HOLLYWOOD - Christ continued to inspire the box office this weekend.Hauling in a hefty $51.3 million, The Passion of the Christ--Mel Gibson's torturing look at the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life--expectedly held onto its box office crown for the second week in a row.
The comedy Starsky & Hutch, an homage to the cult '70s cop TV show, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, debuted in second place with a groovy $29 million, while the weekend's other newcomer, the action-adventure Viggo Mortensen starrer Hidalgo, premiered in the third spot with $19 million.
No doubt bolstered by winning 11 Oscars last Sunday, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King saw a jump in box office dollars, putting it back on the top 10 list at No. 7 with $3.1 million. Same goes for the tense indie Monster, whose star, Charlize Theron, won Best Actress for her performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos; the film moved up the list to come in tenth with $2.2 million.
Total ticket sales for this week's top 12 films were $131.4 million, down 5.9 percent from last week's $139.6 million, but up 39 percent from last year's $94.5 million in the same weekend.
Last year, Buena Vista's PG-13 rated Bringing Down the House opened in the top spot with $31.1 million in 2,801 theaters with a $11,104 per theater average; Sony Pictures' Tears of the Sun debuted in second place with $17 million in 2,973 theaters with $5,737 per theater average; and DreamWorks' PG-13 rated comedy Old School dropped to third place in its third week with $9.1 million in 2,707 theaters (-35 theaters; $3,395 per theater).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket, R)
• Gross: $51.3 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,170 (+127)
• Per-theater average: $16,212
• Cume to date: $212 million
No. 2: Starsky & Hutch (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $29 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,185
• Per-theater average: $9,121
No. 3: Hidalgo (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $19.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,063
• Per-theater average: $6,399
No. 4: 50 First Dates (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.7 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,040 (-410)
• Per-theater average: $2,533
• Cume to date: $99.4 million
No. 5: Twisted (Paramount Pictures, R)
• Gross: $5 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,704 (+1)
• Per-theater average: $1,858
• Cume to date: $16.3 million
No. 6: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $4 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,180 (-323)
• Per-theater average: $1,835
• Cume to date: $21.8 million
No. 7: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.1 million (+46%)
• Weeks opened: 11
• Theaters: 1,903 (+791)
• Per-theater average: $1,668
• Cume to date: $368.3 million
No. 8: Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,042 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,396
• Cume to date: $10 million
No. 9: Miracle (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,654 (-568 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $1,572
• Cume to date: $59.9 million
No. 10: Monster (Newmarket, R)
• Gross: $2.2 million (+12%)
• Weeks opened: 13
• Theaters: 1,082 (+114)
• Per-theater average: $2,080
• Cume to date: $30 million
OTHER OPENINGS
The Reckoning (Paramount Classic, R)
• Gross: $18,447
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $3,689