HOLLYWOOD - The Virgin is getting lucky these days.The side-splitting yet poignant The 40 Year-Old Virgin took the No. 1 spot for the second week in a row with $16.4 million, while Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm, a fantasy starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the 19th century fairy-tale siblings, debuted in second place with $15.1 million.
The Cave, an subterranean monster movie featuring Morris Chestnut, Piper Perabo and Cole Hauser, opened weakly at No. 6 with $6.2 million, while the weekend's other new wide release--the romance Undiscovered, featuring Ashlee Simpson and Pell James as gal pals who fabricate media buzz to help a friend's music career--flopped with just $690,000, finishing far out of the top 10.
Hollywood is having its worst year since the late 1990s, with summer attendance expected to come in 12 percent behind last year, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $82.7 million, down 2.50 percent from last year's draw of $84.8 million and down 16.25 percent from last weekend's $98.8 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Miramax's PG-13 Hero, which opened in the No. 1 spot with $18 million in 2,031 theaters, averaging $8,865 per theater; Sony Pictures' PG-13 Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, which opened in second with $12.8 million in 2,905 theaters, averaging $4,410 per theater; and Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated Without a Paddle, which dropped to third place in its second week with $8.5 million in 2,730 theaters, averaging $3,144 per theater. (Click here to read last year's box office report)
(This week's box office Top 10 below...)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Universal, R)
• Gross: $16.4 million (-23%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,868
• Per-theater average: $5,718
• Cume to date: $48.7 million
No. 2: The Brothers Grimm (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $15 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,087
• Per-theater average: $4,889
No. 3: Red-Eye (DreamWorks, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.4 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,091 (+12)
• Per-theater average: $3,365
• Cume to date: $32.7 million
No. 4: Four Brothers (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $7.8 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,649 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,954
• Cume to date: $55.3 million
No. 5: The Wedding Crashers (New Line, R)
• Gross: $6.25 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,737 (-183)
• Per-theater average: $2,284
• Cume to date: $187.7 million
No. 6: The Cave (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,195
• Per-theater average: $2,825
No. 7: March of the Penguins (Warner Independent, G)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-30%)
• Weeks opened: 14
• Theaters: 2,394 (+292)
• Per-theater average: $1,909
• Cume to date: $55.7 million
No. 8: The Skeleton Key (Universal Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,784 (+10)
• Per-theater average: $1,580
• Cume to date: $37.9 million
No. 9: Valiant (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,016
• Per-theater average: $1,663
No. 10: The Dukes of Hazzard (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,891 (-513)
• Per-theater average: $1,053
• Cume to date: $74.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Undiscovered (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $690,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,304
• Per-theater average: $529