HOLLYWOOD - Whoooeeeee! Looks like 'dem Dukes are heatin' things up!Based on the long-running '80s TV show, the rip-roarin' Dukes of Hazzard--about two good ole Southern boys (Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott) and their hot cousin in short shorts (Jessica Simpson), tearing it up in their car, the General Lee--debuted at No. 1 with a hootin' $30.5 million.
The newcomer finally knocked the reigning champs--The Wedding Crashers and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory--down a notch, to second and third, respectively.
But the real Cinderella story this week goes to the little big film of the summer March of the Penguins. The documentary about the migration of penguins moved up several places to take sixth with $6.9 million. It also became the second highest-grossing non-concert and non-IMAX documentary ever, behind Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, which grossed a total of $119 million at the box office.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated $102.5million, up 4.78 percent from last year's draw of $97.8 million but down 8.45 percent from last weekend's $111.9 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: DreamWorks R-rated Collateral, which opened in the No. 1 spot with $24.7 million in 3,188 theaters, averaging $7,748 per theater; Buena Vista's PG-13 rated The Village, which dropped to second place in its second week with $16.4 million in 3,733 theaters, averaging $4,412 per theater; and Universal's PG-13 The Bourne Supremacy, which dropped to third place in its third week with $14.3 million in 3,304 theaters, averaging $4,355 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 Dukes of Hazzard (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $30.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,785
• Per-theater average: $8,078
No. 2: The Wedding Crashers (New Line, R)
• Gross: $16.5 million (-18%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,106 (+76)
• Per-theater average: $5,312
• Cume to date: $144 million
No. 3: Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $10.5 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,702 (-73)
• Per-theater average: $2,854
• Cume to date: $169 million
No. 4: Sky High (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $9 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,912 (+7)
• Per-theater average: $3,107
• Cume to date: $32 million
No. 5: Must Love Dogs (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $7.4 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,505 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,960
• Cume to date: $26.2 million
No. 6: The March of the Penguins (Warner Independent, G)
• Gross: $6.9 million (+72%)
• Weeks opened: 11
• Theaters: 1,867 (+1,089)
• Per-theater average: $3,709
• Cume to date: $26.2 million
No. 7: Stealth (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.8 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,495 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,660
• Cume to date: $24.4 million
No. 8: Fantastic Four (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,339 (-405)
• Per-theater average: $1,732
• Cume to date: $143.7 million
No. 9: War of the Worlds (Paramount Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.5 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,940 (-384)
• Per-theater average: $1,835
• Cume to date: $224.6 million
No. 10: The Island (Dreamworks, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.1 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,138
• Per-theater average: $1,450
• Cume to date: $30.9 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Broken Flowers (Focus Features, R)
• Gross: $745,394
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 27
• Per-theater average: $27,607
Junebug (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $77,080
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 7
• Per-theater average: $11,011
2046 (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $112,856
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $28,214