Barbershop 2, the sequel to 2002's controversial hit comedy starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, took the top spot with $25.1 million, clipping past last week's box office champ, the youthful hip hop dance flick You Got Served, which came in third with $7.7 million.
Barbershop 2's take makes it the fourth best February opener ever, behind Hannibal, which opened in 2001 with $58 million; Daredevil, which kicked off in 2003 to the tune of $40 million; and Scream 3, which took in $34.7 million when it premiered in 2000.
This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $92.7 million, up 26.45 percent from last week's $73.8 million, but down 9.12 percent from last year's $102.1 million.
Last year, Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated comedy How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days debuted in the No. 1 spot with $23.7 million at 2,923 theaters with a $8,134 per theater average; Buena Vista's PG-13 rated buddy comedy Shanghai Knights kicked off in second place with $19.6 million in 2,753 theaters with a $7,121 per theater average; and Miramax's PG-13 rated musical Chicago came in third in its seventh week of release with $10.7 million in 1,841 theaters (+1,218 theaters) with a $5,859 per theater average.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Barbershop 2: Back in Business (MGM, PG-13)
Gross: $25.1 million
Weeks opened: NEW
Theaters: 2,711
Per-theater average: $9,259
No. 2: Miracle (Buena Vista, PG)
Gross: $19.4 million
Weeks opened: NEW
Theaters: 2,605
Per-theater average: $7,464
No. 3: You Got Served (Screen Gems, PG-13)
Gross: $7.7 million (-52%)
Weeks opened: 2
Theaters: 1,943 (-10 theaters)
Per-theater average: $3,963
Cume to date: $26 million
No. 4: Along Came Polly (Universal Pictures, PG-13)
Gross: $7 million (-25%)
Weeks opened: 4
Theaters: 2,958 (-94 theaters)
Per-theater average: $2,375
Cume to date: $75.2 million
No. 5: The Butterfly Effect (New Line, R)
Gross: $6.7 million (-30%)
Weeks opened: 3
Theaters: 2,519 (-86 theaters)
Per-theater average: $2,670
Cume to date: $41.5 million
No. 6: Catch That Kid (Twentieth Century Fox, PG)
Gross: $6 million
Weeks opened: NEW!
Theaters: 2,844
Per-theater average: $2,118
No. 7: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line, PG-13)
Gross: $4.3 million (-18%)
Weeks opened: 8
Theaters: 1,878 (-378 theaters)
Per-theater average: $2,330
Cume to date: $351.2 million
No. 8: Monster (New Market, R)
Gross: $3.5 million (+4%)
Weeks opened: 7
Theaters: 892 (+224 theaters)
Per-theater average: $3,931
Cume to date: $15.2 million
No. 9: Mystic River (Warner Bros., R)
Gross: $3.5 million (-20%)
Weeks opened: 18
Theaters: 1,370 (unchanged)
Per-theater average: $2,555
Cume to date: $69.8 million
No. 10: Cold Mountain(Miramax, R)
Gross: $3.2 million (-20%)
Weeks opened: 7
Theaters: 1,917 (-583 theaters)
Per-theater average: $1,691
Cume to date: $82.8 million
