HOLLYWOOD - The box office competition took to the skies this weekend.Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, a throwback to the '30s and '40s serial action adventures starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, took the No. 1 spot in its opening weekend with $16.2 million.
"You gotta figure, with a project like [Sky Captain], you don't know what the response is going to be from the audience," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I think they maximized the potential of the movie by taking it out of the summer and putting it here because it was the only way it was going to be No. 1."
Two other newcomers made it near of the list. Mr. 3000, a baseball comedy starring Bernie Mac, debuted in second with $9.2 million, while the romantic tennis comedy Wimbledon, starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, opened in fourth place with $7.8 million.
This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $66.1 million, up 4.53 percent from last weekend's $63.2 million take but down 26.60 percent from last year's draw of $90.1 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were Sony Pictures R-rated Underworld, which opened in the No. 1 spot with $21.7 million in 2,915 theaters, averaging $7,463 per theater; New Line's PG-13 Secondhand Lions, debuted in second with $12.1 million in 3,013 theaters, averaging $4,029 per theater; and Paramount's PG-13 The Fighting Temptations, opened in third with $11.7 million in 2,026 theaters, averaging $5,084 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Paramount, PG)
• Gross: $16.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,170
• Per-theater average: $5,110
No. 2: Mr. 3000 (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,736
• Per-theater average: $3,363
No. 3: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Screen Gems, R)
• Gross: $9 million (-61%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,284 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,741
• Cume to date: $37.3 million
No. 4: Wimbledon (Universal Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,034
• Per-theater average: $3,835
No. 5: Cellular (New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.8 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,749 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,501
• Cume to date: $19.7 million
No. 6: Without a Paddle (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.7 million (-18%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,610 (-144)
• Per-theater average: $1,423
• Cume to date: $50.4 million
No. 7: Hero (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.9 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,926 (-249)
• Per-theater average: $1,535
• Cume to date: $46.2 million
No. 8: Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight, PG)
• Gross: $2.4 million (-5 %)
• Weeks opened: 15
• Theaters: 1,024 (+103)
• Per-theater average: $2,877
• Cume to date: $33.4 million
No. 9: Collateral (DreamWorks, R)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,605 (-419)
• Per-theater average: $1,433
• Cume to date: $96 million
No. 10: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $2 million (-32%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,902 (-550)
• Per-theater average: $1,052
• Cume to date: $91.9 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Head in the Clouds (Sony Pictures, R)
• Gross: $51,695
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 10
• Per-theater average: $5,170
A Dirty Shame (Fine Line, NC-17)
• Gross: $33,000 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1
• Per-theater average: $33,000