Where is Santa 2 heading? "With all of the exit (poll data), I'm thinking this is another one of those $100 million-plus movies," Viane said. "Obviously, we're off to such a terrific start. In my wildest dreams I never thought we'd be number one by over $10 million. And who would have ever 'thunk' that we could have got to the point of doubling the gross of the film we went head and head with? These things all suggest we're going to be around. We have two weeks clear in the marketplace and I think we'll be in very, very good shape before we take on the head-on competition with Harry Potter (and the Chamber of Secrets). I think we will weather that (when it opens Nov. 15).

"We will play very well through the Thanksgiving holiday. As people get closer and closer to the holiday, I think we're going to get some return visits. I'm pretty comfortable that all that will happen. It's always (interesting) when you listen to people walking out of a theater. So many of them said, 'Gee, I can't wait to see this again before the holidays.' It's a true testament to how well the movie's playing."

DreamWorks' PG-13 rated horror thriller The Ring held on to second place in its third week with a solid ESTIMATED $18.5 million (-0%) at 2,808 theaters (+174 theaters; $6,585 per theater). Its cume is approximately $64.9 million.

Directed by Gore Verbinski, it stars Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and Brian Cox.

"Last weekend was up 23 percent from the first weekend, so it's pretty amazing right now the way it's playing (with no drop in the second weekend)," DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said Sunday morning.

What accounts for the great legs? "It has to be word of mouth," Tharp replied. "The sneaks -- we had 400 of them (the weekend before opening) -- were 60-70 percent capacity. So it didn't sell out for those. Even the opening Friday night, we didn't sell out. But since then the movie's been playing fantastically. It's all word of mouth."

Columbia's opening of its PG-13 rated comedy I Spy finished third with a quiet ESTIMATED $14.0 million at 3,182 theaters ($4,400 per theater).

Directed by Betty Thomas, it stars Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson.

Paramount and MTV Films' R rated comedy Jackass: The Movie tumbled three slots to fourth place in its second week, holding better than expected with an ESTIMATED $13.1 million (-42%) at 2,530 theaters (+21 theaters; $5,178 per theater). Its cume is approximately $42.5 million.

Directed by Jeff Tremaine, it stars Johnny Knoxville.

Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow's R rated horror film Ghost Ship dropped anchor in fifth place, down two rungs in its second week with a slow ESTIMATED $6.57 million (-43%) at 2,787 theaters ($2,357 per theater). Its cume is approximately $21.3 million.

Directed by Steve Beck, it stars Julianna Margulies.