The film exceeded most analysts' expectations by about $2 million and topped the romantic comedy Fever Pitch.

Pitch, starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, was third with $13 million, about $2 million below expectations. Sin City fell 52% from its debut for No. 2 with $14.1 million. Guess Who and BeautyShop tied for fourth place with $7.1 million, and Robots was fifth at $4.7 million. Final figures are due Monday. (Related chart: See the weekend's top 10 films)

Overall, films have struggled this year. For the seventh straight weekend, ticket sales lag behind the same time last year — the longest losing streak since 2000, according to Nielsen EDI.

From the outset, Sahara and Pitch catered to different audiences. Pitch, the story of a man torn between his love for his girlfriend and his devotion to the Boston Red Sox, was hoping to lure women with the romance and men with the sports angle. Sahara, meanwhile, geared itself toward action-hungry audiences, particularly in the middle of the country.

To hawk the movie, McConaughey crossed the country in his Ford pickup, hauling an Airstream trailer with Sahara advertising. He stayed at trailer campsites and visited baseball stadiums during spring training.

"He went everywhere," says Wayne Lewellen, distribution chief for Paramount, which released Sahara. "He saw this as an opportunity to let people get to know him and his movie."

The tactic paid off. Though Pitch was the top film in several big-city markets, including Boston and New York, Sahara took the No. 1 spot in cities like Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Mo.

Though some analysts said Pitch should have tried to focus on female audiences in its marketing campaign, executives at distributor 20th Century Fox say they expect to recoup the film's $30 million budget.

"I could easily see this taking in $50 million," distribution chief Bruce Snyder says. "The reviews are good, and audiences are having a good time."

Sahara, based on a Clive Cussler novel, soared with its summer-like tone, says Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"People have been watching ads for movies like Kingdom of Heaven and Star Wars, and they're getting primed for summer action. Sahara fit that bill."