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As expected, the new comedy Anger Management beat the daylights out of the competition with a whooping $44.5 million,* making it the highest opener of 2003 (topping Daredevil, which opened in February with $40.3 million).

"The comedy genre this year is just incapable of burning out," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations told the Associated Press. "People are looking to blow off steam. What better way than seeing a movie that combines Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler?"

And Management was apparently all moviegoers wanted to see this weekend, as the rest of the list paled miserably in comparison. Last week's top dog Phone Booth, came in at No.2 with a measly $7.5 million, while the teenybopper What a Girl Wants took third with $6.7 million.

Rounding out the Top Five were the enduring comedy Bringing Down the House, which held the fourth spot with $4.6 million and the cop drama A Man Apart, which came in a No. 5 with $4.4 million. Horror newcomer House of 1,000 Corpses opened in seventh place with $3.4 million in limited theaters.

Even with Management's huge numbers, this weekend's box office only jumped five percent from last weekend. Still, the film helped revive a four-week slump, which is a good sign that things may finally be picking up.

THE TOP TEN

Sony Pictures' PG-13 Anger Management screamed its way to the top with an ESTIMATED $44.5 million in 3,551 theaters ($12,532 per theater).

The film's strong opening makes it the best April opener of all time, beating out The Scorpion King, which opened in 2002 at $36 million. It's also the best opening film for both its stars Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. Nicholson's best opening to date had been Batman, which hit theaters in 1989 and took in $40.5 million its first weekend, while Sandler's 1999 Big Daddy was his biggest at $41.5 million.

Management follows the exploits of a mild-mannered man who is mistakenly ordered into an anger management program to battle his inner demons--but it turns out the only real demon in his life is his unorthodox therapist.

Directed by Peter Segal, it stars Sandler, Nicholson, Marisa Tomei and John Turturro.

20th Century Fox's R-rated Phone Booth called in at No. 2 with an ESTIMATED $7.5 million, dropping 50 percent from its top spot last week. The thriller about a man trapped in a phone booth by a homicidal sniper played at 2,489 theaters ($3,023 per theater) and its cume is approximately $26.6 million.

Directed by Joel Schumacher, it stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker.

Slipping down a spot to third was Warner Bros.' PG-rated What a Girl Wants with an ESTIMATED $6.7 million (-41%) at 2,964 theaters (+ 8 theaters, $2,260 per theater). The Teen Beat comedy, which follows a young American girl who heads to London in hopes of meeting the father she's never known, a high-profile politician, has collected approximately $20.4 million thus far.

Directed by Dennie Gordon, it stars Amanda Bynes, Kelly Preston and Colin Firth.

Proving comedies are indeed the flavor of the year, Buena Vista's PG-13 Bringing Down the House moved up one place to fourth with an ESTIMATED $4.6 million (-45%) at 2,830 theaters (-80 theaters, $1,625 per theater). Now in its sixth week, the laffer's cume is approximately $117.7 million.

Directed by Adam Shankman, it stars Steve Martin and Queen Latifah.

New Line Cinema's R-rated A Man Apart dropped a few notches to fifth place with an ESTIMATED $4.4 million (-60%) at 2,495 theaters (+36 theaters, $1,784 per theater). The cop drama--about a U.S. narcotics officer who takes on a Tijuana drug cartel to get retribution for the murder of his wife--has taken in approximately $18.2 million so far.

Directed by F. Gary Gray, it stars Vin Diesel and Larenz Tate.

DreamWorks' PG-13 Head of State slid from No. 4 to No.6 with an ESTIMATED $4 million (-53%) at 2,256 theaters (+101 theaters, $1,773 per theater). Its cume is approximately $30.9 million.

Directed by and starring Chris Rock, the film also stars Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield, Robin Givens and Tamala Jones.

And for those horror fans--Lions Gate's R-rated House of 1,000 Corpses debuted in seventh place with an ESTIMATED $3.4 million at 595 theaters ($5,714 per theater).

Set in the 1970s, the film revolves around two young couples who take a misguided tour onto the back roads of America and are set upon by a bizarre family of psychotics. Murder, cannibalism and satanic rituals are just a few of the thousand horrors that await.

Director by heavy-metal singer Rob Zombie, it stars Karen Black, Michael J. Pollard, Bill Moseley and Chris Hardwick.

*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.