SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 5, 2000 -- Despite all the hype, Madonna came in second best at the weekend box office.Studio tracking studies predicting a first-place opening for Paramount's "The Next Best Thing," the romantic comedy/drama teaming the Material Girl with Rupert Everett, were wrong. Instead, top honors went for the third consecutive weekend to Warner Bros.' "The Whole Nine Yards."Bruce Willis "Yards," the R-rated hit comedy from Warners, Morgan Creek and Franchise Pictures, held strongly in its third weekend with an estimated $7.31 million (-24%) at 2,793 theaters (-117 theaters, $2,617 per theater). Its total is approximately $38.5 million.Directed by Jonathan Lynn, "Yards" stars Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry."Unbelievable," Warner Bros. distribution executive Jeff Goldstein said Sunday morning, delighted with how well "Yards" was ho