20th Century Fox's PG-13 rated parody of martial arts films Kung Pow: Enter the Fist held on to ninth place in its second week with a weak ESTIMATED $3.76 million (-46%) at 2,475 theaters (-3 theaters; $1,617 per theater). Its cume is approximately $12.0 million.
Written and directed by Steve Oedekerk, it stars Steve Oedekerk.
Sony's Screen Gems label's opening of its R rated youth comedy Slackers tied for tenth place with a dull ESTIMATED $3.0 million at 1,893 theaters ($1,585 per theater).
Directed by Dewey Nicks, it stars Devon Sawa.
"We have U.S. rights only," Sony's Jeff Blake explained Sunday morning, noting that the $3 million estimate does include ticket sales in Canada. "Alliance has it in Canada and will be reporting (the film's Canadian grosses). Tomorrow we'll be releasing separate figures.
"That was a $4 million acquisition (for Screen Gems). It was produced by Destination Films (and) was one of the pictures caught up with Destination's bankruptcy. We acquired this one at very low cost, so we won't get hurt. But, obviously, it's not the performance we would have liked."
Paramount and MTV Films' opening of the PG-13 rated youth appeal comedy Orange County, which was tenth last week, tied for tenth place in its fourth week with a quiet ESTIMATED $3.0 million (-32%) at 2,295 theaters (-92 theaters; $1,348 per theater). Its cume is approximately $37.9 million.
Directed by Jake Kasdan, it stars Colin Hanks and Jack Black.
Addressing the Super Bowl's effect on the marketplace, Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning, "It obviously impacts the male -- and young male, primarily -- audience.
"If you look at the way these pictures held up on Friday and Saturday this weekend, that's more a result of the fact that there wasn't any major competition that came in. You can say (the Super Bowl) hurt in one respect in the overall business. However, the product that's in the marketplace actually may benefit Friday and Saturday (from the lack of strong new competition) because everybody stays away from the dates."
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Miramax's R rated thriller Birthday Girl with an unhappy ESTIMATED $2.5 million at 1,000 theaters ($2,500 per theater).
Directed by Jez Butterworth, it stars Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin.
CineTel Films' PG-13 rated drama A Rumor of Angels, released through MGM, arrived to a soft ESTIMATED $0.019 million at 7 theaters ($2,676 per theater).
Directed by Peter O'Fallon, it stars Vanessa Redgrave, Ray Liotta and Catherine McCormack.