HOLLYWOOD - It did, with the help of Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher.Guess Who, starring Mac as a father who has to deal with his daughter's new white boyfriend (Kutcher), debuted in the box office's top spot with $21 million over the Easter weekend. The interracial comedy pushed last week's champ, The Ring Two, down to third place with $13 million.
Peppy newcomer Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, in which Sandra Bullock reprises her role as tough FBI agent-turned-celebrity spokeswoman Gracie Hart, debuted this weekend in second place with $14.5 million. The sequel had a better opening weekend than the original, which debuted with just over $10 million on Christmas weekend 2000, but then hung on through word of mouth to become a $100 million-hit.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $90.8 million, down 7 percent from Easter weekend last year, which fell on April 9, when The Passion of the Christ was No. 1 with $15.2 million. The numbers were also down 13.71 percent from last weekend's $105.3 million take and down 15.99 percent from this time last year's draw of $108.1 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Warner Bros.' PG-rated Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, which opened at No. 1 with $29.4 million in 3,312 theaters, averaging $8,888 per theater; Buena Vista's R-rated The Ladykillers, which debuted in second place with $12.6 million in 1,583 theaters, averaging $7,981 per theater; and Newmarket's R-rated The Passion of the Christ, which dropped to third place in its fifth week with $12.5 million in 3,214 theaters, averaging $3,918 per theater.
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BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Guess Who (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $21 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,147
• Per-theater average: $6,673
No. 2: Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $14.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,183
• Per-theater average: $4,560
• Cume to date: $17.6 million (opened on Thursday)
No. 3: The Ring Two (DreamWorks, PG-13)
• Gross: $13.8 million (-61%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,341 (+9)
• Per-theater average: $4,130
• Cume to date: $58 million
No. 4: Robots (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $13 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,431 (-345)
• Per-theater average: $3,789
• Cume to date: $87.3 million
No. 5: The Pacifier (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $8.5 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,102 (-79)
• Per-theater average: $2,753
• Cume to date: $86.2 million
No. 6: Hitch (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.3 million (-34%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 2,233 (-470)
• Per-theater average: $1,926
• Cume to date: $166.4 million
No. 7: Hostage (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,977 (-206)
• Per-theater average: $2,080
• Cume to date: $26.1 million
No. 8: Ice Princess (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $3.7 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,501 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,480
• Cume to date: $13.3 million
No. 9: Be Cool (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,883 (-777)
• Per-theater average: $1,514
• Cume to date: $52.3 million
No. 10: Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 15
• Theaters: 1,710 (-500)
• Per-theater average: $1,529
• Cume to date: $94.1 million
OTHER OPENINGS
The Ballad of Jack & Rose (IFC Films, R)
• Gross: $60,461
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $15,115
D.E.B.S. (Destination Films, PG-13)
• Gross: $56,250
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 45
• Per-theater average: $1,250