HOLLYWOOD - At the box office this weekend, a mother-daughter comedy was no match for some good old cops-and-robbers action.In its opening weekend, the bullet-riddled police drama S.W.A.T. infiltrated the box office and took the top spot at $37 million*, easily beating out its kinder,gentler competitor, the Disney family fare Freaky Friday. Despite generating great word-of-mouth since its Wednesday opening, the body-switching remake could only come in second with $22.3 million.
The ribald comedy American Wedding dropped from the top to take third place with $15.1 million, while the whale of a tale Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl remained steady as she goes at No. 4 with $13.1 million. The heartwarming Seabiscuit rounded out the top five with a solid $11.9 million.
Another newcomer, the Frenchified Le Divorce, did a fair job in its limited opening, raking in $533,233 in 34 theaters.
THE TOP TEN
Sony Pictures' PG-13-rated S.W.A.T. busted the box office to take the top spot with an ESTIMATED $37 million in 3,202 theaters. It's $11,555 per theater average was the highest of any film opening wide this week.
Newly trained LAPD S.W.A.T. team members are called in to save the day after an arms dealer makes a televised offer of $100 million to anyone who can break him out of jail--and L.A.'s criminal element comes out in force to do so.
Directed by Clark Johnson, it stars Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez.
Buena Vista's PG-rated Freaky Friday debuted in second place with an ESTIMATED $22.3 million in 2,954 theaters ($7,549 per theater).
On a freaky Friday morning, a busy psychiatrist and her 15-year-old daughter wake up to find they have magically switched bodies. Until they can figure out what to do, they attempt to carry on with each other's daily routines.
Directed by Mark Waters, it stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Chad Michael Murray and Mark Harmon.
Universal Picture's R-rated comedy American Wedding dropped to No. 3 in its second week with an ESTIMATED $15.1 million (-55%) at 3,175 theaters (+3 theaters; $4,756 per theater). This third installment of the American Pie series, in which Jim and Michelle get married, has garnered a cume of $64.9 million.
Directed by Jesse Dylan, it stars Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Thomas Ian Nicholas.
Buena Vista Pictures' PG-13-rated fantasy actioner Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl fell one spot to fourth place in its fifth week of release with an ESTIMATED $13.1 million (-30%) at 3,170 theaters (-220 theaters; $4,132 per theater). Its cume is approximately $232.8 million.
Directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.
Universal Pictures' PG-13-rated drama Seabiscuit fell a notch to No. 5 in its third week, taking in an ESTIMATED $11.9 million (-33%) in 2,428 theaters (+7 theaters; $4,901 per theater). Its cume is approximately $69.5 million.
Directed by Gary Ross, it stars Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper as three down-and-out men who find fame and fortune in an equally down-and-out racehorse.
*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.
