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The Passion's closest competitor was The Secret Window, which was runner-up with $19 million. The Johnny Depp thriller was the best opening ever for a film based on a work from the master of suspense, Stephen King. It bumped The Green Mile, which took in $18 million when it debuted in December 1999, to second place, and relegated Dreamcatcher, which opened to $15 million in March 2003, to the No. 3 spot.

But Secret Window still proved no match for the monolithic The Passion of the Christ, which could, according to president of Newmarket Films Bob Berney, spark a religious-themed fad.

"It will probably start trends and everything but at the end of the day, the films have to be pretty spectacular," Berney said Saturday during the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. "The audience, no matter what, is pretty discerning."

Berney said The Passion has passed 2002's sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which made $241 million, as the highest-grossing independent film, The Associated Press reports. The Passion's cumulative total to date is $264 million.

"The really interesting thing is that I think this shows that independent production and distribution can be at any level," Berney said. Newmarket's other recent success stories include Monster and Whale Rider.

This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $104.1 million, up 14.59 percent from last week's $90.8 million, but down 20.75 percent from last year's $131.3 million.

Last year, Buena Vista's PG-13 rated comedy Bringing Down the House held on to the No. 1 spot in its second week with $22 million at 2,801 theaters with a $7,874 per theater average; MGM's PG rated teen spy flick Agent Cody Banks kicked off in second place with $14 million in 3,369 theaters with a $4,175 per theater average; and Paramount's R rated thriller The Hunted debuted in third with $13.8 million in 2,516 theaters with a $5,502 per theater average.

BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)

No. 1: The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket, R)

• Gross: $31.6 million (-41%)

• Weeks opened: 3

• Theaters: 3,221 (+51)

• Per-theater average: $9,830

• Cume to date: $264 million

No. 2: The Secret Window (Sony, PG-13)

• Gross: $19 million

• Weeks opened: NEW!

• Theaters: 3,018

• Per-theater average: $6,296

No. 3: Starsky & Hutch (Warner Bros., PG-13)

• Gross: $16 million (-43%)

• Weeks opened: 2

• Theaters: 3,185 (unchanged)

• Per-theater average: $5,027

• Cume to date: $51.4 million

No. 4: Hidalgo (Buena Vista, PG-13)

• Gross: $11.7 million (-38%)

• Weeks opened: 2

• Theaters: 3,065 (+2 theaters)

• Per-theater average: $3,817

• Cume to date: $35.5 million

No. 5: Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (MGM, PG)

• Gross: $8 million

• Weeks opened: NEW!

• Theaters: 2,973

• Per-theater average: $2,691

No. 6: 50 First Dates (20th Century Fox, PG-13)

• Gross: $5.3million (-31%)

• Weeks opened: 5

• Theaters: 2,586 (-454)

• Per-theater average: $2,049

• Cume to date: $106.5 million

No. 7: Twisted (Paramount Pictures, R)

• Gross: $3 million (-40%)

• Weeks opened: 3

• Theaters: 2,208 (-496)

• Per-theater average: $1,393

• Cume to date: $21.1 million

No. 8: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Buena Vista, PG)

• Gross: $2.4 million (-41%)

• Weeks opened: 4

• Theaters: 1,801 (-379)

• Per-theater average: $1,333

• Cume to date: $24.9 million

No. 9: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, PG-13)

• Gross: $2 million (-33%)

• Weeks opened: 12

• Theaters: 1,307 (-596)

• Per-theater average: $1,568

• Cume to date: $371.1 million

No. 10: Spartan (Warner Bros., R)

• Gross: $2 million

• Weeks opened: NEW!

• Theaters: 832

• Per-theater average: $2,440

OTHER OPENINGS

Broken Wings (Sony Picture Classics, R)

• Gross: $27,679

• Weeks opened: NEW!

• Theaters: 5

• Per-theater average: $5,536