HOLLYWOOD - The hip-hop teen romance "Save the Last Dance" starring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas dethroned box office champion "Cast Away," earning an estimated $24 million during the Friday-through-Sunday period of the Martin Luther King Jr. four-day weekend, according to estimates by Hollywood.com's box office analyst, Martin Grove.
After three weekends on top, Tom Hanks' "Cast Away" finds itself in the runner-up spot. The film earned $17.2 million, bringing its total to $168 million.
Steven Soderbergh
's Golden Globe frontrunner "Traffic" remained in the No. 3 spot with an estimated $11.2 million (its total stands at $35.1 million). Taking two steps down from last week is the Mel Gibson comedy "What Women Want," which took in $10.5 million and has thus far grossed $153.9 million.
The fifth and sixth spots saw a close race between the week's top expanding releases -- "Thirteen Days" and "Finding Forrester." "Thirteen Days," the Cuban Missile Crisis flick starring Kevin Costner, took in $10.2 million, and the Sean Connery film came in just a tad behind with $10 million.
As to the week's other two new major releases, the Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin comedy "Double Take debuted with $10 million (No. 7) while "Antitrust" -- starring Ryan Phillippe and Tim Robbins -- short circuited at No. 12 with $5.2 million.
Here are the Top 10 films from Friday through Sunday (final four-day figures will be released Tuesday):
1. "Save the Last Dance," $24 million (new) 2. "Cast Away," $17.2 ($168.2 million total) 3. "Traffic," $11.2 million ($35.1 million total) 4. "What Women Want," $10.5 million ($153.9 million total) 5. "Thirteen Days," $10.20 million ($12.3 million total) 6. "Finding Forrester," $10 million ($21.4 million total) 7. "Double Take," $10 million (new) 8. "Miss Congeniality," $9.4 million ($80.6 million total) 9. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," $8.2 million ($28.9 million total) 10. "The Emperor's New Groove," $5.7 million ($71.2 million total)