Ice Age isn't cooling off, though. The CGI-animated adventure enjoyed a fourth weekend of $13.5 million, down a mere 25 percent from its third weekend haul of $18.1 million. With $142.4 million through Wednesday, Ice Age continues on its merry path to $180 million.
The Rookie threw a strong second inning, dropping 25 percent from its $16 million debut to $11.7 million. Baseball might not have recovered from the 1994 strike, but the game's sure reviving Dennis Quaid's career.
This stirring biography of Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Jim Morris could become Quaid's biggest solo effort. With $36.6 million through Wednesday, The Rookie will outscore Frequency ($44.9 million) this weekend and may eventually exceed The Parent Trap's $66.3 million total. Quaid's biggest hits: the ensemble dramas Traffic ($124.1 million) and Any Given Sunday ($75.5 million).
Clockstoppers registered a strong second weekend, eroding by a mere 28 percent, from $10.1 million to $7.2 million. Jonathan Frakes' time-bending teen adventure has $23.1 million through Wednesday. Its final destination: $35 million.
Blade 2 will surpass its predecessor's $70.1 million total on Friday, but it continues to hemorrhage beyond control. Wesley Snipes' vampire saga lost 43 percent of its audience in its third weekend, dropping to $7.4 million from $16 million. With $69.2 million through Wednesday, Blade 2 will retreat into the darkness with about $80 million.
The end is near for Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers ($72.2 million through Wednesday), Best Picture Oscar winner A Beautiful Mind ($165.5 million through Wednesday), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ($304.4 million through Tuesday), The Time Machine ($54.7 million through Sunday) and John Q ($70.1 million through Sunday).
Seems the 20th anniversary of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial isn't too much of a cause for celebration. Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic has phoned home $31 million through Tuesday. That's better than Grease's 1998 reissue ($28.3 million), but unimpressive compared with the 2000 return of The Exorcist ($39 million). Let's not even bring up the 1997 re-release of the Star Wars trilogy.
Still, with a total $430.8 million through Tuesday, Spielberg can take comfort knowing that E.T. will earn enough money this week to supplant Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ($431 million) as the third high-grossing film domestically. At least, that is, until Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones storms theaters this summer.