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Paramount and Mutual Film Company's PG-13 rated action adventure Lara Croft: Tomb Raider arrived to a butt kicking ESTIMATED $48.2 million at 3,308 theaters ($14,571 per theater), heading for $140-150 million in domestic theaters.

Tomb's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend. Tomb opened bigger than the similar female power themed Charlie's Angels, which arrived to $40.13 million the weekend of Nov. 3-5, 2000 at 3,037 theaters, averaging $13,213 per theater). Angels, which played through the holiday season rather than the summer, went on to gross $125.3 million in domestic theaters.

Directed by Simon West, Tomb stars Angelina Jolie.

Distribution sources noted that Tomb's ticket sales fell from Friday to Saturday by five or six percent instead of going up as is typically the case. Some attributed that decline to the film's unfavorable reviews, saying they kept adults away and that Paramount should not have screened the picture for critics. Other insiders countered that the bad reviews didn't really matter to the film's core audience of young moviegoers and that it wasn't unusual for movies opening so huge to be down a little on Saturday from Friday's heat of opening day.

"I can tell you that it wasn't unexpected," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning about Saturday's drop versus Friday. "I was using X-Men as the comparison to this. Their opening was like $54 million ($54.47 million the weekend of July 14-16, 2000 at 3,025 theaters, averaging $18,007 per theater) versus this one at $48 million. They were down seven percent on Saturday versus Friday and we're down five percent.

"Their Sunday was off 25 percent. I've estimated this one to be off 23 percent Sunday to Saturday, but quite frankly the fact that it's Fathers Day is (helpful because it's) a good movie day. I've looked back (at Sunday versus Saturday drops on Father's Day) and Mission: Impossible 2 was only off 21 percent (and) Shaft was off 11 percent. Most of the films were in the 10 to 15 percent drop on Sunday versus Saturday. So we could actually end up with a little better number."

Driven by Tomb, this Fathers Day weekend's box office for key films -- those grossing at least $500,000 - is about $128 million. Several distributors pointed out that that total is about 35 percent bigger than last year's $94.4 million key film gross and would make this the biggest Fathers Day weekend ever.

As for Tomb's exit polls, Lewellen said, "It was about 55 percent to 45 percent male versus female and younger than older. 25 and under is the majority of the audience. I don't have the breakdown (yet), but the majority of the audience was under 25. The definite recommends were very good -- in the younger audience more so than the older audience."

The film's strong opening came despite largely negative reviews. "I think is one of those films that may be review proof," Lewellen said. "That audience was ready to go see it. Particularly being a younger audience, the reviews don't have as much of an impact as (they would on) an older audience."

Asked where Tomb is heading in domestic theaters, Lewellen said it most likely would be in the $140-150 million range: "Obviously, the key to it is the second weekend and how it holds. If it continues to play along the lines of X-Men, (that) was off 57% the second weekend. If we follow that, you're looking at around $140-145 million." X-Men opened to about $6 million more than Tomb and ended up with $157.2 million in domestic theaters.

Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated feature Atlantis went wide after one week of sold-out exclusive engagements in New York and Los Angeles. Atlantis made sizable second place waves with an ESTIMATED $20.35 million at 3,011 theaters (+3,009 theaters; $6,760 per theater). Its cume is approximately $20.9 million.

Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, its voice talents include Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer and Leonard Nimoy.

"We're extremely pleased," Buena Vista Distribution president Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "We always set a target of $20 million and to be able to get there in the face of such an overpowering opening by Tomb Raider. I just think is great. We always try to counter program, but who could have ever imagined Tomb Raider to be that big? It's fabulous. I'm just happy to be number two and at a number that is really, really comfortable for everybody."

Asked about audience reaction to the film, Viane noted, "I saw the CinemaScores and they were A-plus for males under 21 and A for females (under 21). For the 21-34s, they were both A and for the 35 and overs, they were both B-plus. I think that says a lot. It shows that both fathers and moms are having a good time at the movie and that obviously helps us a lot because you get the whole family to go together then.

"Historically, what will happen is that your weekdays become that much more important now that it's summertime and everybody's getting out of school. By the time the week's over, I'd imagine we're going to be somewhere around $31 to $32 million and, boy, that's a hell of a start!"

Last summer, BV/Disney's launch of its animated feature Dinosaur opened to $38.85 million the weekend of May 19-21, averaging $11,930 per theater. It went on to gross $137.7 million in domestic theaters.

In the summer of 1999, BV/Disney's animated feature Tarzan kicked off to $34.2 million the weekend of June 18-20, averaging $11,388 per theater. It went on to gross $171.1 million in domestic theaters.