HOLLYWOOD - It pays to get mad.The drama-comedy Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which features scribe Tyler Perry as a cross-dressing, gun-toting grandmother, debuted at the box office in the No. 1 spot with $22.7 million, pushing last week's champ Hitch down to second with $21 million.
"The performance of the film is really a testament to Tyler Perry," Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate Films Releasing told The Associated Press. "He's a cultural phenomenon that is taking America by storm. In the next few weeks, those unfamiliar with Tyler will become familiar with Tyler."
Other newcomers to make the Top 10 list included Wes Craven's werewolf thriller Cursed, which came in fourth place with $9.5 million, and the comedy Man of the House, starring Tommy Lee Jones, which came in fifth place with $7.2 million.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $105.3 million, down 9.05 percent from last weekend's $115.8 million take and down 24.58 percent from last year's draw of $139.6 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Newmarket's R-rated The Passion of the Christ, which debuted at No. 1 with $83.8 million in 3,043 theaters, averaging $27,554 per theater; Sony Pictures' PG-rated 50 First Dates, which stayed in second place in its third week with $12.5 million in 3,450 theaters, averaging $3,642 per theater; and Paramount's R-rated Twisted, which opened in third place with $8.9 million in 2,703 theaters, averaging $3,294 per theater.
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BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $22.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,483
• Per-theater average: $15,307
No. 2: Hitch (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $21 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,571 (-4)
• Per-theater average: $5,881
• Cume to date: $122 million
No. 3: Constantine (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $11.8 million(-60%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,006 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $3,932
• Cume to date: $50.7 million
No. 4: Cursed (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $9.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,805
• Per-theater average: $3,410
No. 5: Man of the House (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,422
• Per-theater average: $3,716
No. 6: Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $7.2 million (+6%)
• Weeks opened: 11
• Theaters: 2,125 (+20)
• Per-theater average: $3,398
• Cume to date: $64.7 million
No. 7: Because of Winn-Dixie (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $6.7 million (-34%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,188
• Per-theater average: $2,117
• Cume to date: $22.2 million
No. 8: Are We There Yet? (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $4 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,242 (-277)
• Per-theater average: $1,784
• Cume to date: $76.3 million
No. 9: The Aviator (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.8 million (-7%)
• Weeks opened: 11
• Theaters: 1,579 (-131)
• Per-theater average: $2,460
• Cume to date: $88.1 million
No. 10: Son of the Mask (New Line Cinema, PG)
• Gross: $3.7 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,966 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,273
• Cume to date: $13.9 million