"You've got two PG-13 action movies vying for the top spot and each earned over $20 million. I think that's pretty strong for Mother's Day weekend," Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., which tracks box office performance, told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the other newcomers fell by the wayside. Lindsay Lohan’s grown-up romantic comedy Just My Luck debuted in the fourth place with $5.5 million, while the soccer drama Goal! The Dream Begins failed to make the Top 10, grossing a dreary $2 million.
And for the first time in seven weeks, overall box office receipts dropped over last year's figures--by more than 13 percent.
"This was a solid but not spectacular weekend leading up to a big week ahead with The Da Vinci Code and Over the Hedge. This will be classic counter-programming," Dergarabedian said.
The Top 12 pics this week grossed an estimated $81.7 million, down 18 percent from last weekend’s total of $99.6 million and down 13.49 percent from last year's draw of $94.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: New Line’s Monster-In-Law, which debuted at No. 1 with $23.1 million in 3,424 theaters, averaging $6,748 per theater; Universal’s Kicking & Screaming, which debuted in second place with $20.1 million in 3,455 theaters, averaging $5,835 per theaters; and Focus Features’ Unleashed, which opened in third place with $10.9 million in 1,957 theaters, averaging $5,570 per theaters (Click here to read last year's box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Mission: Impossible III (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $24.5 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 4,059 (+5)
• Per-theater average: $6,039
• Cume to date: $84.6 million
No. 2: Poseidon (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $20.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,555
• Per-theater average: $5,717
No. 3: R.V. (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $9.5 million (-14%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,536 (-115)
• Per-theater average: $2,687
• Cume to date: $42.8 million
No. 4: Just My Luck (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,541
• Per-theater average: $2,165
No. 5: An American Haunting (Freestyle Releasing, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.6 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,703 (+23)
• Per-theater average: $2,166
• Cume to date: $10.9 million
No. 6: United 93 (Universal, R)
• Gross: $3.6 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,871 (+52)
• Per-theater average: $1,924
• Cume to date: $25.6 million
No. 7: Stick It (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.2 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,009 (-35)
• Per-theater average: $1,612
• Cume to date: $22.2 million
No. 8: Ice Age: The Meltdown (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $2.9 million (-29%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,879 (-547)
• Per-theater average: $1,583
• Cume to date: $187.3 million
No. 9: Silent Hill (Sony Pictures, R)
• Gross: $2.2 million (-45%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,888 (-668)
• Per-theater average: $1,165
• Cume to date: $44.5 million
No. 10: Hoot (New Line, PG)
• Gross: $2.1 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,018 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $704
• Cume to date: $6.2 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Goal! The Dream Begins (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,007
• Per-theater average: $1,989
Keeping Up with the Steins (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $621,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 138
• Per-theater average: $4,500
