HOLLYWOOD - Colin Farrell's Phone Booth sniped the competition by ringing in $15 million* and debuting at the top of the box office this weekend.The hit-man thriller thwarted newcomers What a Girl Wants, which came in second with $12 million, and A Man Apart, which followed in third with $11.1 million.
The Chris Rock comedy Head of State, last week's No. 1 film, fell to fourth place with $8.8 million, while the Queen Latifah/Steve Martin laffer Bringing Down the House rounded out the Top Five with $8.5 million.
Box office numbers, however, were still down considerably from this time last year. It was the fourth straight weekend that revenues have shown a decline. And while studio executives blame the war in Iraq for the dwindling box office figures, analysts say movie choices this year have generally been weaker than the first part of 2002, when Ice Age, Blade II, John Q and The Panic Room opened to bigger numbers.
"The fact that it's down four weekends in a row, everybody says, hey, this has to do with the war and people's moods," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press. "But no matter what the mood of the country, if there are good movies out there, people will want to go see them."
THE TOP TEN
Twentieth Century Fox's new R-rated sniper thriller Phone Booth shot to the top of the chart this weekend with an ESTIMATED $15 million at 2,481 theaters. Its $6,056 per theater average was the highest of any wide release playing this week.
The film revolves around a New York City media consultant who answers a ringing phone in a phone booth and finds himself trapped after being told by a caller--a serial killer with a sniper rifle--that he'll be shot dead if he hangs up.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, it stars Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker.
Warner Brother's PG rated 'tween pic What a Girl Wants debuted in second place with an ESTIMATED $12 million at 2,964 theaters ($4,069 per theater).
The film follows a young American girl who heads to London in hopes of meeting the father she's never known, a high-profile politician.
Directed by Dennie Gordon, it stars Amanda Bynes, Kelly Preston and Colin Firth.
New Line Cinema's new R-rated cop drama A Man Apart opened third with an ESTIMATED $11.5 million at 2,459 theaters ($4,534 per theater).
In the film, a U.S. narcotics cop takes on a Tijuana drug cartel to get retribution for the murder of his wife.
Directed by F. Gary Gray, it stars Vin Diesel and Larenz Tate.
DreamWorks' PG-13 political comedy Head of State fell from No. 1 to No. 4 in its second week of release with an ESTIMATED $8.8 million (-35%) at 2,155 theaters (+4 theaters, $4,084 per theater). Its cume is approximately $25.3 million.
Directed by and starring Chris Rock, the film also stars Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield, Robin Givens and Tamala Jones.
Buena Vista's PG-13 rated jailbreak comedy Bringing Down the House dropped from second to fifth place in its fifth week of release with an ESTIMATED $8.5 million (-32%) at 2,910 theaters (unchanged, $2,921 per theater). Its cume is approximately $111.3 million.
Directed by Adam Shankman, it stars Steve Martin and Queen Latifah.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.