HOLLYWOOD - Another action hero bites the comedy dust. Proving he's more than muscle, Vin Diesel's family-friendly comedy The Pacifier took the No. 1 spot in its opening weekend, pulling in a respectable $30.2 million. Diesel's performance as a Navy SEAL turned baby sitter easily outdistanced the weekend's other major opening, Be Cool, the Get Shorty sequel with John Travolta and Uma Thurman, which came in second with $23.5 million.
"Pacifier did better than anyone expected, but you can't underestimate the family audience," Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co. told The Associated Press. "I think people like to see a fish-out-of-water story--an action star in a very unexpected role."
The mind-bending, time-traveling, psychological thriller The Jacket, starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley, also opened this weekend but only managed to make it to 10th place with $2.6 million.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $110.7 million, up 6.09 percent from last weekend's $104.4 million take but down 15.69 percent from last year's draw of $131.3 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Newmarket's R-rated The Passion of the Christ, which stayed at No. 1 in its second week with $53.2 million in 3,170 theaters, averaging $16,797 per theater; Buena Vista's PG-13 rated Hidalgo, which opened in second place with $18.8 million in 3,063 theaters, averaging $6,147 per theater; and Warner Bros. PG-13 rated Starsky & Hutch, which opened in third place with $12.5 million in 3,185 theaters, averaging $3,945 per theater.
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BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Pacifier (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $30.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,131
• Per-theater average: $9,653
No. 2: Be Cool (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $23.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,216
• Per-theater average: $7,307
No. 3: Hitch (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $12.5 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,438 (-133)
• Per-theater average: $3,636
• Cume to date: $138.3 million
No. 4: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $12 million (-45%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,703 (+220)
• Per-theater average: $7,046
• Cume to date: $38 million
No. 5: Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $8.5 million (+16%)
• Weeks opened: 12
• Theaters: 2,350 (+225)
• Per-theater average: $3,619
• Cume to date: $76.9 million
No. 6: Constantine (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $6 million(-50%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,758 (-248)
• Per-theater average: $2,177
• Cume to date: $60.57 million
No. 7: Cursed (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $3.8 million (-60%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,805 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,384
• Cume to date: $15.2 million
No. 8: Man of the House (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.5 million (-61%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,422 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,445
• Cume to date: $13.8 million
No. 9: Because of Winn-Dixie (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $3.4 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,506 (-682)
• Per-theater average: $1,377
• Cume to date: $27 million
No. 10: The Jacket (Warner Indie Pictures, R)
• Gross: $2.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,331
• Per-theater average: $2,002
OTHER OPENINGS
Gunner Palace (Palm, R)
• Gross: $65,898
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 8
• Per-theater average: $8,237